Herbert Augustus Blaize PC (26 February 1918 – 19 December 1989) was a Grenadian politician and leader of the

Grenada National Party The Grenada National Party (GNP) was a conservative and economically liberal political party in Grenada that existed from 1955 to 1984, when it merged into the New National Party. It alternated in power with the Grenada United Labour Party (GULP ...

. When Grenada was still a British Crown Colony he served as the first

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

from 1960 to 1961, and again from 1962 to 1967. He became the first Premier of the autonomous Associated State of Grenada briefly in 1967. In the first elections following the 1983 coups and the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

-led invasion of Grenada, he served as Prime Minister from 1984 until his death in 1989.

Early years

Blaize was born in the island of

Carriacou Carriacou is an island of the Grenadine Islands. It is a dependency of Grenada, and is located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island Grenada and the north coast of South America. The name is derived from the Carib lang ...

, which along with the island of

Petite Martinique Petite Martinique is one of the islands of Carriacou and Petite Martinique, which is a dependency of Grenada. It is 4 km (2½ miles) away from Carriacou. With its and population of 900, it is smaller than Carriacou. Petite Martinique compr ...

is a part of Grenada. He moved to Aruba where he worked many years in the oil refinery of the

Lago Oil and Transport Company Lago Oil & Transport Co. Ltd. had its beginning in 1924 as a shipping company carrying crude oil from Lake Maracaibo to its transshipment facility on the island of Aruba. History With the discovery of a vast amount of crude oil under Lake M ...

Grenada National Party

In 1953 he formed the Grenada National Party as a rival party to the

Grenada United Labour Party The Grenada United Labour Party (GULP) is a political party in Grenada. History The party was founded by Eric Gairy in 1950. It contested the first elections held under universal suffrage in 1951, and won six of the eight seats. Nohlen, D (2005) ...

Eric Gairy Sir Eric Matthew Gairy PC (18 February 192223 August 1997) was the first Prime Minister of Grenada, serving from his country's independence in 1974 until his overthrow in a coup by Maurice Bishop in 1979. Gairy also served as head of governme ...

, who would be Blaize's main political rival for the next 25 years. Blaize entered the legislature in 1957 and became Minister of Trade and Production.

Chief Minister and Premier

He was appointed as Chief Minister in 1960 and held the additional portfolio of finance. He lost power to Gairy in 1961, and was reappointed in 1962 after Gairy was dismissed. In 1967 Grenada became an associated state within the British Empire, gaining more internal self-government. Soon afterwards, Blaize lost power and Gairy began a long tenure as Prime Minister. He was the Leader of the Opposition in the

House of Representatives of Grenada The Parliament of Grenada is composed of the monarch and two chambers: Senate and the House of Representatives. It operates from the New Parliament Building in St. George's. Structure Parliament consists of the King, represented by the Gove ...

from 1974 to 1976.

In Opposition

In 1976 Blaize's center-right National Party joined forces with the left-wing

New Jewel Movement The New Joint Endeavor for Welfare, Education, and Liberation, or New JEWEL Movement (NJM), was a Marxist–Leninist vanguard party in the Caribbean island nation of Grenada that was led by Maurice Bishop. Established in 1973, the NJM issued i ...

led by

Maurice Bishop Maurice Rupert Bishop (29 May 1944 – 19 October 1983) was a Grenadian revolutionary and the leader of New Jewel Movement – a Marxist–Leninist party which sought to prioritise socio-economic development, education, and black liberation � ...

for the elections that year, which Gairy and the GULP won. The alliance between Blaize and Bishop ended by 1979 when Bishop seized power. Blaize retired from politics and moved back to Carriacou, until after the intervention by the United States in 1983.

Prime Minister

During the election campaign of 1984, Blaize merged his parties with several other center-right parties to form the New National Party, which took 14 of 15 seats in the election. He was sworn in on 4 December 1984 and his Cabinet was announced 11 days later. In addition to being Prime Minister, Blaize became Minister of Home Affairs, Security, Information, Finance, Trade, Planning, Industrial Development and

and

Affairs. Blaize's government advocated a strong economic and military alliance for Grenada with the United States, and other overseas investment. Blaize was often criticized for being authoritarian.

Death

He died in December 1989 near St. George's, Grenada, following a several-years-long battle with prostate cancer, aged 71. Two days before his death, Blaize had been elected the first party leader of the newly formed National Party.

Family

Herbert Blaize was survived by his wife, Dame Venetia Blaize, DBE (née Venetia Ursula Davidson); three daughters, Norma Blaize (a former Consul-General of Grenada in New York), Carol Jerome and Marion Fleary; three sons, Samuel Blaize, Marvin Blaize and Christopher Blaize. He was also survived by a sister, Muriel Noel.''Ebony'' magazine article on Blaize family
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References

Sources

* ''LA GRENADE : mort du premier ministre.'', Le Monde. Jeudi 21 décembre 1989, p. 3; accessed October 7, 2006. {{DEFAULTSORT:Blaize, Herbert 1918 births 1989 deaths Deaths from prostate cancer Prime Ministers of Grenada Finance ministers of Grenada Industry ministers of Grenada Information ministers of Grenada Interior ministers of Grenada Members of the House of Representatives of Grenada Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom New National Party (Grenada) politicians Carriacouan politicians Grenada National Party politicians The National Party politicians Deaths from cancer in Grenada 20th-century Grenadian politicians