Leigh Richardson (26 April 1924 – 27 October 2008) was a Honduran-born Belizean politician. Richardson served as the leader of 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 ...

in the 1950s, and also as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

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 ...

Early life

Richardson was born to Belizean parents in Puerto Castilla, Honduras. He moved with his parents to Belize, then known as

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,

, at the age of five. A leader in Belize's independence movement, he was imprisoned in 1951 along with

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 ...

for charges of sedition brought against them by the British colonial authorities. He was co-founder of the ''Belize Billboard'' and held leadership positions in the People's Committee.

Formation of the PUP and aftermath

Richardson was a founding member of the People's United Party and was elected as its second leader. He led the PUP to its first major political victory in 1954. After

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 ...

's successful takeover of the PUP in 1956, along with Goldson and others Richardson broke with the party and formed the

Honduran Independence Party The Honduran Independence Party was a short-lived 1950s political party in Belize. It was essentially a splinter group of the People's United Party (PUP). Background: Central Committee resignations A convention held by the People's United Party ...

, which later merged with the National Party to create the National Independence Party (NIP). Under Richardson's leadership the HIP finished a distant second in the 1957 elections and was completely shut out of the British Honduras Legislative Assembly. Richardson moved to

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

in early 1958, effectively leaving party leadership to Goldson. He later moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. After Richardson's death his family claimed he was exiled from Belize. Later the NIP along with the Liberal Party and the People's Development Movement joined forces in 1973 for opposition politics in Belize (then called British Honduras) and became the United Democratic Party (UDP).

Honors

On 18 September 2008, shortly before his death and despite living abroad for decades, Richardson was formally recognized as a Belizean patriot. He was conferred with the

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'') ...

, the nation's third-highest honor, during that year's independence celebrations. Richardson's sister accepted the honour on his behalf, as he was too ill to attend. Richardson died in October 2008 due to complications from

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

References

1924 births 2008 deaths Mayors of Belize City Recipients of the Order of Distinction (Belize) People's United Party politicians Honduran Independence Party politicians National Independence Party (Belize) politicians Neurological disease deaths in New York (state) Deaths from Parkinson's disease Honduran emigrants Immigrants to Belize Belizean expatriates in the United States People from Colón Department (Honduras) {{Belize-politician-stub