Mark Anthony Phillips (born 5 October 1961) is a Guyanese politician and retired

military officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent context ...

who is the

prime minister of Guyana The prime minister of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana is an elected member of the National Assembly of Guyana who is the principal assistant and advisor to the president as well as the leader of government business in the Assembly, but is n ...

and first vice president under

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Irfaan Ali Mohamed Irfaan Ali (born 25 April 1980) is a Guyanese politician who has served as the tenth and current president of Guyana since 2020. He is the first Muslim to hold the office, along with being the second Muslim head of state in the Americas ...

since August 2020. He served as the chief of staff of the

Guyana Defence Force The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. History The GDF was formed on 1 Nove ...

from 2013 to 2016. He graduated from the

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS or RMA Sandhurst), commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of ...

in September 1981. Phillips has a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Public Management from the

University of Guyana The University of Guyana, in Georgetown, Guyana, is Guyana's national higher education institution. It was established in April 1963 with the following Mission: "To discover, generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge of the highest standard for ...

, and a Masters of Science in Public Sector Management from La Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra. He also studied at the

Inter-American Defense College The Inter-American Defense College (IADC) is the educational entity of the Inter-American Defense Board, an independent entity of the Organization of American States. The College states that faculty, staff and student body are international, and ...

Washington D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...

, and the

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

(CGSC) in

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Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

Early life and education

Childhood

Mark Phillips was born on 5 October 1961, in

Georgetown, Guyana Georgetown is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Guyana. It is situated in Demerara-Mahaica, region 4, on the Atlantic Ocean coast, at the mouth of the Demerara River. It is nicknamed the "Garden City of the Caribbean." It is t ...

at the Georgetown Public Hospital Cooperation (GPHC) to parents Medford Phillips and Cynthia Alexander. At age 5, his parents moved to Christianburg, Linden where his father was a mason who worked in the

bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

industry, at the time DEMBA. His mother died when he was age 7 and along with one of his brothers, he was raised solely by his father.

Education

Phillips attended Christianburg Primary School, then Christianburg/Wismar Secondary School also known as the Multilateral school where he successfully completed the General Certificate Examination (GCE) and the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC). He was first employed as an acting teacher at the Linden Foundation School then as a Laboratory Analyst with the

Bauxite Bauxite is a sedimentary rock with a relatively high aluminium content. It is the world's main source of aluminium and gallium. Bauxite consists mostly of the aluminium minerals gibbsite (Al(OH)3), boehmite (γ-AlO(OH)) and diaspore (α-AlO(O ...

and Alumina Labs of GUYMINE in 1980.

Military career

In December 1980, he joined the

as an

Officer cadet Officer Cadet is a rank held by military cadets during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by members of University Royal Naval Units, University Officer Training Corps and University Air ...

and travelled to the United Kingdom for military training on the Standard Military Officers’ Course Number 26, at the prestigious

. Trained in Brazil, he served as a

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Officer, and he is an accomplished

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and

Jumpmaster Jumpmasters are the expert paratroopers in an airborne unit who train and teach the military techniques for jumping from airplanes. They are responsible for training soldiers who enter Army Airborne School into paratroopers and managing airborne ju ...

. Thereafter, he held appointments at the tactical and operational levels of the

and retired as a

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. In ...

and chief of staff in October 2016, having served for over 36 years. He is a recipient of the Military Service Star (MSS) the highest national military award in Guyana. During his time in the Guyana Defence Force, Brigadier Phillips earned a Master of Science degree in Public Management from the La Pontificia Universidad Católica Madre y Maestra in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...

and by extension is proficient in Spanish. He has two postgraduate diplomas, one in Advanced Defense and Security Studies from the

, and another in Defense Studies, from the

(CGSC) in

. He also earned a Bachelor of Social Sciences in Public Management from the

and many other qualifications and certificates.

Chief of Defense Staff (2013–2016)

Brigadier Phillips has commanded at every level of the

. Before being appointed Inspector General in 2011, he served as Colonel Administration and Quartering, and Colonel General Staff. Phillips has also been Guyana's head of delegation to the Inter-American Defence Board from 2008 to 2009, and was Guyana's non-resident military attaché to

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. He was promoted to the rank of brigadier in 2013 by President

Donald Ramotar Donald Rabindranauth Ramotar (born 22 October 1950) is a Guyanese politician who was President of Guyana from 2011 to 2015. He was also the General Secretary of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) from 1997 to 2013. Political career Ramotar jo ...

, before he took command of the defence force. He was appointed as the chief of the staff of the Guyana Defence Force in September 2013 and served in that position until his retirement in October 2016. Immediately following his retirement in October 2016, Brigadier Phillips was inducted into the International Hall of Fame of the CGSC,

, USA. This honour is bestowed to graduates who have achieved the highest military office in their respective country.

Political career

Brigadier Mark Phillips was chosen as the running mate of People' Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Presidential Candidate Dr. Irfaan Ali in the 2020 Elections. After five months of a political stalemate, the

People's Progressive Party/Civic The People's Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) is a democratic socialist, left-wing populist political party in Guyana. As of 2020, the party holds 33 of the 65 seats in the National Assembly and forms the government. It has been the ruling party ...

was declared the winners of the 2020 general and regional elections in Guyana. On 2 August 2020, Dr. Irfaan Ali was sworn in as the 9th president of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Dr. Ali in his first official act as president appointed Brigadier Mark Phillips as the 9th

on the same day. As prime minister, the Hon. Brigadier Mark Anthony Phillips is the constitutional successor for the

president of Guyana The president of Guyana is the head of state and the head of government of Guyana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic, according to the Constitution of Guyana. The president is also the chancellor of the Ord ...

in case of a vacancy. Brigadier Phillips also serves as the first vice president.

Premiership (2020–present)

Following his appointment as

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

, the Brigadier Mark Phillips was assigned the responsibility for the energy sector, Civil Defence Commission (CDC), and the information sector. Brigadier Phillips also sits on the Defence Board of

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

Personal life

Brigadier Mark Phillips is the father of four adult children and is married to Mignon Bowen-Phillips.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Mark Living people Afro-Guyanese people People's Progressive Party (Guyana) politicians Vice presidents of Guyana Prime Ministers of Guyana Guyanese military personnel Graduates of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst University of Guyana alumni 1961 births People from Georgetown, Guyana People from Linden, Guyana