Sir Howard Felix Hanlan Cooke (13 November 1915 – 11 July 2014) served as the fourth

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 ...

from 1 August 1991 to 15 February 2006.

Early life

Cooke was born on 13 November 1915, in Goodwill, St. James, Jamaica, the son of David Brown Cooke and Mary Jane Minto. In his youth, Cooke was the group scoutmaster and secretary of the St. Andrew Boys' Scout Association and captain of the County of Cornwall cricket team. He attended Mico University College in Kingston and

London University The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree- ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Cooke was a teacher for 23 years, serving as president of the Jamaica Union of Teachers and headmaster of Belle Castle All-Age School, Port Antonio Upper School, and Montego Bay Boys' School. He was also active in the insurance industry for some three decades, working at Standard Life Insurance Company, Jamaica Mutual Life Insurance Company, and ALICO.

Career

One of the founding members 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 ...

(PNP), Cooke joined politics in 1938. He became a member of the parliament of the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

in 1958, and then the independent Jamaican parliament as a Senator and a Member of the House of Representatives after 1962. He was a minister in the government of

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 ...

during the 1970s and President of the Senate of Jamaica from 1989 to 1991. On 1 August 1991, he became the fourth

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

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 ...

, succeeding

Florizel Glasspole Sir Florizel Augustus Glasspole (25 September 1909 – 25 November 2000), was the third and longest-serving governor-general of Jamaica, in office from 1973 to 1991. Early life and education Florizel Glasspole was born in Kingston, Jamaica ...

. Queen Elizabeth visited Jamaica in 1994 and 2002 while Cooke was Governor-General. He retired on 15 February 2006, and became the first Governor-General to invest his successor, Kenneth Octavius Hall. Afterwards, Cooke was appointed Chancellor of the International University of the Caribbean in Kingston.

Personal life and death

Cooke had a positive view of British colonialism and slavery. In 2006, he remarked, "Even during slavery the British were sending some very good people out to Jamaica ... missionaries, reformers ... Jamaica's greatness was entirely due to slavery." He was also critical of

Margaret Thatcher Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher (; 13 October 19258 April 2013) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party from 1975 to 1990. S ...

, stating that "after Thatcher we became more and more materialist ... But there's more to life than cars and dollars." On 22 July 1939, Cooke married schoolteacher Ivy Sylvia Lucille (

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 ...

Tai). The couple had two sons, retired Court of Appeal Justice Howard Fitz-Arthur Cooke and hotelier Richard Washington McDermott Cooke, and one daughter, counsellor Audrey Faith. Howard Cooke died at the age of 98 on 11 July 2014 in Kingston, Jamaica, only 11 days before he and Lady Cooke's 75th wedding anniversary. Lady Cooke died on 4 June 2017 aged 100.

Awards and honours

In 1980, Cooke received the Special Plaque for Distinguished Service from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. In 1991, Cooke was awarded both 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 ...

and the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished

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, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(GCMG). In 1994, he was awarded the 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, o ...

(GCVO). Several places in Jamaica are named after Howard Cooke, including the Howard Cooke Boulevard, Howard Cooke Primary School, and the Howard Cooke Campus at the International University of the Caribbean.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooke, Howard 1915 births 2014 deaths Alumni of the University of London Governors-General of Jamaica Jamaican knights Jamaican Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Jamaican Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order Recipients of the Order of the Nation Jamaican monarchists Members of the Senate of Jamaica Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica Government ministers of Jamaica People from Saint James Parish, Jamaica Education Ministers of Jamaica Alumni of Mico University College Members of the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation