Bruce Golding

Golding, Bruce, 1947-, Jamaican political leader. The son of Tacius Golding, a member of parliament and speaker of the house in the 1960s, he is a graduate of the Univ. of the West Indies (B.Sc., 1969). A member of the Jamaican Labor party (JLP), he was first elected to parliament in 1972. In 1980 he became minister of construction in the cabinet of Prime Minister Edward Seaga. In an attempt to reform Jamaica's political system, Golding was a founder (1995) and president (1995-2001) of a third party, the National Democratic Movement, but he rejoined the JLP in 2002. In 2005 he succeeded Seaga as leader of the JLP, then in opposition. When the JLP narrowly won the 2007 election, Golding became prime minister.