National floral tribute marks 103rd birth anniversary of Hugh Lawson Shearer

Kingston — Jamaica paused on Sunday, 18 May 2026, to honour the life and public service of the Most Honourable Hugh Lawson Shearer on the 103rd anniversary of his birth, with a floral tribute that drew diplomats, trade unionists, politicians, and members of his family.

In the keynote address, a government minister thanked Shearer’s sons, Meyers Howard and Lansford Shearer, and granddaughter Justine Shearer Maxwell, along with the diplomatic corps, Senator Cavan Gale as president general of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union, Deputy Mayor Councillor Lorraine Dobson, Young Jamaica president Ron Walsh, and other guests. The speaker recalled growing up in West Kingston and watching from the gate at 24 Bond Street, above Coronation Market, never imagining a later role in public life promoting Shearer’s legacy.

Shearer was described as one of the architects of post-Independence Jamaica — a labour leader, parliamentarian, prime minister, and elder statesman whose career centred on national service and faith in the capacity of ordinary Jamaicans. The observance noted that his birthday falls during Workers’ Week each year, reflecting his deep mark on labour relations and the trade union movement.

As prime minister from 1967, when Jamaica was only five years independent, his administration stressed education, skills training, housing, agriculture, infrastructure, and economic growth. Through the New Deal education programme, the government widened secondary access, strengthened technical and vocational training, expanded teacher development, and aligned skills programmes with the economy. The address linked that vision to today’s human-development priorities under Vision 2030 Jamaica.

Drawing on the Sankofa principle — learning from the past to advance the future — the minister urged Jamaicans to move beyond remembrance and apply lessons of disciplined, principled leadership at a time of global division and weak civic engagement.

Wreaths were laid on behalf of Prime Minister Andrew Holness, through Senate President Senator Thomas Tavares Finson; Opposition Leader Mark Golding, represented by Mikael Phillips; Foreign Minister Senator Kamina Johnson Smith; Labour Minister Pearnel Charles Jr.; Jamaica Labour Party Chairman Robert Montague; widow Mrs. Hugh Shearer; BITU President General Senator Cavan Gale; MP Donovan Williams; the Kingston and St Andrew municipal corporation; the Hugh Shearer Labour Studies Institute; Young Jamaica; and the G2K.

Arden High School performed during the programme, and participants later stood in silence before the event closed with thanks from the Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport and the Jamaica Cultural Development Commission to tribute layers, security forces, heritage agencies, and supporting staff at National Heroes Park.