Jamaica’s longest-serving prime minister, Percival James Patterson, has reached the grand old age of 90 and is still going strong.

He celebrated his birthday last month, and a number of events took place to honour Jamaica’s sixth prime minister who held the position from 1992 to 2006, fourteen years.

PJ Patterson is the patriarch of the People’s National Party (PNP) and is a beloved figure in his country. He is given maximum respect.

An ardent supporter of the Pan-African movement, it was fitting that he would unveil a mural depicting a reproduction of the late, great Jamaican artist Barrington Watson’s work ‘The Pan Africanists‘, which is placed at the University of the West Indies’ (UWI) Cultural Heritage Park.

The painting was gifted by Patterson to the UWI Mona campus. The former prime minister is the statesman-in-residence of the PJ Patterson Institute for African-Caribbean Advocacy.

Patterson is a very scholarly man who has played his part in seeing Jamaica’s advancement from the 20th century into the 21st century. It was his administration that ushered in the modern telecommunication age, where today cellphones and the Internet are ubiquitous. He modernised infrastructure, saw to it that more Jamaicans drove cars, expanded the tourism sector and restructured the financial sector after FINSAC. His administration repealed the Matrimonial Property Act, the Unlawful Possession of Property Act and the Vagrancy Act. 

An elegant man, he has a great wit and chooses his words carefully. He is still extremely intelligent and learned.

Here are some memorable quotes from the great man 

1. “Silence cannot be misquoted.”

2. “Never give a hungry man your lunch to carry”

3. My retirement to the pavilion does not mean that I should remain silent when others seek to distort our positions or manipulate statements we have made.”

4. “ I shall return.” 

Here’s to you, sir and to many more birthdays to come. Your biography was a very good read. It’s time for another one. 

Photos by Our Today’s Llewellyn Wynter: