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March 8, 1997, The Washington Post, Michael Manley, 72, Dies; Jamaican Prime Minister,

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March 8, 1997, The Washington Post, Michael Manley, 72, Dies; Jamaican Prime Minister700+ words

Michael Manley, 72, the former three-time prime minister of Jamaica who became one of the outstanding figures of modern Caribbean politics while espousing beliefs that ranged the political spectrum, died at his home here March 6. He had prostate cancer.

First, Mr. Manley embraced tropical socialism and flirted with Cuban President Fidel Castro, earning the wrath of the United States. But he also was a stalwart of the Commonwealth and enjoyed hobnobbing with Britain's Queen Elizabeth. He also came to count reggae superstar Bob Marley among his friends and supporters.

His allegiance with Castro's socialist Cuba eventually gave way to the point that Mr. Manley, at a 1990 private dinner at the White House, was hailed by then-President George Bush as an apostle of free-market economics. In his first two terms as prime minister, from 1972 to 1980, Mr. Manley was a firebrand socialist and champion of the nonaligned movement. He railed against capitalist domination and discouraged foreign investment. He led his party to an election victory in 1972 and became prime minister. In 1974, he led a roaring rally of 75,000 supporters proclaiming democratic socialism as the People's National Party's official ideology. Signs and placards at the gathering declared: "Socialism Is Love." His socialist rhetoric -- and the hope that he might legalize marijuana -- appealed to the island's Rastafarian and reggae community, which usually shunned politics. Bob Marley played at his campaign rallies. He won a second term in 1976 in a violence-scarred election and wrapped his arms around Castro. The alliance chased investors from the island in droves, drew opposition from the United States and the International Monetary Fund, and led to a deep recession. The country became deeply polarized. Bloodshed occurred involving supporters of the PNP, supporters of opposition leader Edward Seaga's Jamaican Labor Party (JLP) and common gangsters. In an effort to promote national reconciliation, Marley played the One Love Peace Concert in Kingston in 1978 at which, in a remarkable scene, Mr. Manley and Seaga appeared on stage together and held hands. The gesture failed to transform the political scene, and when Mr. Manley ran for a third term in 1980, nearly 700 people died in election-related violence. He was defeated in a landslide by the JLP, which took 51 seats in parliament to the PNP's nine. Then, the transformation of Michael Manley began. Mr. Manley said he had learned from his mistakes. "I think there are two types of people: those who won't learn and those who try to," he said. "I try to learn." He abandoned his trademark bush jacket for the business suit and tie of his youth. He began courting the private sector and espousing capitalism, private investment and good relations with the United States. Helped by a worsening economy, he trounced Seaga in national elections and returned to office in 1989. Mr. Manley's health, however, gave out. On March 28, 1992, he turned power over to P.J. Patterson, a veteran party insider who commanded the support of top business leaders and was the architect of Mr. Manley's recent economic policies. Michael Norman Manley was born to Norman Washington Manley, who founded the PNP, and the British-born Edna Swithenbank, a noted sculptor. Mr. Manley studied at McGill University in Montreal, and during World War II, he served as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the war, he went to the London School of Economics, where he received an economics degree and studied under Harold Laski, one of Britain's most influential socialist theoreticians. He also spent a year as a freelance journalist for the British Broadcasting Corp. He returned to Jamaica in 1951 and, a year later, entered politics with election to the executive council of the PNP. That year, he also was named sugar supervisor of the National Workers Union, one of Jamaica's largest unions. For the next 14 years, he worked in the trade union movement, and in 1962 he became a senator. He was elected to the Jamaican House of Representatives in 1969, the same year that he succeeded his father as PNP leader, which also made him parliamentary opposition leader. Charismatic, tall and handsome, Mr. Manley was a powerful orator often called "Joshua," after the Old Testament figure. He also was the author of five books that displayed his wide interests, including political ideology, the Jamaican bauxite industry and West Indian cricket. He was married five times. Three marriages ended in divorce; one of his wives died in 1968. He wed for a fifth time after leaving office, marrying longtime companion Glynne Ewart at his home in the hills outside Kingston. In addition to his wife, survivors include five children.

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