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Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (February 20, 1923 – August 6, 1985) was a Guyanese political leader and leader of Guyana from 1964 until his death--as Prime Minister from 1964 to 1980 and as President from 1980 to 1985. He was married to Viola Burnham, who was also involved in politics. Image File history File links Unbalanced_scales. ... February 20 is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ... August 6 is the 218th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (219th in leap years), with 147 days remaining. ... 1985 (MCMLXXXV) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... This page lists chief ministers and prime ministers of Guyana. ... 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... This page lists presidents of Guyana since 1970. ...

Early life and education

Burnham, who was of African descent, was born in Kitty, a suburb of Georgetown, East Demerara, Guyana as one of three children to a poor family; one child is his sister Jesse Burnham. A world map showing the continent of Africa. ... Look up kitty in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Demerara was one of the original British colonies that was joined into the colony of British Guiana, now Guyana. ...

He attended the prestigious and the colony's elite Queen's College Grammar School for Boys, where his academic brilliance earned him at least two internal scholarships. He used these scholarships to pay for the remaining years of secondary education since his family was unable to afford the fees. In 1942 he wins the prestigious Guiana Scholarship as the colony’s top student.

He received a law degree from the University of London 1948 he was called to the Bar Gray’s Inn, in London. The University of London is a federation of colleges and institutes which together constitute one of the worlds largest universities. ...

Political career

In 1950, he formed a left-wing party, the People's Progressive Party, along with Indo-Guyanese labor leader Cheddi Jagan. By 1952, he was president of the party's affiliated trade union, the British Guiana Labour Union. 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will take you to calendar). ... There are several parties named Peoples Progressive Party: Peoples Progressive Party (The Gambia) Peoples Progressive Party (Guyana) Peoples Progressive Party (Malaysia) Peoples Progressive Party (Papua New Guinea) Peoples Progressive Party (Solomon Islands) Categories: Disambiguation ... Cheddi Jagan, also known as Cheddi Berret Jagan (March 22, 1918 – March 6, 1997), was the chief minister (1957-1964) and president (1992-1997) of Guyana. ... 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

First wife was Bernice Lataste, married during 1951 with Roxane, Annabelle, and Francesca as the fruits of that union. Burnham and Jagan began feuding in 1955 over Jagan's Communist leanings. It came to a head at a congress held that year. Burnham chaired the congress, and when one of his supporters moved to suspend the rules, Jagan and his supporters walked out, claiming the motion was a no-confidence vote. Burnham declared himself PPP leader, but Jagan claimed he still held the post. The PPP thus divided into two separate factions--a predominantly black one led by Burnham and a predominantly Indian one led by Jagan. The Burnham faction became the People's National Congress in 1958, entering its first election under that name in 1961. 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about communism as a form of society and as a political movement. ... The Peoples National Congress is a formerly socialist political party in Guyana. ... 1958 (MCMLVIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ...

For the next three years, Burnham sought to undermine his former ally, Jagan, by making British Guiana ungovernable. He led CIA-financed strikes, many of them quite violent. In 1963, the Colonial Office agreed to give British Guiana independence, but only after amending the constitution to introduce proportional representation. The intent was to keep the PPP from winning a majority and allow the more moderate PNC to form a government. The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Proportional representation (sometimes referred to as full representation, or PR), is an electoral system delivering a close match between the percentage of votes that groups of candidates (grouped by a certain measure) obtain in elections and the percentage of seats they receive (usually in legislative assemblies). ...

In the 1964 elections, while the PPP won the highest percentage of the vote, it did not get a majority. Burnham was able to form a coalition with a conservative white party, the United Force, and became premier of British Guiana on 14 December. On May 26, 1966, British Guiana became independent as Guyana. 1964 (MCMLXIV) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1964 calendar). ... December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... May 26 is the 146th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (147th in leap years). ... 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (the link is to a full 1966 calendar). ...

Burnham served as Guyana's first foreign minister from 1966 to 1972. A minister for foreign affairs, or foreign minister, is a cabinet minister who helps form the governmental foreign policy of a sovereign nation. ...

Burhnam at first pursued moderate policies. However, in an ominous sign, one of his first acts upon independence was a sweeping "National Security Act" giving the police the power to search, seize and arrest virtually at will. He won full power in 1968, although the elections were almost universally condemned as fraudulent due to a large number of overseas voters. At this point, he began pursuing policies that were far to the left even of those Jagan pursued in the 1950s. He declared Guyana to be a "co-operative republic" and established strong relations with Cuba, the Soviet Union and other communist countries. Ironically, this is the reason why Burhnam's party came to power in the first place. 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ...

As Burnham shifted to the left, his policies became increasingly dictatorial. In 1974, he declared the PNC to be paramount and socialist. He had a referendum passed in 1978 which made it harder for his party to lose power, with results which were condemned as fraudulent. In 1980 the constitution was changed to make the president chief executive officer. He won the first Presidential elections in 1980. In both cases, the elections were widely considered fraudulent. 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday. ... 1978 (MCMLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday. ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ...

Burnham also became internationally notable for the Jonestown mass suicide, which occurred in Guyana in 1978, and which some blame partly on Burnham. During his reign as President, Burnham oversaw massive corruption and racial injustices; many of which he was directly responsible for. In 1970 when Burnham declared the country a co-operative republic, he also preached the ideology of self reliance. His ideas were triggered by the hostilities felt by many Indo-Guyanese for the decolonization of the country, which many saw as the turning point for Guyana's political, economic and sociological affairs. It was during this period from 1970-1982 that the "left wing" idelogies took a sharp turn for the worst. Burnham banned all forms of imports into the country, including flour and varieties of rice. Basic commodities such as soap, dishwashing liquid and detergent were not available for open sale during this period. As such, what little was imported was to be rationed, leading to the large scale inequality and injustices that have marred the country until this day. As many of Burnham's officials paid for many of the goods meant for regular citizens, thousands were left to be hungry. Many of the goods were stashed away in Trinidad and Tobago for Burnham's use via helicopter. This acted as a catalyst for the mass exodus in the 1980's that saw the country's population reduced by almost 50%. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Burnham remained President of Guyana until his death. He died suddenly in Georgetown, Guyana. To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Legacy

Burnham was a visionary who perceived his role as a Founding Father of an Independent Guyana. This goal was achieved with the assistance of the United States of America and other Western democracies. Burnham's vision was to establish an egalitarian society where all races would enjoy social justice and political and economic emancipation.

The late President failed to recognize the ramifications of his ambitious project occuring at the height of the Cold War. Setting up a successful socialist state in the region was definitely a threat to Western intentions to halt the spread of USSR/Cuba expansion of communism.

Burnham's efforts to pursue economic liberation to support the already attained political Independence was considered by the West too dangerous for the Caribbean region. Burnham's successful efforts would have empowered other leaders in Latin America and Africa to follow similar socialist policies opposed by the West.

By introducing economic programs and policies from 1968, Burnham began laying the foundation to accomplish economic liberation for Guyana. The primary vehicle was co-operatives and the nationalization of all the major industries that were foreign owned and controlled. Such a plan or strategy could hardly be considered as attempts to intentionally inflict great harship or suffering on citizens. However, the consequences of Burnham's ambitious pursuits, which were opposed by the West have resulted in economic retardation, political instability and widespread social decline. Guyana is in decline due to foreign intervention in its domestic affairs.

Burnham's policies were not dictatorial as opposition groups have claimed because decades later many of the same programs and initiatives are still in place. It is difficult to understand how a leader is labelled a dictator if his desires are to bring prosperity to his people by introducing measures that foreign governments do not approve and instead anti-Burnham detractors indulge in deliberate acts to undermine his efforts. Burnham was an outstanding international leader who fought tirelessly to bring about Caribbean Unity through CARIFTA and CARIFESTA. As a leader he played an integral role in the Non-Aligned Movement and supported in a tangible way the African Liberation struggle against the prolonged minority rule by a White South African regime.