Prime Minister of Jamaica

The prime minister of Jamaica (Template:Langx) is Jamaica's head of government, currently Andrew Holness. Holness, as leader of the governing Jamaica Labour Party (JLP), was sworn in as prime minister on 16 September 2025, having been re-elected as a result of the JLP's victory in the 2025 general election.

The prime minister is formally appointed into office by the governor-general, who represents Template:Current Jamaican monarch.

Official residence and office

File:Valeroyal.jpg

Front Lawns of Vale Royal

The prime minister of Jamaica's official residence is Vale Royal. The property was constructed in 1694 by the planter Sir William Taylor, one of Jamaica's richest men at the time. In 1928 the property was sold to the government and became the official residence of the British colonial secretary (then Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs). Vale Royal has subsequently become the official residence of the prime minister.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Vale Royal is not open to the public.

Template:Ifexist not redirect has been the location of the Office of the Prime Minister since 1972.<ref name="gov-jamaicahouse">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Prime ministers resided there from 1964 until 1980.<ref name="gov-jamaicahouse"/> On 8 November 2022, Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness said in question time session, that his official residence was Jamaica House rather than Vale Royal, and that Vale Royal was currently in disrepair and possible future uses would be considered after its restoration.<ref name="Holness2022">Template:Cite tweet</ref>

Chief ministers of Jamaica (1953–1959)

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Chief Minister Template:Small	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office

Premiers of Jamaica (1959–1962)

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Premier Template:Small	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office

Prime ministers of Jamaica (1962–present)

Key: Template:Small Died in office

Template:Abbr	Portrait	Prime Minister Template:Small	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office

Timeline

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bar:NManley
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 width:5 align:left fontsize:s shift:(5,-4) anchor:till
bar:Bustamante
 from: 05/05/1953 till: 02/02/1955 color:JLP
 from: 29/04/1962 till: 23/02/1967 color:JLP text:"Alexander Bustamante"
bar:NManley
 from: 02/02/1955 till: 29/04/1962 color:PNP text:"Norman Manley"
bar:Sangster
 from: 23/02/1967 till: 11/04/1967 color:JLP text:"Donald Sangster"
bar:Shearer
 from: 11/04/1967 till: 02/03/1972 color:JLP text:"Hugh Shearer"
bar:MManley
 from: 02/03/1972 till: 01/11/1980 color:PNP
 from: 10/02/1989 till: 30/03/1992 color:PNP text:"Michael Manley"
bar:Seaga
 from: 01/11/1980 till: 10/02/1989 color:JLP text:"Edward Seaga"
bar:Patterson
 from: 30/03/1992 till: 30/03/2006 color:PNP text:"P. J. Patterson"
bar:Simpson-Miller
 from: 30/03/2006 till: 11/09/2007 color:PNP
 from: 05/01/2012 till: 03/03/2016 color:PNP text:"Portia Simpson-Miller"
bar:Golding
 from: 11/09/2007 till: 23/10/2011 color:JLP text:"Bruce Golding"
bar:Holness
 from: 23/10/2011 till: 05/01/2012 color:JLP
 from: 03/03/2016 till: $today     color:JLP text:"Andrew Holness"

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By tenure

Rank by length of terms	Prime Minister	Took office	Left office	Length by time served	Administrations	Elected	Political affiliation
1	P. J. Patterson	30 March 1992	30 March 2006	14 years	1	1993 1997 2002	People's National Party
2	Michael Manley	2 March 1972 10 February 1989	1 November 1980 30 March 1992	11 years, 292 days (8 years, 244 days; 3 years, 48 days)	2	1972 1976 1989	People's National Party
3	Andrew Holness (incumbent)	23 October 2011 3 March 2016	5 January 2012 present	Template:Ayd (74 days; Template:Ayd)	2	2016 2020 2025	Jamaica Labour Party
4	Edward Seaga	1 November 1980	10 February 1989	8 years, 101 days	1	1980 1983	Jamaica Labour Party
5	Portia Simpson Miller	30 March 2006 5 January 2012	11 September 2007 3 March 2016	5 years, 223 days (1 year, 165 days; Template:Ayd)	2	2011	People's National Party
6	Hugh Shearer	11 April 1967	2 March 1972	4 years, 326 days	1		Jamaica Labour Party
7	Alexander Bustamante	29 April 1962	23 February 1967	4 years, 201 days	1	1962	Jamaica Labour Party
8	Bruce Golding	11 September 2007	23 October 2011	4 years, 42 days	1	2007	Jamaica Labour Party
9	Donald Sangster	23 February 1967	11 April 1967	47 days	1	1967	Jamaica Labour Party

By education

Prime Minister	Term of office	School	University	Degree	Professional training
Alexander Bustamante	1953–1955 1962–1967	—	—
Norman Manley	1955–1962	Wolmer's School Beckford & Smith High School Jamaica College	University of Oxford (Jesus Coll.)	Law B.C.L.	Inns of Court: Gray's Inn
Donald Sangster	1967	Munro College	—		Correspondence course in bookkeeping and accounting
Hugh Shearer	1967–1972	St Simon's College	—
Michael Manley	1980–1980 1989–1992	Jamaica College	London School of Economics	Economics B.Sc. 1949
Edward Seaga	1980–1989	Wolmer's School	Harvard University	Social Sciences A.B. 1952
P. J. Patterson	1992–2006	Calabar High School	University College of the West Indies	English B.A. 1958	Inns of Court: Middle Temple
			London School of Economics	Law L.L.B. 1963
Portia Simpson-Miller	2006–2007 2012–2016	St Catherine High School St Martin's High School	Union Institute & University	Public Administration B.A. 1997
Bruce Golding	2007–2011	St George's College Jamaica College	University of the West Indies	Economics B.Sc. 1969
Andrew Holness	2011–2012 2016–present	St Catherine High School	University of the West Indies	Management Studies B.Sc. Development Studies M.Sc.
			Northeastern University	Law and Policy D.L.P. 2024

See also

• History of Jamaica
• Politics of Jamaica
• List of governors of Jamaica
• Governor-General of Jamaica
• List of heads of state of Jamaica
• Deputy Prime Minister of Jamaica
• List of prime ministers of Elizabeth II
• List of prime ministers of Charles III
• List of Commonwealth heads of government
• Privy Council of Jamaica
• List of Privy Counsellors (1952–2022)
• List of Privy Counsellors (2022–present)
• Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation

External links

• Government of Jamaica - Office of the Prime Minister - Official website