''The Honourable'' Keble Aubrey Munn, O.J. (born February 15, 1920 in New York, USA - died April 14, 2008 in

Kingston, Jamaica Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inter ...

Keble Munn dies...Six months after receiving National Honour
, The Jamaica Gleaner, April 15, 2008.) was a Jamaican politician and agriculturalist.

Biography

Munn received his education at

Wolmer's Schools Wolmer's Schools in Kingston, Jamaica, consist of Wolmer's Pre-School, Wolmer's Preparatory School and two high schools: Wolmer's Trust High School For Girls and Wolmer's Trust High School for Boys. While acknowledged as separate institutions, ea ...

.Keble Munn is dead
", Caribbean Voice, April 15, 2008. After graduation, he traveled to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

, where he enlisted in that country's army in order to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

.Schoenholt, Donald N.
Keble Munn: the Blue Mountain Coffee man died, April 2008, age 88.
, Tea & Coffee Trade Journal, September 2008. During his wartime service, which lasted more than four years, Munn was stationed in

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. After the war, he returned to Jamaica, and in 1956 he began his political career as a Councillor in the

Kingston and St. Andrew Corporation The Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation (KSAC) is a unit of local government in Jamaica. It was formed in 1923 when the parishes of Saint Andrew and Kingston were administratively merged. It is divided into 15 Political Constituencies, which ar ...

. The next year, he received an appointment as Deputy Mayor of Kingston, and in 1959, while with 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 as a

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

representing the East Rural St. Andrew seat. He held that seat until 1967, when he was elected to represent South East St. Andrew, and then held that seat in turn until 1976, when he was elected as the representative for Eastern St. Andrew. This last seat Munn held until his retirement from politics in 1980. Munn also held several cabinet-level positions during his political career. He was Jamaica's Minister of Agriculture and Minister of National Security from 1959–1962, and again from 1972–1980. His second term as Minister of National Security included the country's 1976 State of Emergency. Munn was also notable as an agriculturalist. His family had begun growing coffee in 1885, and during his lifetime he worked diligently to restore the reputation of

Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee or Jamaica Blue Mountain Coffee is a classification of coffee grown in the Blue Mountains of Jamaica. The coffee was introduced to Jamaica in 1728. Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee is an Arabica variety of the coffee ...

. He was the owner and director of the Mavis Bank Central Factory, in Mavis Bank, Jamaica where he helped pioneer the use of

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adult m ...

manure Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the fertility of soil by adding organic matter and nutri ...

as an

organic fertilizer Organic fertilizers are fertilizers that are naturally produced. Fertilizers are materials that can be added to soil or plants, in order to provide nutrients and sustain growth. Typical organic fertilizers include all animal waste including mea ...

for coffee within Jamaica. He became the first to directly export the Blue Mountain bean to the Japanese market in 1953, and in 1973, he helped pass the Coffee Industry Regulation Act, which defined the regions which were exclusively able to use the Blue Mountain mark when selling their coffee. Munn also served as chairman of the Coffee Industry Board and the Agriculture Credit Board, and was a life member of the Jamaica Agricultural Society. In 2007, Munn was honored with 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 ...

, in recognition of his political and agricultural accomplishments. Six months later, he suffered a

stroke A stroke is a medical condition in which poor blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and hemorrhagic, due to bleeding. Both cause parts of the brain to stop functionin ...

, and then died of related complications at the

University Hospital 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 the ...

. Munn had four children: daughter Gwyneth from his marriage to Lillian Bell (deceased) and son Keble Gordon and daughters Leiza and Jodi from his second wife Yvonne Murray.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Munn, Keble 1920 births 2008 deaths Government ministers of Jamaica Members of the Order of Jamaica Businesspeople in coffee People's National Party (Jamaica) politicians American emigrants to Jamaica Jamaican expatriates in Canada