Opinion
The Habari Networks’ 10 most influential people of 2012
9). Portia Simpson-Miller
Nationality: Jamaican
Occupation: Prime Minister of Jamaica
Jamaica’s Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller was voted back into office on December 29 2011 after securing a landslide victory.
Simpson-Miller who is Jamaica’s first woman prime minister recaptured power after having narrowly lost the September 2007 vote.
Simpson-Miller has presided over Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of independence, called for full civil rights for the LGBT community in Jamaica, while working to better the lives of Jamaicans by increasing jobs and gradually pulling the country out of the recession that hit the nation in 2008-2009.
Ms. Simpson-Miller has renewed calls to break with the British monarchy and make the island-nation a republic. Her presence on the political scene continues to inspire girls and women, especially in the Caribbean diaspora, to get involved in public service and to make a difference. Jamaican Prime Minister Portia Simpson-Miller surely makes The Habari Network’s 10 most influential people of 2012.
