During Thanksgiving Service to celebrate his life….

Glowing tributes for Winston Murray
– from across the political divide

IF glowing tributes, words of appreciation and commendation could bring the dead back to life, then Winston Murray, M.P, CCH, who died on November 11, would not be buried today, as became evident yesterday during a Service of Thanksgiving for his life.
Earlier in the day, beginning at 10:00 hrs, his body lay in state at Parliament Buildings where literally hundreds of Guyanese from all walks of life filed pass in awed reverence to pay their last respects to a fallen hero and to sign the book of condolence opened in his memory.

Among those viewing the body and paying their respects were President Bharrat Jagdeo, Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran; Leader of the Opposition PNCR, Mr. Robert Corbin, Members of the Cabinet, Parliamentarians and other representatives of Political parties in Guyana and the legal fraternity.

Mr. Murray’s body was later removed to St. George’s Cathedral for a Thanksgiving Service, preceded by another segment of viewing and the rendering of tributes.

Heading the list of persons paying tributes were Prime Minister Samuel Hinds; Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee; and Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran – all of whom spoke on behalf of the Government.

Mr. Robert Corbin, Leader of the PNCR, the party to which Mr. Murray had given distinguished service for more than 30 years up until the time of his death, gave tributes on behalf of the PNCR, while other political parties were represented by Raphael Trotman (AFC) and  Everall Franklin (GAP/ROAR).  Eric Phillips also paid tribute on behalf of the African Cultural and development Association (ACDA).

In the many glowing tributes, Mr. Murray was lauded for his contribution to both the Government and the People’s National Congress. Love, tolerance, patience,  respect, integrity, a peaceful warrior, were all words used to describe the PNCR Presidential hopeful, and there was consensus that he was one whose life Guyanese should emulate.

Prime Minister Hinds who, on behalf of the President and PPP/C Government, as well as on his own behalf, expressed profound sympathy to Murray’s widow, Mrs. Marva Murray and family. He described Murray as “an outstanding personality who gave outstanding service to the nation”.  

He saw Mr. Murray as being possessed of an uncanny ability to refrain from being acrimonious during his presentations in parliamentary sessions, while at the same time, being passionate, forceful and keeping his eyes on what was being said, and not who was saying it.

And Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee referred to the man whose life was being celebrated as ‘excellent’. 
“We in the PPP feel the loss of a good man, irreplaceable and a person of substance.”  Eloquent, elegant, passionate and persuasive, he also recalled that Winston Murray was never satisfied with mediocrity, but was critical and gave recommendations as he thought necessary.

Mr. Ralph Ramkarran noted that Mr. Murray brought to the National Assembly, vast knowledge. His creative and unique blend of sober analysis, he observed, set him apart from others. 

Murray was said to have brought to the national Assembly, a sustained level of commitment and service and was determined to stay the course.

Meanwhile, Mr. Robert Corbin, on  behalf of the PNCR, saluted and paid tribute to Mr. Murray whom he described as one of the party’s outstanding members who remained steadfast and committed to the cause – in season and out of season, to the time of his death.

His body will be interred today at his home town of  Leguan.

Winston Shripal Murray was born on January 31, 1941, on the island of Leguan, Essequibo River.  He attained his Teacher’s Training Certificate in 1962 and later determined that he wanted to further his studies in the field of Economics. 

On June 10, 1963, he married his longtime sweetheart Marva Fortune in a simple but moving ceremony.  The union produced two sons: Shaun Andre, on 12th November, 1965, and Mark Winston on 8th May, 1969.  The couple would later adopt their granddaughter, Makeba Malissa on 8th March, 1994.

It is testimony to Winston’s intellectual prowess that he gained acceptance to the prestigious London School of Economics (LSE), from which he graduated with a BSC (Hons) in 1970. 

Upon his return in 1970, he joined the public service as an Economist in the Ministry of Trade, Guyana. His next official posting saw him serving as Second Secretary, Guyana Embassy in  Brussels, Belgium. 

He returned to Guyana in 1974, to assume the position of Senior Economist/Deputy Secretary to the Treasury, Ministry of Finance, Guyana. In 1975, he gained a certificate in Public Finance from the Institute of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Washington, D.C.  

He rose quickly through the ranks to become Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Trade and Industry in 1979. In 1983, he joined Office of the President, as Head of the Department of International Economic Co-operation, Guyana.

Winston Murray was awarded Guyana’s Cacique Crown of Honour (CCH) in 1984. In 1985 he became Head of the Presidential Secretariat, and in that same year, he became Senior Minister and Deputy Prime Minister , Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Industry.

He served as a Member of Parliament from 1985 until his death in November 2010.  In 1996, he embarked on a career in legal profession, entering the University of Guyana to read for a Law Degree. He graduated that same year with a LLB (Credit). 

He won the Phelps and Company Prize for best performance and Civil Practice and Procedure at the Hugh Wooding Law School, Trinidad and Tobago, from which he later graduated in 2000, with his Legal Education Certificate. He served as an Attorney-at-Law from then until his passing. 

Winston Murray joined the People’s National Congress (PNC) in 1973 under the leadership of Forbes Burnham and rose through the ranks, to eventually become Chairman in  2003.  

He brought to politics, a sense of purpose and decency and believed very strongly that the PNC was more stable and respected when its internal procedures rested on the vote of each member of the Party. 

He has served as Guyana’s Alternate Governor to the IMF, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), Chairman of Guyson’s Engineering Ltd, and performed the functions of President of Guyana on two separate occasions.

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