John Antonio Briceño (born 17 July 1960) is a
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
an politician who is the 5th and current
Prime Minister of Belize
The following article contains a list of Prime Ministers of Belize and Deputy Prime Ministers, from the establishment of the position of First Minister of British Honduras in 1961 to the present day.
Office of the Prime Minister of Belize
The ...
since 12 November 2020, and the leader of the
People's United Party
The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...
(PUP) since 2016. He was
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
from 2008 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2020. From 1998 to 2007, he served as
Deputy Prime Minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to that of a vice president, ...
under Prime Minister
Said Musa
Said Wilbert Musa (, born 19 March 1944) is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the Prime Minister of Belize from 28 August 1998 to 8 February 2008.
Early life and education
Said Wilbert Musa was born in 1944 in San Ignacio in the Cayo ...
.
Early life and education
Briceño was born in
Orange Walk Town
Orange Walk Town is the fourth largest town in Belize, with a population of about 13,400 (Official Release of the Main Findings of the 2010 Population and Housing Census). It is the capital of the Orange Walk District. Orange Walk Town is locate ...
,
Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
, on 17 July 1960.
His father
Elijio Briceño was a government minister in the 1980s, but in 1985 was convicted of conspiring to smuggle marijuana and cocaine into the United States, with the indictment naming a brother and a nephew as co-conspirators; in September 1985, his father was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Briceño graduated from
Muffles College in 1978.
He earned an
associate degree
An associate degree is an undergraduate degree awarded after a course of post-secondary study lasting two to three years. It is a level of qualification above a high school diploma, GED, or matriculation, and below a bachelor's degree.
The fi ...
in business administration from
St. John's College in 1980, and a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in business administration from the
University of Texas at Austin
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
in 1985.
In 1990, Briceño and his brother Jaime founded Centaur Communications, a
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broa ...
provider which later branched out into
Internet service
An Internet service provider (ISP) is an organization that provides services for accessing, using, or participating in the Internet. ISPs can be organized in various forms, such as commercial, community-owned, non-profit, or otherwise private ...
, television news, and radio.
Career
Briceño was first elected to the
Belize House of Representatives
The House of Representatives of Belize is one of two chambers of the National Assembly, the other being the Senate. It was created under the 1981 constitution. Members are commonly called "Area Representatives."
Area Representatives are elect ...
from the Orange Walk Central
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, ...
in 1993;
[Hon. Juan Antonio (Johnny) Briceno](_blank)
. National Assembly (Belize)
The National Assembly is the bicameral legislature of the nation of Belize. It is divided into the House of Representatives, with 31 members, elected by universal suffrage, and the Senate, with 13 members, appointed by the Governor-General in co ...
. (accessed 23 September 2014) in 1994 he successfully ran in the town council elections of
Orange Walk Town
Orange Walk Town is the fourth largest town in Belize, with a population of about 13,400 (Official Release of the Main Findings of the 2010 Population and Housing Census). It is the capital of the Orange Walk District. Orange Walk Town is locate ...
.
In 1994, Briceño was elected Co-Chairman of the People's United Party;
in 1996, he was elected Deputy Party Leader. When the PUP won the
1998 elections, Briceño was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Natural Resources and the Environment.
In August 2004 he led a group of ministers, known as the G-7 alliance, who made a number of reform demands, including the dismissal of
Ralph Fonseca
Ralph Henry Fonseca (born 9 August 1949) is a Belizean politician and a member of the People's United Party.
Political history
In 1984, he became a candidate for the House of Representatives in Queen's Square, running against attorney and ci ...
from the Cabinet. When Prime Minister
Said Musa
Said Wilbert Musa (, born 19 March 1944) is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the Prime Minister of Belize from 28 August 1998 to 8 February 2008.
Early life and education
Said Wilbert Musa was born in 1944 in San Ignacio in the Cayo ...
failed to meet these demands, the group resigned; however, Musa subsequently agreed to all of the demands except for the dismissal of Fonseca and the G-7 ministers remained in the Cabinet.
Briceño also gained an additional portfolio, the
Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance.
Lists of current ministries of finance
Named "Ministry"
* Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan)
* Ministry of Finance and Eco ...
.
Briceño was later one of the ministers who opposed Musa's proposal to settle the country's Universal Health Services debt; as a result of this, Musa attempted to demote Briceño from his position as Deputy Prime Minister, but Briceño refused to accept the lesser posts in the Cabinet that he was offered and instead resigned from the Cabinet on 5 June 2007.
["Vildo is Deputy P.M. – Florencio replaces Johnny!"](_blank)
, Amandala Online, June 5, 2007.
At a national convention of the PUP in July 2007, Briceño was re-elected as one of the party's deputy leaders. In the
February 2008 general election, in which the PUP was defeated, Briceño was re-elected in his constituency of
Orange Walk Central
Orange Walk Central is an electoral Constituencies of Belize, constituency in the Orange Walk District represented in the House of Representatives (Belize), House of Representatives of the National Assembly (Belize), National Assembly of Belize.
...
; he was one of only six successful PUP candidates.
On 30 March 2008, Briceño was elected as the leader of the PUP at a party convention in
Belmopan
Belmopan () is the capital city of Belize. Its population in 2010 was 16,451. In addition to being the smallest capital city in the continental Americas by population, Belmopan is the third-largest settlement in Belize, behind Belize City and S ...
, succeeding Musa. He defeated
Francis Fonseca
Francis William Fonseca (born 11 March 1967) is a Belizean politician who served as leader of the People's United Party (PUP) and as Leader of the Opposition of Belize from 2011 to 2016. , who was considered to be the candidate preferred by the party establishment, receiving 330 votes against 310 for Fonseca.
Citing unspecified health issues, Briceño abruptly resigned as both PUP and opposition leader in October 2011 without leading the party in a general election. He retained his seat in the National Assembly.
["Johnny Briceño steps down as Leader of the PUP"](_blank)
, ''The San Pedro Sun
''The San Pedro Sun'' is a newspaper published continuously since 1991 and serves the community of San Pedro Town located on Ambergris Caye in Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern c ...
'', October 7, 2011. (accessed 23 September 2014) He was succeeded in both leadership positions by Fonseca.
2015 recording incident
In March 2015, shortly after the PUP's decisive defeat in
municipal elections
In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
, a recording was made public of Briceño sharply criticizing the 1998–2008 Musa government. In the recording, Briceño accused Musa and Ralph Fonseca of stealing "millions, tens of millions of dollars," and stated, "... had this been another country they would have been in jail right now." Briceño also claimed he went deeply into debt personally as PUP leader on the party's behalf, and blamed Francis Fonseca for losing the
2012 general election and
local elections
In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...
. Briceño claimed the recording was made without his consent and refused to comment on it. Francis Fonseca characterized the incident as an "internal party matter."
[Ali, Marion]
"CONfirmation!"
, '' The Reporter'', 13 March 2015. (accessed 31 March 2015)
Prime Minister of Belize (2020–present)
On 11 November 2020, the
People's United Party
The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...
, led by Briceño, won government in the
2020 general election, defeating the
United Democratic Party, led by
Patrick Faber. He took office as Prime Minister of Belize on 12 November 2020. He is the first Prime Minister who is not from Belize City.
In July 2021, Briceño's government passed legislation establishing a fixed seven-year term for the
Governor-General of Belize
The governor-general of Belize is the vice-regal representative of the Belizean monarch, currently King Charles III, in Belize. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister of Belize. The function ...
. During the debate on the bill, he stated that Belize should begin to consider the replacement of the
monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, is head of state for life or until abdication. The political legitimacy and authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutional monarchy) ...
with a republic.
Personal life
Briceño and his wife Rossana (a 1986 graduate of
Muffles College)
have three sons.
On 24 November 2020, two weeks after starting his term as Prime Minister, he declared he was diagnosed with
COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
and was doing well. On 1 February 2022, it was announced that Briceño tested positive for COVID-19 again.
Honours
* : The
Order of Propitious Clouds
The Order of Propitious Clouds () is a civilian order of the Republic of China (Taiwan). The center of the medal features a picture of clouds, as a token of auspiciousness. This order was instituted in 1941 and classified into nine ranks. As with ...
with
Grand Cordon
Grand Cross is the highest class in many order (distinction), orders, and manifested in its insignia. Exceptionally, the highest class may be referred to as Grand Cordon or equivalent. In other cases, there may exist a rank even higher than Gr ...
References
External links
belize.gov.bz biography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Briceno, John
1960 births
Living people
People from Orange Walk Town
People's United Party politicians
Prime Ministers of Belize
Deputy Prime Ministers of Belize
Finance ministers of Belize
Government ministers of Belize
Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Orange Walk Central
Recipients of the Order of Propitious Clouds