Said Wilbert Musa (, born 19 March 1944) 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 lawyer and politician. He was the

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 ...

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 District of what was then

British Honduras British Honduras was a British Crown colony on the east coast of Central America, south of Mexico, from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony, renamed Belize in June 1973,

. He was the fourth of eight children by Aurora Musa, née Gibbs, and Hamid Musa, a

Palestinian Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...

immigrant from

El Bireh Al-Bireh, El Bire, Biré, El Bireh (Arabic: البيرة) or Birra (time of Crusades) is a town in the Rashaya District, south-eastern portion of the Bekaa Governorate of the Republic of Lebanon. Al-Bireh is part of the Rashaya municipal distri ...

. Hamid Musa was also involved in politics, running for the British Honduras Legislative Assembly as a National Party candidate in the 1957 general elections.General Elections 1957
Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (Retrieved 19 November 2014) As a boy, Musa attended Saint Andrew's Primary School in San Ignacio. He then attended high school at St Michael's College in Belize City and later St John's College Sixth Form. While living in Belize City, Said Musa aided his parents by selling

tamales A tamale, in Spanish tamal, is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa, a dough made from nixtamalized corn, which is steamed in a corn husk or banana leaf. The wrapping can either be discarded prior to eating or used as a plate. Tamale ...

and other Belizean delicacies. After completing secondary school he then studied law at the

University of Manchester , mottoeng = Knowledge, Wisdom, Humanity , established = 2004 – University of Manchester Predecessor institutions: 1956 – UMIST (as university college; university 1994) 1904 – Victoria University of Manchester 1880 – Victoria Univ ...

in England, receiving an Honours Degree in Law in 1966, and then qualified as a barrister at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. He returned to Belize the following year, serving as crown counsel and then going into private practice. Said Musa has significantly contributed to law in Belize by representing thousands of underprivileged and poor individuals who come into contact with the law.

Political career

Musa first came to notoriety in the late 1960s when he co-founded the Ad Hoc Committee for the Truth About Vietnam with

Assad Shoman Assad Shoman (born 13 February 1943) is a Belizean diplomat, lawyer, historian, and former government minister. He currently serves as a leader of the Belizean delegation to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for the purpose of resolving ...

to protest the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vietnam a ...

in British Honduras. On 1 January 1969 the group protested a showing of the American film '' The Green Berets'' in Belize City, which it characterized as pro-war propaganda. Hyde, Evan X
"From The Publisher"
''

Amandala ''Amandala'' is a Belizean tabloid newspaper. Published twice weekly, it is Belize's largest newspaper. ''Amandala'' was established in 1969 as the print organ of the now-defunct United Black Association for Development (UBAD), but has been polit ...

'', 24 October 2008. (Retrieved 10 May 2015) Musa joined 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) under

George Cadle Price George Cadle Price, (15 January 191919 September 2011), was a Belizean statesman who served twice as the head of government of Belize from 1961–1984 and 1989–1993. He served as First Minister and Premier under British rule until inde ...

in 1970. He soon became a leader of the party's

socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

wing in 1974. He ran for 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 ...

for the first time in 1974 in the eastern

Belize City Belize City is the largest city in Belize and was once the capital of the former British Honduras. According to the 2010 census, Belize City has a population of 57,169 people in 16,162 households. It is at the mouth of the Haulover Creek, w ...

-based Fort George constituency, but was narrowly defeated by United Democratic Party and Opposition Leader

Dean Lindo Dean Russel Lindo (4 September 1932 – 17 September 2018) was a Belizean attorney and politician. He was one of the principal founders of the United Democratic Party in 1973 and served as its first leader from 1974 to 1979.Belize Senate for the ensuing term, until 1979.Hyde, Evan X
"From The Publisher"
''

'', 4 March 2014. (Retrieved 10 May 2015) Musa was successful in the next general election, held in 1979, winning the Fort George seat and defeating Lindo by a margin of 71 votes.Adele Ramos
"Musa and Ralph step down – PUP D-day March 30!"
Amandala Online, 15 February 2008. Musa served as Attorney General and Minister for Economic Development in the 1979–1984 Price-led government. Musa also served on the committee that wrote the 1981

Constitution of Belize The Constitution of Belize is the supreme law of the nation of Belize. It was signed on September 1981 with effect from that date. Structure The Constitution of Belize, Chapter 4 of the Laws of Belize, is divided into a preamble, 13 parts and f ...

. Musa defended Belize's large national debt, mostly incurred in the 1980s, by saying

Keynesian economics Keynesian economics ( ; sometimes Keynesianism, named after British economist John Maynard Keynes) are the various macroeconomic theories and models of how aggregate demand (total spending in the economy) strongly influences economic output a ...

was being used: "The economy was in a deep recession, the country was broke (due to hurricanes) therefore it had to get the private sector moving again. The country started a major expansionary program ... to pay for the program we took on a lot of debt." In the 1984 election, Musa was defeated for re-election by Lindo, losing by a margin of 57 votes this time. He regained the Fort George seat in the

1989 election The following elections occurred in the year 1989. Africa * 1989 Beninese parliamentary election * 1989 Botswana general election * 1989 Equatorial Guinean presidential election * 1989 People's Republic of the Congo parliamentary election * 19 ...

, defeating Lindo again by 449 votes. He has won the Fort George constituency in every election since. Under Price, Musa was

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between co ...

and Education from 1989 to 1993. As of July 2016 Musa has contested 10 consecutive general elections in Fort George and has continuously served as his party's

standard bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a ...

in the same constituency for over 40 years, longer than anyone else in Belizean history. (Price was a standard bearer for 49 years, but in three different constituencies). He also trails only Price and

Philip Goldson Philip Stanley Wilberforce Goldson (25 July 1923 – 3 October 2001) was a Belizean newspaper editor, activist and politician. He served in the House of Representatives of Belize as member for the Albert constituency from 1965 to 1998 and twice a ...

in total time served in the Belize House. Musa is the only current Area Representative to serve in the Belize House before the country's full independence from

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...

in September 1981.

Leader of the People's United Party and Prime Minister of Belize

Musa was elected and took over leadership of the PUP upon Price's retirement from party leadership in 1996, defeating Price's longtime lieutenant

Florencio Marin Florencio Marin is a retired Belizean politician. A veteran member of the People's United Party, Marin served as Deputy Prime Minister under George Cadle Price as well as Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Biography Marin entered politics in 19 ...

in the leadership election in 1996.Rt. Hon. George Cadle Price – a legend
Krem Radio, 24 September 2011. (Retrieved 9 October 2014) Musa then led the PUP to landslide

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

victories in

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

and 2003. Musa led Belize to significant growth over his near-decade long term in office, but his popularity declined during his last years in office due in part to increasing public perception of corruption among his Cabinet and within his party. He was also accused of abandoning his previous socialist stances in favour of neoliberal policies as prime minister.Hyde, Evan X
"From The Publisher"
''

'', 11 December 2012. (Retrieved 10 May 2015) Outside of Belize Musa chaired several regional organisations, including CARICOM and the

Central American Integration System The Central American Integration System ( es, Sistema de la Integración Centroamericana, or SICA) has been the economic and political organization of Central American states since 1 February 1993. On 13 December 1991, the ODECA countries (Spa ...

(SICA). Musa again led the PUP in the

held on 7 February 2008, but the PUP suffered a severe defeat at the hands of the UDP, led by

Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

winning only six out of 31 seats."Belize's opposition party wins landslide in congressional elections"
Associated Press (''International Herald Tribune''), 9 February 2008. Musa himself was re-elected in the Fort George constituency. UDP leader

succeeded Musa and was sworn in as 4th prime minister of Belize by

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 ...

, Colville Young on 8 February 2008.

Post-leadership

On the day of the 2008 election, Musa stated it would be his last election as PUP leader.Adele Ramos
"Said Musa’s post-mortem of general elections 2008"
Amandala Online, 12 February 2008. After the PUP's defeat, he congratulated Barrow. He considered the opposition's focus on allegations of corruption and negativity from the media to be primary factors in the defeat. On 13 February 2008, Musa announced that he was stepping down as party leader
Caribbean Net News, 14 February 2008. so that the PUP could "renew itself from the top." The PUP held a convention on 30 March 2008 to select his successor, and

Johnny Briceño John Antonio Briceño (born 17 July 1960) is a Belizean politician who is the 5th and current Prime Minister of Belize since 12 November 2020, and the leader of the People's United Party (PUP) since 2016. He was Leader of the Opposition from 20 ...

was elected as PUP leader against

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.

. A leadership election was held in October 2011 again where,

defeated Briceno. Briceño was replaced by

in October 2011. Five months later the Fonseca-led PUP suffered a narrow defeat to the UDP, winning 14 of 31 seats in the

. Musa was comfortably re-elected in his Fort George constituency and remains the senior member and shadow Senior Minister of the PUP caucus and in the Shadow Cabinet which was formed first in 2012 and then again in 2015. The current Shadow Cabinet of

will be dissolved before the Next Belizean general election which is scheduled for 13 February 2020.

2015 and beyond

In 2015 the 71-year-old Musa was the subject of rumours of possible retirement from public life due to health concerns and a perceived negative impact on future PUP electoral prospects nationwide. However, Musa dismissed the rumours and stated his retirement from the Belize House was not imminent. In March 2015 Musa told

Tropical Vision Limited Tropical Vision Limited, or as it is locally known, Channel 7, is a Belize City based television station operating since 1981. Its Managing Director is Nestor Vasquez. Programming Channel 7 airs a mix of American and Belizean programmes. 7 N ...

that he would "more than likely" run for an eighth and final term in the 2015 election, which he won."Rt. Hon. Musa Won't Retire Anytime Soon"

, 7 May 2015 (Retrieved 9 May 2015)"Rt. Hon Musa & Hon. Finnegan, Ready For The Road, But Not Ready To Retire"

, 6 March 2015 (Retrieved 9 May 2015) Although eligible to stand in an 11th consecutive general election, Musa stood down at the 2020 Belizean general election. The PUP nominated his son Henry Charles Usher to stand in his place in Fort George Constituency. He won the seat in the election.

Family

Musa is married to Joan Musa.House of former Prime Minister, Said Musa, riddled with bullets
/ref> His son, Yasser Musa, is an artist, teacher, poet and entertainer in Belize and headed its arts council, the National Institute of Culture and History (NICH) under the PUP administration in addition to serving as chief of public relations for the PUP. Another son, Kareem, recently returned to Belize with a law degree and has taken on a number of prominent cases recently. In what was considered an upset,

Kareem Musa Kareem Musa is a Belizean politician. A member of the People's United Party, he has represented the Caribbean Shores constituency in the Belize House since 2015. Also, he is the minister of the Ministry of Home Affairs & New Growth Industries. ...

defeated Belize City mayor and UDP nominee Darrell Bradley for the House seat in the

Caribbean Shores Caribbean Shores is an electoral constituency in the Belize District represented in the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belize since 2015 by Kareem Musa of the People's United Party. Profile The Caribbean Shores constituenc ...

constituency in the November 2015 election, becoming the first Belizean area representative to simultaneously serve with his father.Standard Bearers

. (Retrieved 27 December 2014) Musa and his wife Joan also have three other sons, Mark Musa (a doctor), Said Musa Jr and David Musa. He also has seven children outside his marriage.

References

, - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Musa, Said 1944 births Living people People from Cayo District Belizean people of Palestinian descent People's United Party politicians Prime Ministers of Belize Finance ministers of Belize Foreign ministers of Belize Members of the Belize House of Representatives for Fort George Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom 21st-century heads of government in North America Belizean lawyers