DR. PETER PHILLIPS

Gleaner Honour Award Winner for Public Service

POLITICIAN. LEADER. Scholar. Minister. Author. Member of Parliament. Performer. At a time when Jamaicans can ill afford to invest their dwindling political capital in elected officials, you continue to enjoy the reputation in the public's eye as a prime-time performer ­ The Man Who Gets Things Done.

Today, you are being honoured for the assured competence and constancy to purpose you have always exhibited in whatever task has been thrust upon you.

We applaud you for your integrity, blunt honesty, and your academic brilliance. Dr. Phillips earned a BSc in Economics in 1970 and a MSc in Government from the UWI in 1976. He would later move on to the State University of New York, Binghamto, where he completed his doctoral studies in International Political Economy in 1986. A Fulbright scholar, Dr. Phillips did research at the University of Florida as well as lectured at the UWI from 1982 to 1989. During this time, he also published extensively on a variety of Caribbean development issues. This was again a family tradition of sorts, for his father, Aubrey Phillips, was himself a university lecturer.

We commend you for your career-long brilliance and your excellent track record in a world of politics too often tainted by allegations of scandals, non-performance and political tribalism. One of Dr. Phillips' most noteworthy achievements occurred during his stint as Transport and Works Minister was the transformation the Corporate Area's ramshackle bus service into a first-class establishment. It was an achievement hailed by many persons in society, regardless of their individual political leanings.

In a show of faith in his abilities, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson in October 2001, assigned him responsibilities as the Minister of National Security. With brutal criminal acts continuing largely unabated, and paralysing an already war-weary society with fear, this will arguably be the most challenging task of his political career.

We salute you for the meteoric rise you have made through the ranks of the ruling People's National Party since 1984 when you became a member of the executive. After stepping from the shadows of obscurity in 1989 when you were appointed Senator and Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister, your swift political advances in the party has been the stuff of legend. Between 1991 and 1994, Dr. Phillips held the post of general secretary before taking up the portfolio of Health Minister between 1995 and 1997. He was then assigned to the Transport Ministry before taking up his present post in National Security.

Sir, we hail your continued success in the competitive world of domestic politics, and your mastery of the numbing issues which you face on a daily basis.

For these reasons, we present you with pleasure, the 2001 Gleaner Honour Award of Excellence.