Former Grenada PM dead

ST GEORGE'S, Grenada (CMC):

Former Grenada Prime Minister George Brizan, a co-founder of the ruling National Democratic Congress (NDC), died last Saturday at the General Hospital following a prolonged illness. He was 69.

Brizan was the island's sixth prime minister since independence, serving for four months in 1995 on the resignation of Nicholas Brathwaite.

His party was defeated by Keith Mitchell's New National Party - a successor to another party Brizan formed, the National Democratic Party.

In 1987, Brizan and Francis Alexis founded the NDC, now led by Prime Minister Tillman Thomas who returned the party to government in 2008 after 13 years in opposition.

Deeply saddened

In a statement on Saturday night, Thomas, who was in Canada joining nationals there to celebrate Grenada's 38th independence anniversary, said he was deeply saddened by Brizan's death, describing him as a "patriotic Grenadian whose love for country was exceptional".

"I remember him as a friend and statesman, a man committed to his family. Although afflicted by sickness, he still found opportunities to contribute to discussions on national development. He kept himself informed about the activities of those he loved," he said.

"Grenada has lost a great stalwart, who gave selflessly as a teacher, author, politician, historian, minister of government and prime minister," Thomas added.

Brizan, an economist and educator, served in the 1990-1995 Brathwaite administration as finance minister and later agriculture minister. He was also minister for trade, industry, production and energy.

He was also a consultant to successive Grenadian governments on economic affairs since the late 1960s - including that of his successor, Prime Minister Mitchell.

He wrote and lectured extensively on the island's history. He was the author of "Grenada: Island of Conflict", considered a seminal work on the island's turbulent history, from European settlement in the 17th century to the 1983 coup and invasion.