Granger mourns Dr. Roopnaraine

Feb 26, 2026 News

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…hails commitment to culture, social cohesion and political cooperation

(Kaieteur News) – Former President David Granger on Tuesday expressed sadness on the death of Dr. Rupert Rabindranauth Roopnaraine.

Dr. Roopnaraine, who served as Minister of Education and Public Service under the APNU+AFC government, died at the age of 83 on February 23, 2026.

In a statement Granger said, “I am saddened at the death of Dr. Rupert Rabindranauth Roopnaraine …Extolled for his political activism for over five decades, Dr. Roopnaraine’s impressive intellectual talent has long distinguished him as a scholar, thinker and writer, winning the Guyana Scholarship and embarking on studies at the University of Cambridge and an early teaching career at the University of Guyana.”

Former President Granger said that Dr. Roopnaraine was acknowledged as one of the Working People’s Alliance’s (WPA) most influential leaders of the ‘civil rebellion’. Eventually, he was elected as a Member of the National Assembly in 1995 and, again, in 2012 after A Partnership for National Unity was established in June 2011 and in May 2015.

“Dr. Roopnaraine was an energetic, enthusiastic and entertaining speaker for APNU in the campaigns for General and Regional Elections in 2011 and 2015 and as an erudite debater in the National Assembly. Following the formation of the APNU+AFC Coalition administration in 2015, he served first as Minister of Education – overseeing Guyana’s 50^th Independence anniversary celebrations in 2016 and, subsequently, as Minister of the Public Service, the creation of the Bertram Collins College of the Public Service,” he said.

Granger said Dr. Roopnaraine was committed to the Guyana’s culture, social cohesion and political cooperation – values which transcended dumb dogma and blind party loyalty.

Dr. Roopnaraine was born in 1943 in Kitty, Georgetown, Guyana. He won a scholarship to Queen’s College in 1954 where he excelled in cricket, captaining the team and represented Demerara in the Inter- County Cricket Finals. In 1962 he was awarded a Guyana scholarship to attend the University of Cambridge where he studied Modern Languages and was awarded a Cambridge ‘Blue’ for representing the University in English county cricket. In 1970 he was awarded a scholarship to Cornell University, New York, where he obtained an MA and PhD in Comparative Literature. From 1966-1996, he has worked as a university lecturer in the UK, Canada, the USA and at the University of Guyana.

In a statement the WPA said it is joining the rest of Guyana, the Caribbean, and progressives of the wider world in mourning the loss of Roopnaraine. Describing him as a towering figure in Guyana’s post-colonial struggle for bread, justice, and freedom, WPA said Dr. Roopnaraine has carved out a special place in our country’s politics.

“WPA remembers Bro Rupert as a revolutionary, an educator, and an artist who brought together the different strands of his work in a life of struggle for the betterment of his country, society, and region. He was unflinching in his belief that a better world is always possible. Blending Marxist thought with a Caribbean outlook, his was a passionate voice of resistance, commitment, and reason at a time of disquiet and discord.”

According to the WPA, Dr. Roopnaraine embodied the principle of multiracialism in a Guyana that has been haunted by racial division. “He transcended race. He was as comfortable among African Guyanese as he was among Indian and Amerindian Guyanese. For him, Guyana is at its best when all its ethnic groups work, struggle, and triumph together.”

The party added: “We also remember Bro Rupert as the ultimate peacemaker. He always sought to reach across the partisan divide—always guided by the interest of the collective people and the country at large. In this regard, he worked tirelessly for a united front with the PPP during the 1970s and 1980s. He was instrumental in the formation of the multi-party Patriotic Coalition for Democracy, which was instrumental in heralding the return to electoral normalcy in 1992.”

For his part, President Dr. Irfaan Ali in tribute to Dr. Roopnaraine said, “Guyana has lost a public figure of conscience. While we sat on different sides of the political aisle, I have always regarded Dr. Roopnaraine as belonging to that rare fellowship of men who wed thought to action and principle to sacrifice, especially during the testing years of the anti-dictatorship struggle. When the air itself seemed heavy with fear, he stood upright. He faced persecution not with bitterness, but with resolve. Alongside his comrade and friend, the late Walter Rodney, he helped to kindle a flame of resistance.”

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• APNU+AFC, David Granger, Dr. Rupert Roopnaraine, Working Peoples’ Alliance

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