December 24, 2002, The Independent, Obituary: Desmond Hoyte ; Cultivated and Austere Former President of Guyana Respected for His Statesmanship, by Colin Harding,

December 24, 2002, The Independent, Obituary: Desmond Hoyte ; Cultivated and Austere Former President of Guyana Respected for His Statesmanship, by Colin Harding, 700+ words

DESMOND HOYTE was President of Guyana for seven years, from 1985 to 1992, during which time his main achievement was to repair some of the damage done by his predecessor, Forbes Burnham.

Burnham had taken Guyana - the former British Guiana - to independence from Britain in 1966, and Hoyte served him faithfully for many years, in a variety of posts, including Vice-President and Prime Minister. The two men had much in common, as London-trained barristers from black, urban middle-class families. Hoyte succeeded Burnham as President on the latter's death in October 1985. But Hoyte was a more moderate and reasonable figure than Burnham, and he announced an immediate change of direction for the country.

Through his Economic Recovery Programme, Hoyte did much to dismantle the rigid state control of the economy that characterised Burnham's disastrous "co-operative republic", the pursuit of which had driven Guyana to the brink of bankruptcy. Hoyte encouraged private investment, which had been scared away by Burnham's radical rhetoric and political interference, and the vital sugar industry, on which Hoyte was an expert, revived during his time in office. Guyana's biggest enterprise, the Omai gold mine, also dates from this period.

In politics, Hoyte's attempts at reform were less effective. He relaxed Burnham's rigid control of the media, and - probably his greatest achievement - he organised free elections in 1992, in which he was defeated. But his attempts to bridge the racial divide in Guyanese society, between people of African and Indian origin, met with only limited success.

He managed to wrestle control of the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) from some of Burnham's more extreme followers, and he devised policies that favoured some prominent Indo-Guyanese businessmen. But the country remained - and remains - bitterly divided along racial lines. It was, therefore, greatly to Hoyte's credit that he introduced electoral reforms that made it possible for the opposition People's Progressive Party (PPP), which represented the majority Indo-Guyanese community, to win power at the ballot box in October 1992, putting an end to 28 years of PNC rule.

Many PNC supporters took the results badly, but Hoyte stepped in at the moment of maximum tension to concede defeat graciously, and the PPP's Cheddi Jagan was able to take office. Hoyte's speech, in which he said, "I expect all citizens to accept these political developments, maintain a peaceful and harmonious climate in society and keep the welfare and good name of Guyana foremost in their minds", was rightly hailed as an act of great statesmanship. It helps to explain why even his most implacable political opponents honour his contribution to Guyanese public life.

The following years were not easy for Hoyte and the PNC. The PPP won successive elections in 1997 and 2001, and the former president was forced to get used to the role of leader of the opposition. He became increasingly embittered, challenging the election results on both occasions, and demanding constitutional changes that would guarantee the Afro-Guyanese (black) population a fair share of economic and political power. Many attempts to draw up a blueprint for such changes have been made in recent years, but "shared governance" remains an unattainable ideal. Ironically, PNC accusations that the majority party has used the state apparatus to monopolise power for the Indo-Guyanese community stem from the strong executive presidency created by Burnham for his and the PNC's benefit.

After the victory of the PPP's Bharrat Jagdeo in 2001, Hoyte reluctantly agreed to take part in a face-to-face dialogue with the new president, in an attempt to thrash out some sort of power-sharing accommodation. But, after initial progress, Hoyte broke off the talks in April this year, complaining that President Jagdeo had failed to implement the agreements that had already been reached.

He showed signs of growing intransigence in the last months of his life, refusing to sign a joint communique with the PPP on how to fight a rising wave of violent crime. In October, he delivered a particularly fiery speech in the PNC stronghold of Buxton, in East Coast Demerara, in which he called on the local people to resist the "oppressive" police and army, whom he described as the shock troops of the dominant Indo-Guyanese.

Hoyte's health had deteriorated in recent years - he had quadruple heart bypass surgery in New York in 1993, a few months after his first electoral defeat - and he had given to understand that he did not intend to remain leader of the PNC beyond his 74th birthday, in March 2003. But he allowed himself to be nominated for another term as PNC leader in August this year, and was returned almost unopposed. A question mark now hangs over the leadership of the PNC. Chairman Robert Corbin, a much more hard-line figure than Hoyte, takes over as interim leader, but he has to call fresh internal elections within 60 days. Corbin will be one of the main contenders.

Desmond Hoyte was born in Georgetown in 1929. He studied law at London University, and was called to the Bar. He was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1969. At about the same time he was invited by his old friend and mentor Forbes Burnham to act as an adviser to the PNC and the trade unions linked to it, and he remained involved in active politics until his death.

A cultivated and austere figure, whose name was never associated with any hint of scandal, Hoyte had many interests outside politics, including music (he was an accomplished pianist) and cricket. He also took an abiding interest in environmental issues, and was instrumental in creating the great Iwokrama rainforest project in the interior of Guyana. He is survived by his wife, Joyce. Their two daughters, Amanda and Maxine, were killed in a car crash in 1985.

Hugh Desmond Hoyte, lawyer and politician: born Georgetown, British Guiana 19 March 1929; called to the Bar, Middle Temple 1959; QC 1969; Vice-President of Guyana 1980-85, First Vice-President and Prime Minister 1984-85, President 1985-92; Leader of the Opposition 1992-2002; married 1965 Joyce De Freitas (two daughters deceased); died Georgetown, Guyana 22 December 2002.