Portia Simpson Miller is a trendsetter. She is the first female president of the People's National Party and Jamaica's first female Prime Minister.

She was born on December 12, 1945, in Wood Hall, St. Catherine, and has been in representational politics for 32 years. She has been a vice-president of the PNP since 1978.

In 1974, she won the tough inner-city constituency of Trench Town West as a councillor in the Kingston & St. Andrew Corporation (KSAC) for the PNP. It was the first time that the party had won that seat.

In 1977, she was appointed Parliamen-tary Secretary in the Ministry of Local Government under the Michael Manley Administration, a post she held until the general elections of 1980. In 1989, Mrs. Simpson Miller was appointed Ministerof Labour, Social Security and Sports.

In 2000, Mrs. Simpson Miller was Tourism Minister and still retained the Sports portfolio. It was during the minister's tenure that the new Indoor Sports Facility was built and the Sports Development Foundation established.

Mrs. Simpson Miller holds a certificate in advanced management from the University of California at Berkeley; a certificate of participation in the Executive Programme for Leaders in Development at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, as well as a certificate in public relations and advanced management from the Institute of Management and Production (IMP). Mrs. Simpson Miller also holds a bachelor's degree in public administration from Union Institute and University in Miami, Florida.

Mrs. Simpson Miller received her early education at Marlie Hill Primary School and St. Martin's High School for Girls. She is married to businessman and former Cable & Wireless Jamaica Limited top executive, Errald Miller.

- Nashauna Drummond

Source: www.jis.gov.jm

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