David A. Granger
David A. Granger | |
---|---|
![]() Granger in 2015 | |
9thPresident of Guyana | |
In office 16 May 2015 – 2 August 2020 | |
Vice President | Carl Barrington Greenidge Khemraj Ramjattan Sydney Allicock |
Prime Minister(also First Vice President) | Moses Nagamootoo |
Preceded by | Donald Ramotar |
Succeeded by | Irfaan Ali |
Leader of the Opposition of Guyana | |
In office July 2012 – 16 May 2015 | |
Preceded by | Robert Corbin |
Succeeded by | Bharrat Jagdeo |
Personal details | |
Born | David Arthur Granger 15 July 1945 Georgetown,British Guiana |
Political party | People's National Congress |
Other political affiliations | A Partnership for National Unity |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() |
Years of service | 1967–1992 |
Rank | ![]() |
David Arthur Granger(born 15 July 1945) is a Guyanese former politician and retired military officer who served as the ninthpresident of Guyanafrom 2015 to 2020. A member of the People’s National Congress (PNC), he previously served as Commander of theGuyana Defence Forceand as National Security Adviser from 1990 to 1992. He wasleader of the Oppositionin theNational Assembly of Guyanafrom 2012 to 2015.
Granger stood as the opposition coalition's presidential candidate in theNovember 2011 general electionbut was defeated. He was elected as President in theMay 2015 general election.He lost a vote of confidence on 21 December 2018 that led to asnap election.
Career
[edit]![]() | This section of abiography of a living personneeds additionalcitationsforverification.(September 2022) |
Born inGeorgetown,David Arthur Granger became a senior officer of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) by Prime Minister Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham. He attendedQueen's College,one of Guyana's most prestigious schools, along the likes of PresidentsForbes Burnham,Cheddi Jagan,Samuel Hindsand scholarsWalter RodneyandRupert Roopnaraine.
After leaving Queen's College, where he was a member of the Queen's College Cadet Corps, Granger joined theGuyana Defence Forceas an officer cadet in 1965 and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1966.
He received his professional military training at the Army Command and Staff College inNigeria;the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre inBrazil;and the School of Infantry and theMons Officer Cadet School,respectively, in the UK.
He became commander of theGuyana Defence Forcein 1979 and was promoted to the rank of brigadier. In 1990, Granger was appointed as National Security Adviser to the President[1]and retired from the military service in 1992.[2]
Granger founded theGuyana Reviewnews magazine in 1992 and served as its Managing Editor. He has researched and published essays on military, historical and media themes, and is also the author ofGuyana's State Media: the quest for control,andA Preliminary Study of Women Soldiers in the Anglophone Caribbean.For the 1995–1996 academic year he was a Hubert H. Humphrey/Fulbright Fellow at the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park.[3]
In 2010, he made a successful bid to be elected as the presidential candidate of the People's National Congress–Reform for theNovember 2011 general election.[4][5]
Standing as the opposition coalition's presidential candidate, Granger was defeated byDonald Ramotar.He was unanimously elected asLeader of the Oppositionin the National Assembly on 16 January 2012.[6]
Granger stood again as the presidential candidate of the opposition coalition,APNU–AFC,in the11 May 2015 general election.The coalition secured the majority of votes, and Granger was sworn in as President of Guyana on 16 May 2015.[7]
He lost a vote of no confidence on 21 December 2018, leading to asnap election.
2020 Elections
[edit]After losing the vote of No Confidence in December 2018, elections were held on 2 March 2020. The elections were overseen by many international entities such as theOrganisation of American States,Carter Center,CARICOMandEuropean Union.Initially, Granger and his party tried to claim victory on manipulated numbers.[8]
He later tried to claim the elections were tainted by fraud and should be cancelled.[9][10]Ultimately, a national recount of votes on the indicated a win for the opposingPeople's Progressive Partypresidential candidateIrfaan Ali.This is the third Guyanese President to attempt to win an election by rigging, the previous being Forbes Burnham and Desmond Hoyte, both from Granger's PNC party.[11][12] [13]
Education
[edit]Granger attended the prestigious institution ofQueen's College.He did some workshops from time and he was covered by the Army. He attended the Urban Policy Development Workshop at theUniversity of California, Los Angeles;the Defense Planning and Resource Management course at theNational Defense University,Washington DC; and the Counter-Terrorism Educators' Workshop at theJoint Special Operations University(Florida, USA).[14]
Commander
[edit]Granger was Commander of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) and National Security Adviser to President Hoyte. He received his military training at the Mons Officer Cadet School, and the School of Infantry in the United Kingdom; the Jungle Warfare Instruction Centre in Brazil, and the Army Command and Staff College in Nigeria. He was a member of several defence and security agencies. He held the chairmanship of the Central Intelligence Committee; co-chairmanship of the Border and National Security Committee; and was a member of the Guyana Defence Board, National Drug Law Enforcement Committee, and the Disciplined Forces Commission. Granger has served in several public organisations.[15]
Academic/Historian
[edit]He was elected to the presidencies of the History Society, the Guyana Heritage Society, the University of Guyana Guild of Graduates; and the Guyana Chess Federation. He was also a member of the University of Guyana Council, Association of Caribbean Historians, Caribbean Studies Association, Guyana Press Association, Guyana Book Foundation, and is currently a member of the Guyana Legion and the Board of Trustees of the Guyana Veterans Foundation.[citation needed]
Author
[edit]Granger has written extensively on national defence and public security issues. He is the author ofNational Defence: A Brief History of the Guyana Defence Force, 1965 – 2005;Public Security: Criminal Violence and Policing in Guyana;andPublic Policy: The Crisis of Governance in Guyana.[16]
He wrote several monographs, includingFive Thousand Day War: The Struggle for Haiti's Independence, 1789–1804;The British Guiana Volunteer Force, 1948–1966;The Guyana National Service, 1974–2000;The Guyana People's Militia, 1976–1997;The Queen's College Cadet Corps, 1889–1975;Guyana's Coinage, 1808–2008;The Era of Enslavement, 1638–1838;andThe Village Movement, 1839–1889.He was co-editor, with Winston McGowan and James Rose, ofThemes in African–Guyanese History,and was publisher of theGuyana ReviewandEmancipationmagazines.[17]
Awards
[edit]![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3e/Dilma_Rousseff_and_David_Granger_at_48th_Mercosur_Summit.jpg/220px-Dilma_Rousseff_and_David_Granger_at_48th_Mercosur_Summit.jpg)
Granger has received various academic awards, including the President's Medal for the best graduating student; Dennis Irvine Prize for the student who has made the greatest contribution to all cultural life of the university; Council of the University Prize; Elsa Goveia Medal of Excellence; Guy de Weever History Prize; Earl Attlee History Prize; Mary Noel Menezes Award for History; Department of History Prize and others, from the University of Guyana.[14]
He also holds three national awards: the Military Efficiency Medal (1976), theMilitary Service Medal(1981), and the Military Service Star (1985) for distinguished military service.[14]
Personal life
[edit]Granger is married toSandra Granger(née Chan-A-Sue) and has two daughters, Han and Afuwa.[18]
In November 2018, Granger was diagnosed withNon-Hodgkin lymphoma.[19]
References
[edit]- ^DeRouen, Karl R.;Uk Heo(2005).Defense and Security: A Compendium of National Armed Forces and Security Policies.ABC-CLIO Ltd. p. 117.ISBN978-1-85109-781-4.
Between 1990 and 1992, the policy-making framework was expanded to create the position of national security adviser to the president. Brigadier David Granger, a one-time GDF force commander, was named Guyana's first national security adviser. Following his election in October 1992, however, President Cheddi Jagan abolished the position.
- ^Stabroek staff (1 October 2010)."Granger denies 1973 ballot box allegation".Stabroek News.Retrieved27 October2010.
Granger retired from military service in 1992, after serving as National Security Adviser to the President and as Commander of the GDF. During his military service, Granger served as planning officer for the establishment of the Guyana National Service and the Guyana People's Militia, and he also led military delegations to Brazil,Cuba,Germany,Guinea,North Korea,SomaliaandYugoslavia.Granger received the Military Service Star; the Military Service Medal; the Efficiency Medal; the Border Defence Medal; and other service awards.
- ^"David A. toto is Guyana's 8th Executive President".Guyana Inc.No. 16.Retrieved16 January2021.
- ^Stabroek, ed. (29 September 2010)."Breaking News: David Granger nominated by PNCR group to be party's presidential candidate".Stabroek News.Retrieved27 October2010.
Retired army brigadier David Granger tonight confirmed a report on Capitol News that he had been nominated by a PNCR group to be the party's presidential candidate at the 2011 general elections and he has accepted the nomination.
- ^"Group in Diaspora formed to support David Granger".Kaieteur News.26 October 2010.Retrieved27 October2010.
A group of Guyanese in North America has formed what its members call 'Guyanese United For Change', (GUFC), and has announced its support for Retired Brigadier David Granger's bid for presidential candidate of the People's National Congress Reform.
- ^"Granger pledges to work in the nation's interest".guyanatimesinternational.Retrieved27 March2023.
- ^Neil Marks,"Guyana swears in new president after multiracial bloc wins vote",Reuters. 16 May 2015.
- ^"A review of Mingo's Region 4 fraud".12 July 2020.
- ^"Coalition wants GECOM to annul elections – Jagdeo".Kaieteur News.15 May 2020.
- ^"CARICOM calls on Guyana's President to respect court ruling | Miami Herald".Miami Herald.Archived fromthe originalon 27 October 2020.
- ^"On rigging elections – past and present".25 January 2019.
- ^"11. How the PNC rigged itself a two-thirds majority in 1973".
- ^"Guyana Journal | 1968 Election Fraud".
- ^abc"Brigadier David Arthur Granger, MSM, MSS President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana".Office of the President. 31 August 2015.
- ^"His Excellency, Brigadier (Rtd) David Arthur Granger, MSS".Guyana Chronicle.Retrieved27 March2023.
- ^KNews (8 November 2020)."Security sector reform remains a work-in-progress".Kaieteur News.Retrieved27 March2023.
- ^"Preserving our Literary Heritage – PORTRAIT OF A PRESIDENT – as a Man of Letters".Guyana Chronicle.30 May 2014.
- ^David Granger promises hope, revival and purposeful leadership,Kaieteur News,10 April 2011. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
- ^"President Granger diagnosed with cancer".Stabroek News.15 November 2018.Retrieved19 November2018.
External links
[edit]Media related toDavid Arthur Grangerat Wikimedia Commons