Nicholas Anthony Ignatius Pollard Sr. (March 22, 1924 - January 21, 2003) was 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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

and

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ...

leader. He was born in 1924 in Bacalar, Quintana Roo,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

to Belizean parents, Stella Alberta Gill and Juanito Castro Pollard. He was a founding member 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 ...

(PUP) in 1950. The same year, he was elected president of the General Workers Union. He made major contributions to the development of the trade union movement in Belize. On September 29, 1956, Pollard and nationalist leader

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 ...

co-founded the '' Belize Times,'' now one of the largest newspapers in Belize. In 1958, Pollard broke away from the PUP and formed the Christian Democratic Party of Belize (CDP). The CDP contested the 1961 elections, but the PUP won all 18 seats. He served as Executive Secretary of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

-speaking Caribbean region of the Confederación Latino Americana de Sindicatos Cristianos (CLASC; also known in English as the Latin American Confederation of Christian Unionists) from 1961 to 1969. With the support of CLASC he founded the National Federation of Christian Trade Unions in Belize in 1962. In the 1970s, Pollard left public life and worked in the private sector. He became an educator in the 1980s and 1990s. He died in January 2003. He was married to Elizabeth Hoffman-Pollard, and the couple had twelve children. The first child was Nicholas Pollard, Jr. who became heavily involved in several national sports organizations.

References

*Francis, Michael J. "Revolutionary Labor in Latin America: The CLASC." ''Journal of Inter-American Studies.'' 10:4 (October 1968). *Grant, Cedric H. ''The Making of Modern Belize: Politics, Society, and British Colonialism in Central America.'' London: Cambridge University Press, 1976. *Ysaguirre, William. "Trade Unions Honour Labour Leader Antonio Soberanis." ''Belize Reporter.'' July 14, 2006.

External links

Nicholas Pollard Sr. dedication site
1924 births 2003 deaths Politicians from Quintana Roo People's United Party politicians Christian Democratic Party (Belize) politicians {{Belize-politician-stub