Unyielding in his efforts for nationalism…Veteran politician and former G/T Mayor, Hamilton Green, is a ‘Special Person’

May 23, 2021 Special Person

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“It is for the young people to raise their voices against any form of governance which doesn’t have the best interest of the people at heart or I fear our country is headed right back to colonialism, a different form of colonialism but colonialism nonetheless.”

By Rehanna Ramsay

Starting his political career in the 1950s, this week’s ‘Special Person’ is no stranger to the public eye. A veteran politician, former Prime Minister (PM) and ex-Mayor of Georgetown (G/T), Hamilton Green has certainly made his name in the nation’s history.
His first and only job outside of politics was as at the Transport and Harbours Department as a clerk.
And though it’s been over five years since he stepped back from political life, Green is still very much interested in bettering the lives of his fellow Guyanese. To this day, the former Mayor maintains a work schedule and uses his time to conduct lectures and entertain students and visitors, pouring into them his wealth of knowledge about “the Guyana he helped shape.”
He told Kaieteur News during a recent interview that he does not believe in retirement.
“When people say I have retired, I correct them because that’s just not a word that I use to describe myself,” said the experienced politician who regularly indulges in conversations and literature on history and philosophy areas of studies which are among his first love.
In fact, Green is never one to shy away from a discourse or public lectures on such matters. He says that, “this is what helps to keep my mind sharp.”
In addition to his love for history and philosophy, the former Mayor is also an art and sport enthusiast.
He recalled vividly the day he copped all the championship prizes at a sporting event of his alma mater, Queen’s College. “I don’t think anyone else has ever achieved that feat since,” he added with pride.
And of course, this article would not be complete, if no mention was made of the former PM’s impressive art collection—something that has caught the attention of many visitors, including world renowned boxer, Mohamed Ali, who had the privilege of examining the long list of artifacts when he paid a courtesy call to Green’s Lodge Housing Scheme, Georgetown residence “many moons ago”.

Green explained that most of the pieces were collected during his tenure in public life. But art is not the only relic that Green collected during his over 65 years in office. His collection of the memories of Guyana’s pre-independence era and prehistoric Georgetown which he has extensively captured in books, which he authored in autobiographical style, are perhaps the most priceless of all. In one of such books, Georgetown— an Anthology Of Georgetown, Guyana and piece of the World, Green penned a sweet note dedicating the writings to his wife of over three decades, Dr. Jennifer Basdeo Green, whom he said has sacrificed years of her life in pursuit of his happiness. Green, who said he has 11 children, shares a daughter with his wife.
During the interview, Green spoke candidly of his love for family and his homeland as well as his desire for the younger generations to understand the struggle for independence and why it is important for them to ensure the country remains liberated from foreign rule.
He stressed on Guyana’s (formerly British Guiana) struggle for independence, and what he called “the dark days,” of the 1960.
That struggle later resulted in the nation being freed from British rule and the formation of the first executive leadership of President Linden Forbes Sampson (LFS) Burnham of the People’s National Congress (PNC), under which he held an extensive ministerial portfolio spanning over two decades.
Among his credits, the former politician is responsible for spearheading infrastructural projects to pave and name several city roads and avenues, in addition to helping to name Region 10, the famous mining town, Linden.
His most recent and memorable role, Mayor of the City of Georgetown, is perhaps the one that resonates most with Guyanese of this generation. Green is the longest serving Mayor of Georgetown by virtue of holding the position for 23 years.
IMPACTED BY CURRENT AFFAIRS
But before he could have been inducted in the nation’s ‘political hall of the fame’, Green recalled that he was just a youth who was impacted by “the current affairs in my country.”
Born on November 9, 1934, he was the only son of Wilfred Amelius Green and Edith Ophelia Dorothy Green. He was a ‘city boy’, who grew up in the south ward of Georgetown where his father owned a Drug Store situated at Barr and James Streets, Albouystown.

He recalled that his father was prominent in the Albouystown/Charlestown area for more than just owning the drugstore.
“People looked up to my father because he was an honest man and so they gave him money for safe keeping during the great depression which stemmed from the World War Two era. Given his concern for the poor, my father later formed a penny bank and kept a ledger of records for thousands of people of different ethnic backgrounds who saved with him.
He called it ‘The People’s Penny Bank’ and to this day, people would meet me on the streets and tell stories of my father which were told to them. That’s how his legacy affected generations,” Green added, as he reminisced on the olden days.
He said that his mother on the other hand, though she was a businesswoman herself by virtue of owning a hair salon, was somewhat of a social and political activist. Mrs. Green had spent some time in the United States in the Deep South and those experiences, her son recalled, helped shape her political work and later helped propel him to follow a similar path.
To this end, Green noted, “my parents’ lifestyle and work is what helped to inspire my life in public office.”
He said, however, that was not what they had planned for him, having been educated at St. Stanislaus and Queen’s College. “My parents had planned to send me to the United States to study medicine with the hopes that I would become a doctor but I kept putting off going away and instead pursued the politics that was happening at the time, so I eventually never went. I think that my parents were a bit disappointed but they understood why,” stated Green.
He admitted to being a patriot at heart.
EARLY POLITICS
In his early 20s, Green was an active trade unionist until he entered full time politics in 1961.
Green nonetheless told Kaieteur News that the years 1953 to 1964 were the critical period in the independence process. He explained that the period saw the disappearance of the colonial era and the colonial concept of politics.

At that juncture, Green was among the new breed of political personalities who appeared on the scene – mostly well-educated young men and women, many of them professionally trained, who were determined to discard the colonial masters, brought an end to our colonial status and move the country into independence. These new leaders included Cheddi Jagan, Forbes Burnham, Ashton Chase, Sydney King, Martin Carter, J.P. Lachhmansingh, Jainarine Singh, men of whom Green has utmost respect and admiration.
It was during that same period that Green became the General Secretary of the PNC; he retained that post until 1974. Later, while in Government, Green held the posts of Minister of Works and Hydraulics, Minister of Public Affairs, Minister of Co-operatives and National Mobilisation, Minister of Health, Housing and Labour, Vice President of Public Welfare, Vice President of Agriculture, Vice President of Production, Vice President of Social Infrastructure, Vice President of Social Infrastructure and first Deputy Prime Minister and later Prime Minister under President Hugh Desmond Hoyte.
At that time, he recalled, he was tasked with leading the charge to rename a number of well known streets in the city including Carifesta Avenue and Homestretch Avenue. Even as he underscored that “no easy work has gone into building the nation,” he noted that his political career was not without its fair share of turmoil.
While Green served as Prime Minister of Guyana from August 6, 1985 to October 9, 1992, he was expelled from the party by what he referred to as “a Kangaroo Congress.” He recalled that he and the then leader, Hoyte, were at loggerheads over some changes, which he, Hoyte, was adamant on making. “I was unyielding in moving away from the principles of the party’s founder leader, LFS Burnham,” Green said, noting that following his expulsion, he moved to vie for the post of city Mayor.
UNYEILDING

Forming his own party, which he called a Good and Green Guyana (GGG), he secured the post of Mayor of Georgetown – a post that he held for just over two decades despite what he described as calculated attempts to suffocate his efforts.
He recalled that the Mayor and City Council (M&CC) was stifled by government under his tenure. He spoke of several initiatives the Council undertook, which were geared towards broadening its revenue base and benefiting the city populace but were subsequently shut down by the government. Yet, he said, he resisted the government and held the reins as Mayor for as long as possible.
To this end, he said that, “politics is not for the weak at heart.” At this point of his life, Green is still hoping that a new generation of ‘freedom fighters’ will rise up.
He told Kaieteur News that he will continue to offer whatever knowledge and expertise he has but added, “it is for the young people to raise their voices against any form of governance, which doesn’t have the best interest of the people at heart or I fear our country is headed right back to colonialism, a different form of colonialism but colonialism nonetheless.”
“I believe this generation has that responsibility to speak out about the systems that are being designed to oppress them and the future of this country,” Green added.
In the meantime, Green said that as long as he is mentally alert and his faculties are intact, “I am not in the business of retirement. It is not on my agenda, I will continue to be of service.”

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