Seymour St. Edward "Foggy" Mullings OJ CD (12 May 1931 – 9 October 2013) was a Jamaican politician, who served as Deputy Prime Minister under P. J. Patterson. He was also an accomplished pianist.[1]

Seymour St. Edward Mullings
Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica
In office
April 1993 – October 2001
MonarchElizabeth II
Prime MinisterP. J. Patterson
Preceded byVacant
Succeeded byVacant
Member of Parliament
for Saint Ann South East
In office
1969–1983
In office
1989–2002
Succeeded byAloun Ndombet-Assamba
Personal details
Born(1931-05-12)12 May 1931
Cave Valley, Saint Ann Parish
Died9 October 2013(2013-10-09) (aged 82)
Kingston, Jamaica
Political partyPeople's National Party

Career

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Seymour Mullings attended Jamaica College in St Andrew.[2] He worked as a jazz pianist from the 1940s to the 1960s, playing with the likes of Don Drummond and Cluett Johnson, and in the late 1940s was a member of the Wilton Gaynair All-Star band.[3][4][5] He was also organist at the Anglican Church in Cayman.[6] Mullings served as president of the Jamaica Federations of Musicians, and was inducted into the Jazz Hall of Fame in 1997.[6] His nephew is the deejay Tony Rebel.[7]

He entered politics in 1969, winning a by-election for the St Ann South East seat in the House of Representatives.[8] He retained his seat in the elections of 1972, 1976, and 1980, losing it due to the PNP's boycott of the 1983 election, and regaining it in 1989 and defending it successfully it in 1993 and 1997.[8] He served in the cabinet under Michael Manley in the late 1980s, going on to hold the posts of Minister of Finance, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade, and was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister by P. J. Patterson, a post he held from April 1993 to October 2001.[2][9] He retired from parliament in 2002, although he still attended parliamentary sittings for several years, and was appointed as ambassador to Washington, D.C., a post he held until 2004.[2][10]

In 2012, a road in St Ann was named Seymour Mullings Boulevard in his honour.[2][10]

Seymour Mullings died at Andrews Memorial Hospital in Kingston on 9 October 2013, aged 82, after a long illness.[2][6] He had suffered from Alzheimer's disease for several years.[7]

References

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  1. ^ The Jamaican Directory of Personalities 1981-82, Gleaner Company Ltd, 1981
  2. ^ a b c d e "Former Deputy PM Seymour Mullings is dead", Jamaica Observer, 9 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013
  3. ^ Augustyn, Heather (2013) Don Drummond: The Genius and Tragedy of the World's Greatest Trombonist, McFarland & Co Inc, ISBN 978-0786475476, p. 53
  4. ^ "A roll-call of Jamaican jazz Archived 27 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Gleaner, 4 October 2009. Retrieved 13 October 2013
  5. ^ Miller, Herbie (2013) "Foggy Could Have Been Great - No Known Recordings Of Late Politician, Musician Leads To Bigger Loss", Jamaica Gleaner, 20 October 2013. Retrieved 20 October 2013
  6. ^ a b c Spaulding, Gary (2013) "Foggy The Musician", Jamaica Gleaner, 13 October 2013
  7. ^ a b Helps, H.G. (2013) "Former deputy PM Seymour Mullings dies at 82", Jamaica Observer, 10 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013
  8. ^ a b "Saluting 'everybody's friend': Seymour 'Foggy' Mullings", Jamaica Observer, 11 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013
  9. ^ "PM Saddened At Mullings' Passing Archived 12 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine", Jamaica Information Service, 9 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013
  10. ^ a b Spaulding, Gary (2013) "Respect To 'Foggy'", Jamaica Gleaner, 13 October 2013. Retrieved 13 October 2013