Headley Washington Cunningham, (12 October 192922 September 2018) was a
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 ...
n politician. A member of the
People's National Party, he was Speaker of the
House of Representatives from 1989 to 1993.
Early life
Cunningham was born on 12 October 1929 in Darliston, Westermoreland, Jamaica, the youngest of three children to Frank and Estella (''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Maxwell). He was educated at
Cornwall College
The Cornwall College Group (TCCG; kw, Kolji Kernow) is a further education college situated on eight sites throughout Cornwall and Devon, England, United Kingdom, with its head office in St Austell.
Campuses
There are eight campuses within ...
in
Montego Bay
Montego Bay is the capital of the Parishes of Jamaica, parish of Saint James Parish, Jamaica, St. James in Jamaica. The city is the fourth-largest urban area in the country by population, after Kingston, Jamaica, Kingston, Spanish Town, and Por ...
,
St James Saint James or St. James may refer to:
People Saints
*James, brother of Jesus (died 62 or 69), also known as James the Just
*James the Great (died 44), Apostle, also known as James, son of Zebedee, or Saint James the Greater
**Saint James Matamoro ...
, after which he found employment as an accountant at the Kingston-based Public Works Department. Cunningham subsequently left for England to study law.
Career
Returning from England, Cunningham became president of the Cornwall Bar Association. He entered electoral politics in 1989, when he was elected as a member of parliament. From 1989 to 1993, he was Speaker of the House of Representatives. From 1992 to 1993, he sat on the executive committee of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, of which he was vice-chairperson. In 1998, Cunningham became a member of the Privy Council of Jamaica.
[
]
Death
Cunningham died on 22 September 2018 aged 88, after struggling with health issues.[ Official funerary rites were conducted by the government of Jamaica on 25 October at the Mount Carey Baptist Church in Anchovy, St James. Cunningham was buried on the same day at the church cemetery.]
Recognition
In 2007, Cunningham was awarded the Order of Jamaica
The Order of Jamaica is the fifth of the six orders in the Jamaican honours system. The Order was established in 1969, and it is considered the equivalent of a knighthood in the British honours system.
Membership in the Order can be conferred upon ...
(OJ) for "outstanding service in the field of Law".[
]
See also
* List of speakers of the House of Representatives of Jamaica
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, Headly
Speakers of the House of Representatives of Jamaica
Members of the Order of Jamaica
People's National Party (Jamaica) politicians
Cornwall College, Jamaica alumni
1929 births
2018 deaths