Bustamante, (William) Alexander (1884-1977)

Jamaican centre-right politician, prime minister 1962-67. Founder of the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union for sugar plantation workers in 1938, he was imprisoned by the British colonial authorities 1941-42 for his union and political activities. In 1943 he established the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) as the political wing of his union and served as chief minister 1953-55. As leader of the Labour Party, he became Jamaica's first prime minister on independence in 1962. He pursued a conservative policy programme and developed close ties with the USA. He was knighted in 1955.

Born in Blenheim, near Kingston, the son of an Irish planter, he was adopted at the age of 15 by a Spanish seaman called Bustamente. He spent his early life abroad, variously as a soldier in the Spanish army and working in numerous professions in Cuba, Panama, and New York. He returned to Jamaica in 1932 a rich man, but his social conscience led him to become active in trade-union affairs. In 1938 he faced charges of political sedition, but was successfully defended by his barrister cousin, Norman Manley, founder of the People's National Party and later prime minister. From 1947 to 1948 he served as mayor of Kingston.