Omar Davies (born 28 May 1947) is a Jamaican former politician and academic. A member 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), Davies was

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1993 to 2007.

Early life

Davis was born in Four Paths, Clarendon, Jamaica on 28 May 1947. He attended Glenmuir High School, the University of the West Indies in Mona, St. Andrews. In 1973, he graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, United States with a Doctorate in Economics.

Career

Prior to joining politics, Davies was an academic. From 1973 to 1975, he was an assistant professor at

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

. From 1981 to 1989, he was Senior Lecturer at the economics department of the University of the West Indies as well as Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Social and Economic Research. From 1989 to 1993, Davies was the director-general of the Planning Institute of Jamaica, while also working at the Ministry of Finance and Planning as Special Adviser to the minister. He represented Jamaica as a negotiator at the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

, the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and grants to the governments of low- and middle-income countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects. The World Bank is the collective name for the Interna ...

, and the

Inter-American Development Bank The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB or IADB) is an international financial institution headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States of America, and serving as the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribb ...

. Davies was elected to parliament representing South St. Andrew. From April 1993 to August 1993, he worked at the Office of the Prime Minister with an interest in Planning, Development and Project Implementation. From August 1993 to November 1993, he was Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of Finance. In December 1993, Davies became Minister of Finance and Planning, a position he held till 2007. He was appointed Minister of Transport in January 2012. Davies retired from politics on 29 June 2017.

Public opinion

Wesly Morris, writing for ''

The Gleaner ''The Gleaner'' is an English-language, morning daily newspaper founded by two brothers, Jacob and Joshua de Cordova on 13 September 1834 in Kingston, Jamaica. Originally called the ''Daily Gleaner'', the name was changed on 7 December 1992 to ' ...

'', was critical of Davies' tenure as finance minister, blaming him for the "breakdown in the Jamaican economy in the 1990s". Garfield Higgins of the ''

Jamaica Observer ''Jamaica Observer'' is a daily newspaper published in Kingston, Jamaica. The publication is owned by Butch Stewart, who chartered the paper in January 1993 as a competitor to Jamaica's oldest daily paper, ''The Gleaner''. Its founding editor i ...

'' called Davies "the worst financial minister since political independence", adding that his retirement "will mark the end of an era which thousands of Jamaicans will unhappily remember for many years to come."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davies, Omar 1947 births Living people Finance ministers of Jamaica Government ministers of Jamaica Members of the House of Representatives of Jamaica People's National Party (Jamaica) politicians Academic staff of the University of the West Indies Members of the 13th Parliament of Jamaica