Anthony Keith Edmund "Tony" Hart, OJ, CD, (October 8, 1932 – August 20, 2020) was a Jamaican businessman, philanthropist, and politician.

Early life and education

Hart was born on October 8, 1932 in Kingston, Jamaica, but grew up in Montego Bay. He attended Munro College between 1941 and 1948, and worked briefly at the Casablanca Beach Hotel in Montego Bay, before enrolling at Queen's University in Kingston,

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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 ...

Business career

In 1950, Hart returned to Montego Bay after a fire destroyed his father's business establishment, Samuel Hart and Son. In 1951, He started Jamaica's first record manufacturing company, Records Ltd, in Kingston. The same year, he left Samuel Hart and Son and established Jamaica Electronics in Kingston, but returned to Montego Bay in early 1953. Soon after, he acquired the rights to a subagency for the dealership of

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

, the American automobile manufacturer. Hart called it the Northern Industrial Garage (NIG). NIG sold 300 cars in three months, at a time when cars were relatively few on Jamaican roads. He later also expanded the business to include a franchise for

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. Hart is credited with starting the Montego Freeport deepwater pier, industrial hub, and Free Zone in 1967, and served as its founding Chairman and Managing Director from 1967 to 1980. He was chairman of Jamaica's national airline

Air Jamaica Air Jamaica was the national airline of Jamaica. It was owned and operated by Caribbean Airlines from May 2011 until the cessation of operations in 2015. Caribbean Airlines Limited, headquartered in Piarco, Trinidad and Tobago, had administrati ...

from 1980 to 1988, and is attributed with bringing the only flights by the supersonic

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aircraft to Montego Bay airport in 1987. Hart is credited with establishing more than 50 companies.

Political career

In 1962, Hart served as campaign manager for the successful campaign of

Herbert Eldemire Herbert Wellesley Eldemire, CD (16 October 193020 May 2010), was a Jamaican politician who served as independent Jamaica's first Minister of Health from 1962 to 1972. Early life and education Eldemire was born to father Arthur Wellesley Eldemir ...

in the Saint James North Western constituency. He also served as a Parish Councillor for the St. James Parish Council during the sixties. In the 1972 general election, he unsuccessfully ran for office, representing the Jamaica Labour Party from the

Saint James Central Saint James Central is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Representatives of the Jamaican Parliament. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was first contes ...

constituency. Hart received 4,101 votes, to 6,356 votes for the eventual winner, Francis Tulloch of the

People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) is a social-democratic political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by independence campaigner Osmond Theodore Fairclough. It holds 14 of the 63 seats in the House of Representatives, as 96 of the 227 local go ...

Philanthropy

Hart served as chairman and student mentor for the Montego Bay Branch of the Branson School of Entrepreneurship. With his assistance, the St. Mary's Preparatory School in Montpelier, St. James, increased enrollment from 70 to 430 students.

Honors and awards

Order of Distinction The Order of Distinction is a national order in the Jamaican honours system. It is the sixth in order of precedence of the Orders of Societies of Honour, which were instituted by an Act of Parliament (''The National Honours and Awards Act'') ...

, Commander Class, Jamaica *

LL.D. Legum Doctor (Latin: “teacher of the laws”) (LL.D.) or, in English, Doctor of Laws, is a doctorate-level academic degree in law or an honorary degree, depending on the jurisdiction. The double “L” in the abbreviation refers to the early ...

(Hon.), University of Technology, Jamaica (2009) *

(Hon.), University of the West Indies (2012) * Hall of Fame, Private Sector Organization of Jamaica (2013) * DCom (Hon.), Northern Caribbean University (2014) * Order of Jamaica, Jamaica (2017)

Personal life and death

Hart married Sheila Hart (née Desnoes) on August 26, 1960. The couple have four children: A. Mark Hart, Blaise Hart, Bruce Hart, and Wendy Schrager (née Hart). Hart died on August 20, 2020, at the age of 87.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hart, Tony 1932 births 2020 deaths People from Montego Bay 20th-century Jamaican businesspeople Jamaican politicians Members of the Order of Jamaica Commanders of the Order of Distinction Jamaican people of Jewish descent