Adrian Frater, News Editor
WESTERN BUREAU:
RENOWNED EDUCATOR and politician Hugh Arlington Dawes, who has been ailing for just over a year, is dead at 61.
He reportedly died peacefully at his home in Montego Bay, St. James, on Friday night.
Mr. Dawes, whose career in education spans over 40 years, has served the education sector in various capacities ranging from classroom teacher through to being a president of the Jamaica Teacher's Association (JTA) and ultimately, a Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education in the 1980s.
A graduate of the Mico Teacher's College, Mr. Dawes recently ended his tour of duty in education when he retired as principal of St. James High School, where he has been serving since 1983. Prior to coming to St. James High School, he also served as Principal at Savanna-la-Mar High School and as vice principal at Lacovia High School.
In the mid-1980s, the articulate Mr. Dawes, who had surged to national prominence as president of the JTA between 1980-81, started his career in politics when he was appointed a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Senator and later Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Education.
However, his two attempts to win a seat in the nation's Parliament ended in failure.
In the 1989 General Election, he was unable to unseat PNP stalwart, the late Sydney Pagan, in his bid to become Member of Parliament for North Eastern St. Elizabeth. He again failed in 1993 when he challenged Ben Clare in Western Hanover.
Mr. Dawes' career in politics took a nose-dive in the mid-1990s when he became a member of the "Western Gang of Eleven", which had openly challenged the leadership style of Opposition Leader Edward Seaga.
He later became a founding member of National Democratic Movement (NDM) but his involvement in that party was low-key.
Born in Sherwood Content, in Trelawny, on July 23, 1941, Mr. Dawes is survived by his wife Mignonette and four daughters and two sons.
