Bharrat Jagdeo

Bharrat Jagdeo Junior
President of Guyana
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 August 1999
Prime Minister	Sam Hinds
Preceded by	Janet Jagan
Prime Minister of Guyana Interim
In office 9 August 1999 – 11 August 1999
President	Janet Jagan
Preceded by	Sam Hinds
Succeeded by	Sam Hinds
Personal details
Born	(1964-01-23) 23 January 1964 Unity Village, Guyana
Political party	People's Progressive Party
Spouse	Varshni Jagdeo (Divorced)

Bharrat Jagdeo (born 23 January 1964) has been the President of Guyana since 11 August 1999. Prior to his presidency he was Minister of Finance and became President after Janet Jagan resigned for health reasons; he has since won two elections, in 2001 and 2006.

Jagdeo was born in Unity Village on the East Coast of Demerara. He joined the youth wing of the People's Progressive Party (PPP), the Progressive Youth Organisation, when he was 13, and became a member of the PPP itself at age 16. He subsequently rose to local leadership positions in the party.

After obtaining a Master's in Economics from Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University in Moscow in 1990, Jagdeo returned to Guyana and worked as an economist in the State Planning Secretariat until the PPP/Civic election victory in the October 1992 election. After this he became Special Advisor to the Minister of Finance. On February 6^th 2010, the degree of Honorary Doctorate was conferred on to President Jagdeo by the Patrice Lumumba Peoples' Friendship University in Moscow

Jagdeo was appointed as Junior Minister of Finance in October 1993, and a few weeks later, at the PPP's 24th Congress, he was elected to the party's Central Committee. He later became a member of the Executive Committee of the PPP. In the Cabinet, he was promoted to Senior Minister of Finance in May 1995.

On August 8 1999, Janet Jagan announced that she was resigning as President for health reasons and that Jagdeo would be her successor. Because the Prime Minister is the President's legal successor, Jagdeo took office as Prime Minister on August 9 so that he would be positioned to succeed Jagan. He was then sworn in as President on August 11.

Jagdeo was re-elected for another five-year term on August 28, 2006, with the PPP garnering 54.6 percent of the votes and expanded its majority by two to 36 seats in the 65-member parliament. He was sworn in for another term on September 2[1]

At the PPP's 29th Congress, Jagdeo received the highest number of votes (777) in the election to the party's Central Committee, held on August 2, 2008. He was then elected to the PPP Executive Committee on August 12, 2008.

Jagdeo was a signatory to the The UNASUR Constitutive Treaty of the Union of South American Nations in March 2008. Guyana has ratified the treaty.

External links

• Office of the President of Guyana