– President says at remembrance ceremony
FORMER President and one-time leader of the People’s Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) Mrs Janet Jagan, O.E., was remembered at a ceremony at her Bel-Air residence, by family and party members.
Those gathered shared memories of a Janet who devoted her life to fight for the rights of the working class and grassroots people, and further mentioned that had she been alive today, at the age of 91, she still would have continued in the struggle for the rights of all Guyanese.
President Bharrat Jagdeo said quite a bit has been documented about her, and her contributions will never be diminished, as she is the pioneer for the Guyana today.

“It is not just the events themselves that make her unique, but it is the era that evolved from the colonial period to today and the specificities of the evolution and the different stages in the development that greatly magnify her contributions to Guyana,” President Jagdeo said.

Ms. Gail Teixeira, advisor to the President on Governance, in her reflections on Mrs. Jagan, said she remembered her as a lovely young woman, who fought for the rights of Guyanese after independence, and has sacrificed her life to the struggle for the grassroots.
Teixeira also alluded to the fact that Mrs. Jagan along with Mrs. Philomena Sahoye-Shury are champions as they have made outstanding contributions not only to the lives of Guyanese, but they have also blazed the trail and set standards for women in politics.

The event, last Thursday evening,  is the third of its kind done annually on October 20, the date of her birth, in commemoration of the outstanding contributions she has made towards Guyanese.

Mrs. Jagan came to Guyana in 1945 and soon after challenged women to fight for their rights, and has been at the forefront of that fight, gaining significant grounds for both women and all Guyanese.
Mrs. Jagan in 1946 founded the Women’s Political and Economic Organization and co-founded the Political Affairs Committee.
After Cheddi Jagan’s death, Janet Jagan was sworn in as Prime Minister as well as First Vice President on March 17, 1997. Mrs. Jagan was the presidential candidate of the PPP in the December 1997 elections. After the PPP had won the elections, she became the first female Latin American president to be democratically elected. Janet Jagan also became the first female President of Guyana. (GINA)