Sir Florizel Augustus Glasspole (25 September 1909 – 25 November 2000), was the third and longest-serving

governor-general of Jamaica The governor-general of Jamaica is the viceregal representative of the Jamaican monarch, King Charles III, in Jamaica. The monarch, on the advice of the prime minister, appoints a governor-general as his or her representative in Jamaica. Bot ...

, in office from 1973 to 1991.

Early life and education

Florizel Glasspole was born in Kingston,

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

on 25 September 1909. His parents were the Rev. Theophilus A. Glasspole, a Methodist minister, and Florence (''née'' Baxter). Glasspole received his early education at Buff Bay Elementary School in

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

between 1914 and 1918. He then attended Central branch Elementary School and Wolmer's Boys School (1922-1926). In 1946, he enrolled in

Ruskin College Ruskin College, originally known as Ruskin Hall, Oxford, is an independent educational institution in Oxford, England. It is not a college of Oxford University. It is named after the essayist, art and social critic John Ruskin (1819–1900) an ...

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

, where he majored in Trade Union Studies on a one-year scholarship awarded by the British

Trade Union Congress The Trades Union Congress (TUC) is a national trade union centre, a federation of trade unions in England and Wales, representing the majority of trade unions. There are 48 affiliated unions, with a total of about 5.5 million members. Frances O' ...

Career

Glasspole's first job was in the Civil Service with the Registrar of Titles Office in 1926. From 1930, he worked as an accounting clerk at the Serge Island Sugar Estate near Seaforth St Thomas. Between 1937 and 1955, Glasspole was general secretary of the Jamaica United Clerks' Association, of the Water Commission Manual Workers' Union, of the Municipal and Parochial General Workers' Union and of the National Workers' Union. He was president of the Jamaica Printers' and Allied Workers' Union, the Machado Employees' Union, and the General Hospital and Allied Workers' Union. Glasspole was also, from 1939 to 1947, General Secretary of the Trades Union Advisory Council and, from 1947 to 1952, General Secretary of the Jamaican

Politics

Glasspole was an early member of the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) is a Social democracy, social-democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in ...

, he was elected to the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in the first

universal suffrage Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

elections, in 1944, from the

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

of Kingston East and Port Royal, and held the seat through every election until his retirement in 1973. From 1955 to 1957 he served as minister of labour and from 1957 to 1962 he was minister of education under

Norman Manley Norman Washington Manley (4 July 1893 – 2 September 1969) was a Jamaican statesman who served as the first and only Premier of Jamaica. A Rhodes Scholar, Manley became one of Jamaica's leading lawyers in the 1920s. Manley was an advocate ...

before independence. He reprieved the latter role from 1972 to 1973, under

Michael Manley Michael Norman Manley (10 December 1924 – 6 March 1997) was a Jamaican politician who served as the fourth Prime Minister of Jamaica from 1972 to 1980 and from 1989 to 1992. Manley championed a democratic socialist program, and has been d ...

Governor-General

Florizel Glasspole was appointed to the office of governor-general in 1973. He held that office until 1991, when he was succeeded by

Howard Cooke Sir Howard Felix Hanlan Cooke (13 November 1915 – 11 July 2014) served as the fourth governor-general of Jamaica from 1 August 1991 to 15 February 2006. Early life Cooke was born on 13 November 1915, in Goodwill, St. James, Jamaica, the s ...

Personal life and death

Florizel Glasspole was married to Ina Josephine (''née'' Kinlocke) and had one daughter Sara Lou Glasspole-Mena. Glasspole died in Kingston on 25 November 2000, aged 91.

Awards and decorations

Florizel Glasspole Street in Port Royal is named for him. * Commander of the

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') i ...

(1970) * Commander of the

Order of the Nation The Order of the Nation is a Jamaican honour. It is a part of the Jamaican honours system and was instituted in 1973 as the second-highest honour in the country, with the Order of National Hero being the highest honour. The Order of the Nation ...

(1973) * Order of Andrés Bello (Venezuela, 1973) * Knight of the

Order of St. John of Jerusalem The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic Church, Catholic Military ord ...

(1974) *

Order of the Liberator The Order of the Liberator was the highest distinction of Venezuela and was appointed for services to the country, outstanding merit and benefits made to the community. For Venezuelans the order ranks first in the order of precedence from other or ...

(Venezuela, 1978) *

Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George III. It is named in honour ...

(1981) * LL.D. (Hon)

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 17 English-speaking countries and territories in th ...

(1982) * Grand Cross of the

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

(1982) *

Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order (french: Ordre royal de Victoria) is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the British monarch, Canadian monarch, Australian monarch, or ...

(1983)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glasspole, Florizel 1909 births 2000 deaths Politicians from Kingston, Jamaica Governors-General of Jamaica Jamaican knights Recipients of the Order of the Nation Jamaican Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Jamaican Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Knights of the Order of St John Commanders of the Order of Distinction People's National Party (Jamaica) politicians Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica Education Ministers of Jamaica