Kingston 28 May 2019 – The Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, the Honourable Olivia Grange, has paid tribute to the former Prime Minister, the Most Honourable Edward Seaga, who passed away today.

Minister’s statement follows:

“Some people make such a telling impact on people, communities and countries — and Edward Seaga was one of them.

He was the kindest, most caring, most brilliant man I’ve ever known and I loved him dearly. It has been my greatest pleasure to learn from him and to work with him.

He taught me to dine with kings and walk with beggars and to give respect to receive respect.

Today on his 89th birthday, Jamaica and the world lost a great leader; and I have lost my teacher, my mentor and my friend.

I give credit to Mr Seaga for much that I have achieved in my professional life. He saw great potential in me and invested his time and effort into helping me to rise and to contribute to the country that we both love.

Mr Seaga loved Jamaica and our people. He understood the value of our culture and way of life in a way that few other people do. He dedicated his life to advancing Jamaica in every way; and we have become a cultural powerhouse because of Mr Seaga’s vision and service.

All of us — especially those of us from West Kingston — are heartbroken today — he was ‘closer than a brother.’ But in this moment, we are also proud to have benefitted from, be associated with, and counted as family by Edward Seaga. And to us, he was and will always be family.

Thank you for your service, Mr Eddie. Thank you for loving us and working so hard for each of us every day. Walk good. I will always love you.”