View source for Forbes Burnham

{{short description|Leader of Guyana from 1964 to 1985}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Forbes Burnham
| birth_name          = Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham<ref name="BlackPast">{{cite web |last1=Francis |first1=Berl |title=Forbes Burnham (1923–1985) |url=https://www.blackpast.org/global-african-history/burnham-forbes-1923-1985/ |website=www.blackpast.org |date=18 March 2015 |publisher=Black Past |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref>
| honorific-suffix    = [[Order of Excellence of Guyana|OE]]
| image               = Forbes Burnham (1966).jpg
| caption             = Burnham in 1966
| primeminister       = [[Desmond Hoyte]]<br>[[Ptolemy Reid]]
| order               = 2nd
| office              = President of Guyana
| vicepresident       = {{ubl|Desmond Hoyte|Ptolemy Reid|[[Shiw Sahai Naraine]]|[[Hamilton Green]]|[[Bishwaishwar Ramsaroop]]|[[Mohamed Shahabuddeen]]|[[Ranji Chandisingh]]}}
| term_start          = 6 October 1980
| term_end            = 6 August 1985
| predecessor         = [[Arthur Chung]]
| successor           = [[Desmond Hoyte]]
| order2              = 1st [[Prime Minister of Guyana]]<br />{{nobold|('''[[British Guiana]]''' until 1966)}}
| president2          = Arthur Chung
| monarch2            = [[Elizabeth II]]
| term_start2         = 14 December 1964
| term_end2           = 6 October 1980
| predecessor2        = [[Cheddi Jagan]]
| successor2          = Ptolemy Reid
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1923|02|20}}<ref name="BlackPast" />
| birth_place         = Kitty, [[Georgetown, Guyana|Georgetown]], [[Demerara&nbsp;County]], British&nbsp;Guiana<ref name="BlackPast" />
| death_date          = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1985|08|6|1923|02|20}}<ref name="BlackPast" />
| death_place         = Georgetown, [[Demerara-Mahaica]], Guyana<ref name="BlackPast" />
| resting_place       = [[Guyana Botanical Gardens]]
| nationality         = Guyanese
| alma_mater          = [[University of London]]
| relations           = [[Jessie Burnham]] (sister)
| spouse              = {{ubl|{{marriage|Sheila Bernice Lataste|1951|1966|end=div}}<ref name=GyGraphic>{{cite news |last1=Reece |first1=Maggie |title=Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham: February 20, 1923 – August 6, 1985 |url=http://www.guyanagraphic.com/content/linden-forbes-sampson-burnham-20-february-1923-%E2%80%93-6-august-1985 |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=Guyana Graphic |date=6 January 2012 |archive-date=1 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230101201908/http://www.guyanagraphic.com/content/linden-forbes-sampson-burnham-20-february-1923-%E2%80%93-6-august-1985 |url-status=dead }}</ref>|{{marriage|[[Viola Burnham|Viola Victorine Harper]]|1967|<!--''his death''-->}}<ref name=GyGraphic />}}
| children            = 6
| party               = {{ubl|[[British Guiana Labour Party|BGLP]] (1949)|[[People's Progressive Party (Guyana)|PPP]] (1950–1958)|[[People's National Congress (Guyana)|PNC]] (from 1958)}}
| nickname            = "Odo"<ref name=encyclopedia.com />
| height              = 1.88m<ref name=encyclopedia.com />
}}
'''Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham''' {{post-nominals|list=[[Order of Excellence of Guyana|OE]]}} (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985)<ref name="BlackPast" /> was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the [[Co-operative Republic of Guyana]] from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as [[Prime Minister of Guyana|Premier]] of [[British Guiana]] from 1964 to 1966, [[Prime Minister of Guyana]] from 1964 to 1980 and then as the first executive [[president of Guyana]] (2nd president overall) from 1980 to 1985.<ref name="BlackPast" /> He is often regarded as a [[strongman (politics)|strongman]]<ref name="Danns1982">{{cite book|author=George K. Danns|title=Domination and Power in Guyana: A Study of the Police in a Third World Context|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DTbgEn76m7sC&pg=PA141|date=1 January 1982|publisher=Transaction Publishers|isbn=978-1-4128-2190-2|pages=141–}}</ref> who embraced his own version of [[socialism]].<ref name=Moe />

Educated as a lawyer, Burnham was instrumental in the foundation of two political parties (the [[People's National Congress Reform|People's National Congress]] and the [[People's Progressive Party/Civic|People's Progressive Party]]) that would come to dominate the [[politics of Guyana]].<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> During his time as [[head of government]], Guyana moved from being a [[British colony]] to being a republic with no constitutional ties to the United Kingdom.<ref name="csind" /> His premiership was characterized by the [[nationalisation]] of foreign-owned private industries,<ref name=BlackPast /> membership of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]]<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> and authoritarian domestic policy.<ref name=NYT /><ref name= Britannica /> Despite being widely regarded as having a significant role in the political, social, and economic development of Guyana,<ref>{{cite news |title=THE LIFE & LEGACY OF LFS BURNHAM, Part 1 |url=https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2010/08/08/the-life-legacy-of-lfs-burnham-part-1/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Kaieteur News |date=8 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Granger pays glowing tribute to Forbes Burnham |url=https://www.guyanatimesinternational.com/granger-pays-glowing-tribute-to-forbes-burnham/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Guyana Times International |agency=Guyana Times |date=11 August 2017}}</ref> his presidency was marred by accusations of [[Afrocentrism]],<ref name=":22" /> state-sanctioned violence,<ref name=Symbiotic /><ref name="Vidal and Whitehead" /><ref name=workersworld /> corruption,<ref name=NYT>{{cite news |last1=Treaster |first1=Joseph B. |title=Guyana's President Facing Biggest Challenge in 15 Years |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1979/10/13/archives/guyanas-president-facing-biggest-challenge-in-15-years-it-will-stay.html |access-date=4 January 2023 |work=New York Times |date=13 October 1979}}</ref> and electoral fraud.<ref name=N1 />

==Early life and education==
[[File:Queens College Guyana.jpg|thumb|Queen's college, which Burnham attended and where he later worked as an assistant master]]
Burnham was born in Kitty, a suburb of Georgetown, [[Demerara|Demerara County]], [[British Guiana]],<ref name="BlackPast"/> as one of three<ref name=GyGraphic/> or four (Olga, Freddie, Jessica, and Flora)<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> children. His parents were James Ethelbert Burnham, a schoolmaster,<ref name=GyGraphic/> and Rachel Abigail Sampson,<ref name=NationalTrust/> and he grew up in an [[Afro-Guyanese]], [[Methodist]] household. Burnham's father had his roots in a slave family from [[Barbados]], and his family name came from the surname of the plantation owner. On the abolition of slavery, Burnham's ancestor migrated to British Guiana.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Samaroo |first1=Shaun Michael |title=How we feel about Burnham and Jagan |url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/08/07/features/ways-of-looking-feeling/feel-burnham-jagan/ |access-date=2 January 2023 |work=Stabroek News |date=7 August 2014}}</ref>

According to Burnham's sister [[Jessie Burnham|Jessie]], the family grew up on 4 Pike Street, Kitty. Jessie also attests that their father was the headteacher at Kitty Methodist School for 37 years, and sat on the Village Council.<ref name=JessieBeware>{{cite web |last1=Burnham |first1=Jessie |title=Beware My Brother |url=https://jagan.org/Links/Beware%20my%20Brother%20Forbes%20by%20Jessie%20Burnham.pdf |website=jagan.org |publisher=People's Progressive Party |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref> Forbes Burnham attended Kitty Methodist School and Central High School<ref name=GyGraphic/> before attending the prestigious secondary school, [[Queen's College, Guyana|Queen's College]], where he met future political rival [[Cheddi Jagan]].<ref name="BlackPast"/> His sister said that Burnham was ambitious from a young age, and that he was bullied at Central High School for his small stature and academic prowess.<ref name=JessieBeware/> At Queen's College, Burnham excelled academically, receiving the Centenary Exhibition (1936), the Government Junior (1937), and the Percival Exhibition (1938).<ref name=encyclopedia.com />

In 1942, he won the British Guiana Scholarship to study at the [[University of London]], as the top student in British Guiana.<ref name=GyGraphic/> Burnham was unable to travel to the [[United Kingdom]] due to [[World War II]], instead working as an assistant master at Queen's college and completing a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of London through external examinations.<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> After he was allowed to travel to London, Burnham received a law degree from the [[London School of Economics]],<ref name=GyGraphic/> at the time a [[Collegiate university|constituent college]] of the University of London, in 1947<ref name="BlackPast"/> or 1948<ref name=GyGraphic/> and was the president of the West Indian Student Union at the university<ref name=GyGraphic/> for the year 1947–1948<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> He went on to pass the bar in 1948, and became a member of [[Gray's Inn]].<ref name=GyGraphic/> Burnham met many African and Caribbean students – including [[Abubakar Tafawa Balewa]] of Nigeria, [[Seretse Khama]] of Botswana and [[Kwame Nkrumah]] of Ghana as well as [[Michael Manley]] of Jamaica and [[Errol Barrow]] of Barbados – during his studies in London.<ref name=Granger>{{cite web|url=http://apnuguyana.org/wp-content/uploads/Publications/Forbes-Burnham-and-The-Liberation-of-Southern-Africa.pdf|title=Forbes Burnham and the Liberation of Southern Africa|author=David A. Granger|access-date=1 August 2015|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208062121/http://apnuguyana.org/wp-content/uploads/Publications/Forbes-Burnham-and-The-Liberation-of-Southern-Africa.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In London, Burnham won the Best Speaker's Cup, awarded by the Faculty of Law. He also attended the Student's Congresses in Prague and Paris, and was a member of the [[League of Coloured Peoples]].<ref name=encyclopedia.com />

He left the [[United Kingdom]] to return to British Guiana on 20 December 1948, departing [[Liverpool]] on the [[RMS Empress of France (1928)|Empress of France]] bound for [[Halifax, Nova Scotia]], and arrived in Georgetown in 1949.<ref name=GyGraphic/>

== 1949–1955: The People's Progressive Party (PPP) ==

===Founding the People's Progressive Party===
In 1949, after returning from his studies in the United Kingdom, Burnham entered the private law chambers of Cameron and Shepherd<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> before setting up his own private law practice,<ref name=Africana>{{cite book |last1=Appiah |first1=Anthony |title=Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience |date=2005 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |edition=2 |url=https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50032711.html |access-date=2 January 2015}}</ref> Clarke and Martin.<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> Also in 1949, Burnham became the leader of the [[British Guiana Labour Party]] (BGLP),<ref name=ACE>{{cite web |title=Guyana general and regional elections- 2001 report of the Commonwealth Observer Group |url=https://aceproject.org/regions-en/countries-and-territories/GY/reports/guyana-general-and-regional-elections-2001-report |website=aceproject.org |publisher=Commonwealth Observer Group |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref> which had been formed in 1946. In the [[1947 British Guiana general election|1947 elections]] the Labour Party had won 5 of 14 seats in the [[Legislative Council (British Guiana)|Legislative Council]], making them the largest party.<ref name=SN>[http://www.stabroeknews.com/2010/features/05/06/the-1947-parliamentary-elections-in-colonial-british-guiana/ The 1947 parliamentary elections in colonial British Guiana] Stabroek News, 6 May 2010</ref>

Less than a year after his return from the United Kingdom, Burnham was one of the founders of the [[People's Progressive Party (Guyana)|People's Progressive Party]] (PPP), which was launched on 1 January 1950. The [[Indo-Guyanese]] labour leader [[Cheddi Jagan]] became Leader of the PPP, Jagan's wife [[Janet Jagan]] became the secretary and Burnham became the first party chairman. Jagan had been the leader of the [[Political Affairs Committee (British Guiana)|Political Affairs Committee]], which merged with the BGLP to form the PPP.<ref name="PPP">[http://www.ppp-civic.org/history/historyppp.htm History of the PPP], PPP website.</ref> Burnham chose the name of the new party.<ref name=encyclopedia.com />

===Minister of Education===
In 1952, Burnham became the president of the party's affiliated trade union, the British Guiana Labour Union,<ref name=GINA/> and was elected to Georgetown City Council in 1953.<ref name=Africana/> In the [[1953 British Guiana general election]] on 27 April 1953, the PPP won 18 of 24 seats in the first election with universal suffrage in Guyana, with both Burnham and his sister [[Jessie Burnham|Jessie]] elected to the [[House of Assembly (British Guiana)|House of Assembly]]. In the short-lived PPP government that followed, Burnham served as [[Ministry of Education (Guyana)#List|Minister of Education]].<ref name=GINA>[http://www.gina.gov.gy/natprofile/formerpresidents.html Biographies of former presidents] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080828050739/http://gina.gov.gy/natprofile/formerpresidents.html |date=28 August 2008 }}, GINA.</ref> Burnham initially threatened to split the party if he were not made sole leader of the PPP, but a compromise was reached by which Burnham and his allies in the party received ministerial appointments.<ref name=":6">{{Cite web|title=Guyana – PREINDEPENDENCE GOVERNMENT, 1953–66|url=http://countrystudies.us/guyana/12.htm|access-date=19 February 2021|website=countrystudies.us}}</ref> The newly formed government began to dissent against colonial rule, refusing to send a delegation to the [[Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II]], urging strike action and repealing several laws which the Colonial Office wanted in place. This dissent took place during the [[Red Scare]], and British statesmen were worried about a possible communist revolution in Guyana; [[Winston Churchill]] remarked that "(W)e ought surely to get American support in doing all we can to break the Communist teeth in British Guiana … (P)erhaps they would even send Senator McCarthy down there."<ref name=Guardian>{{cite news |last1=Bahadur |first1=Gaiutra |title=In 1953, Britain openly removed an elected government, with tragic consequences |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/oct/30/1953-britain-guyana |access-date=2 January 2023 |work=The Guardian |date=30 October 2020}}</ref>

On 9 October 1953, the British administration suspended the Constitution of British Guiana and sent in armed troops after the PPP government passed the Labour Relations Act (modelled on the [[National Labor Relations Act of 1935|Wagner Act]]<ref name=Guardian/>) the day before, marking the end of the PPP government. Burnham and Jagan would travel to London to unsuccessfully protest the decision, where they were subject to secret surveillance by British intelligence services.<ref>{{cite news |title=Examining the secret surveillance of Jagan and Burnham during 1953 visit to Britain |url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/01/09/sunday/examining-the-secret-surveillance-of-jagan-and-burnham-during-1953-visit-to-britain/ |access-date=2 January 2023 |work=Stabroek News |date=9 January 2022}}</ref> Following this, Burnham and Jagan travelled to [[India]] in an unsuccessful attempt to find support for their cause against the British.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sires |first1=Ronald V. |title=British Guiana: the Suspension of the Constitution |journal=Western Political Quarterly |date=December 1954 |volume=7 |issue=4 |pages=536–720 |doi=10.1177/106591295400700403 |s2cid=153730642 |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/106591295400700403 |access-date=1 January 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The interim government appointed by the British would last until 1957.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Guyana - The Interim Government, 1953–57|url=http://countrystudies.us/guyana/13.htm|access-date=19 February 2021|website=countrystudies.us}}</ref>

During the suspension of the constitution, the interim government gave Burnham fewer restrictions than other senior members of the party, he was not imprisoned while the other senior members were, and he was given tacit encouragement to begin a breakaway faction within the party, which he would do two years later.<ref name=Guardian/>

== 1955–1964: Leader of the People's National Congress (PNC) ==

===Origins of the People's National Congress===
At a conference at the Metropole Cinema in Georgetown on 12–13 February 1955, the PPP split into two factions, one led by Burnham ("Burnhamite")<ref name=N1/> and the other by Jagan ("Jaganite").<ref name=N1/><ref>{{cite news |date=29 August 2010 |title=The Life and Legacy of LFS Burnham: Conclusion |work=Kaieteur News |url=https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2010/08/29/the-life-legacy-of-lfs-burnham-conclusion/ |access-date=2 January 2023}}</ref> Jagan supported a [[Socialism|socialist]] domestic policy,<ref>The Guyana story, from prehistory to independence</ref><ref>Cheddi Jagan's 'the West on trial</ref> but Burnham's faction was more [[moderate (politics)|moderate]].<ref name=Britannica/> The two also had personality differences.<ref>{{cite web |title=Guyana – Political Parties |url=https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/caribbean/gy-political-parties.htm#:~:text=One%20of%20the%20reasons%20for%20the%20Jagan-Burnham%20unity,within%20the%20broader%20imperial%20strategy%20of%20racial%20division. |website=globalsecurity.org |publisher=Global Security |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref> After the [[1957 British Guiana general election|1957 election]], where Jagan's faction won 9 seats and Burnham's won only 3, Burnham went on to form the [[People's National Congress (Guyana)|People's National Congress]]<ref name=N1/> (PNC) in 1957,<ref name=GyGraphic/> becoming leader of the opposition.<ref name=encyclopedia.com/> The PNC entered its first election under that name in 1961.<ref>http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter133.html (see also: Forbidden Freedom by Cheddi Jagan)</ref> Also in 1957, Burnham became President of the Guyana Bar Association, a position he would hold until 1964.<ref name=GyGraphic/> In 1959, Burnham was elected Mayor of Georgetown, a position he would hold until 1964<ref name=GyGraphic/> when he was re-elected<ref name=encyclopedia.com/> until 1966.<ref name=Africana/> The [[United Democratic Party (British Guiana)|United Democratic Party]] merged with the PNC in 1959.<ref>[http://www.guyana.org/features/guyanastory/chapter148.html The organisation of the PNC] Guyana.org</ref>

The political split deepened the racial division between Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese.<ref name=LATimes /> Guyanese politics continues to largely follow racial lines, with PPP support mainly of a [[South Asian]] background and PNC support mostly of [[List of ethnic groups of Africa|African]] descent.<ref name=raciallines>{{cite news |last1=Palash R. |first1=Ghosh |title=Guyana Elections Expected to Break Down According to Racial Lines |url=https://www.ibtimes.com/guyana-elections-expected-break-down-according-racial-lines-375590 |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=IB Times |agency=International Business Times |date=28 November 2011}}</ref> This would follow the rural-urban divide as well, Afro-Guyanese tending to live in urban-coastal areas and Indo-Guyanese tending to live in rural-interior areas.<ref name=encyclopedia.com/> After the split, Jagan's PPP and Burnham's PNC largely became the political expressions of the Indo-Guyanese and Afro-Guyanese aspirations respectively, and advocated for their supporter's interests.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Collins |first1=B.A.N. |title=Independence for Guyana |journal=The World Today |date=June 1966 |volume=22 |issue=6 |pages=260–268 |jstor=40393870 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40393870 |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

===1961 general election===
{{Main|1961 British Guiana general election}}
In the [[1961 British Guiana general election|1961 election]], Burnham's PNC party won 11 seats in the [[Legislative Assembly (British Guiana)|Legislative Assembly]] with 41% of the vote. Despite only winning 1.64% more of the vote than the PNC, the PPP won 20 seats, nearly double the number of seats won by the PNC. This led to mass demonstrations, racial tensions and a general strike. The Governor declared a state of emergency and British troops were deployed.<ref name=N1/>

===The Kaldor Budget and Black Friday===
On 31 January 1962 the PPP government announced what would later be known as the "Kaldor Budget", advised by economist [[Nicholas Kaldor]], including an increase in tax and import duty, which was opposed by opposition parties, who started taking action against the government, including mass demonstrations led by the PNC. According to the Wynn Parry Commission, on 12 February, Burnham gave the following speech: "Comrades, the fight starts now. Tomorrow at 2 o'clock in the afternoon there is a demonstration organized by the Trade Union Congress, a demonstration against the harsh proposals of the budget, which make life unbearable. No doubt the Riot Squad will be there. Do you still want to go? Comrades, remember that tomorrow Jagan's army is coming down from Cane Grove and Windsor Forest. Do you still want to go?"<ref name=Seeram>{{cite news |last1=Seeram |first1=Ralph |title=Kaldor Budget and Black Friday February 16, 1962 – commentary |url=https://guyaneseonline.net/2014/03/30/kaldor-budget-and-black-friday-february-16-1962-commentary/#:~:text=The%20incitement%20of%20the%20mobs%20by%20the%20opposition,well%20as%20the%20business%20that%20supported%20the%20budget. |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211070520/http://guyaneseonline.net/2014/03/30/kaldor-budget-and-black-friday-february-16-1962-commentary/#:~:text=The%20incitement%20of%20the%20mobs%20by%20the%20opposition,well%20as%20the%20business%20that%20supported%20the%20budget. |url-status=usurped |archive-date=11 February 2021 |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Guyana Online |date=30 March 2014}}</ref> the mass action would culminate 16 February 1962, later called "Black Friday". 56 businesses were destroyed, 87 damaged by fire and 66 were looted. One Police Superintendent was killed and 39 injured, while four looters were fatally shot and 41 injured. The rioters also attacked the Electricity Plant, the Water Works, Parliament, and Jagan's residence.<ref name=Seeram/> The riots were responded to by [[HMS Troubridge (R00)]] and [[HMS Wizard (R72)]]. Black smoke covered Georgetown and a large fire was evident.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Pfennigwerth |first1=Ian |title=Georgetown, Guiana – The Riots of February 1962 |date=4 March 2007 |url=https://navyhistory.org.au/georgetown-guiana-the-riots-of-february-1962/ |publisher=Naval Historical Society of Australia |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

===International intervention in British Guiana===
According to declassified documents, in the early 1960s The [[United States]] Government led by [[John F. Kennedy]] became increasingly convinced that Jagan's PPP government had [[communist]] ideals. Due to the [[Radical politics|radical]] views of Cheddi Jagan (who leaned towards communism) and Jagan's alliances with the [[Soviet Union]] and [[Cuba]], Burnham was supported by [[Western world|Western]] nations.<ref>Jagan, C. 1994. Forgotten Freedom. Hansib Publications Limited. Guyana. 3rd edition.</ref> In May 1962 Kennedy held direct talks with British prime minister [[Harold Macmillan]], and Burnham visited [[Washington D.C.|Washington]]. Senior officials in the United States decided that Burnham's proposed [[socialism]] was preferable to Jagan's ideology, but also concluded that Jagan would become [[Head of Government]] of an independent Guyana without US intervention. Burnham readily agreed to US action against Jagan. In 1962, Kennedy approved intervention against Jagan's government. Independence was delayed by British officials, allowing time for a covert operation by the [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. Both [[Peter D'Aguiar]] (leader of the third largest party, [[The United Force]]) and Burnham pledged to support the notion of proportional representation (opposed by Jagan), and Burnham began to receive financial aid from the CIA.<ref name=CIA>{{cite web |last1=Prados |first1=John |title=CIA Covert Operations: The 1964 Overthrow of Cheddi Jagan in British Guiana |url=https://nsarchive.gwu.edu/briefing-book/intelligence/2020-04-06/cia-covert-operations-overthrow-cheddi-jagan-british-guiana-1964 |website=nsarchive.gwu.edu |publisher=National Security Archive |access-date=2 January 2023}}</ref>

Burnham was appointed President of the Guyana Labour Union in 1963.<ref name=GyGraphic/>

The CIA has been accused of assisting strike action against the PPP government beginning in 1963. This action would eventually turn to violence, with arson and bombing at government buildings. Burnham was mentioned in police reports.<ref name=CIA/>

===Lead up to the 1964 election===
In 1963, further talks between President Kennedy and British prime minister Macmillan led to the British decision to impose a December 1964 election using proportional representation, after which British Guiana would be granted independence.The Americans received assurances from Burnham and D'Aguiar that they would mutually support each other in the election, and US money would be used for political campaigning. The lead-up to the election was marked by widespread violence, with nearly 200 murders and 2,600 families displaced.<ref name=CIA/> A [[Linden, Guyana#Linden unrest|series of racially-motivated incidents]] took place in and around [[Linden, Guyana|Linden]], including the Wismar Massacre on 26 May, the sinking of the Sun Chapman on 6 July and the following murders of 5 Indo-Guyanese individuals at Mackenzie.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shah |first1=Ryaan |title=The Wismar Massacre |url=https://guyanatimesgy.com/the-wismar-massacre/ |access-date=2 January 2023 |work=Guyana Times |date=21 May 2017}}</ref> In one incident in August 1964, Jagan, Burnham, and d'Aguiar were conferring about reducing the spate of violence when the headquarters of the PPP were bombed just down the street.<ref name=CIA/>

Just before the election, the CIA estimated that the PPP and PNC would take about 40 percent of the vote, United Force would take 15 percent, and the [[false-flag]] [[Justice Party (Guyana)|Justice Party]] (aimed at Indo-Guyanese voters and backed by the CIA), would take 5 percent.<ref name=CIA/>

== 1964–1966: Premier of British Guiana ==
[[File:Queen Elizabeth II State Visit To British Guiana, February 1966.webp|thumb|Burnham in the presence of [[Queen Elizabeth II]] in February 1966, during her state visit to British Guiana.]]
In the [[1964 British Guiana general election|1964 election]] on 7 December 1964, Jagan's PPP won the highest percentage of the vote (46% to the PNC's 41%), but it did not win a majority. Burnham succeeded in forming a coalition with [[The United Force|The United Force (TUF)]], led by Peter D'Aguiar, which had won the remaining 12% of the votes, thereby becoming [[Prime_Minister_of_Guyana#Premiers_of_British_Guiana|Premier]] on 14 December.<ref name=GyGraphic/> Jagan refused to resign, and had to be removed by [[List of Governors of British Guiana|Governor]] [[Richard Luyt]].<ref name=N1>[[Dieter Nohlen|Nohlen, D]] (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p355 {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}</ref> Burnham would remain as [[Head of Government]] of Guyana for the next 21 years.

In 1965, Burnham along with [[Errol Barrow]] of Barbados were the founders of the [[Caribbean Free Trade Association]] (CARIFTA), which came into operation on 1 May 1968. CARIFTA was in 1973 superseded by [[CARICOM]].<ref name ="The 2009 ERROL BARROW MEMORIAL LECTURE">{{Cite web |url=http://www.normangirvan.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ramphal-errol-barrow-memorial-lecture-2009.pdf |title=The 2009 ERROL BARROW MEMORIAL LECTURE |access-date=14 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131021001916/http://www.normangirvan.info/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/ramphal-errol-barrow-memorial-lecture-2009.pdf |archive-date=21 October 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On 26 May 1966, British Guiana became an independent country and was renamed "Guyana".<ref name=BritannicaIndependence>{{cite web |last1=Richardson |first1=Bonham C. |title=Guyana Independence |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Guyana/Independence |website=Britannica |access-date=2 January 2023}}</ref> Under the post-independence Constitution, [[Elizabeth II|Queen Elizabeth II]], now styled [[Queen of Guyana]], was retained as titular [[head of state]], represented in Guyana by the [[Governor-General of Guyana|Governor-General]], who served in a largely ceremonial capacity, with Forbes, now [[Prime Minister of Guyana|Prime Minister]], as head of government, appointed by a majority in the [[National Assembly (Guyana)|National Assembly]].<ref name="csind">{{csref|country=guyana|section=Independence Constitution|author=Georges A. Fauriol}}</ref> However, the Constitution also made provision for a change to republican status to be made by a resolution of a majority of members of the Assembly at least 42 months after the date of independence, subject to a further three months before it was passed, a compromise between Burnham, who favoured a republic, and D'Aguiar, who favoured retaining the monarchy.<ref>[https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=OkYXAgAAQBAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&lpg=PA95&dq=%22The%20provision%20enabled%20a%20change%20to%20republican%20status%20to%20be%20made%22&pg=PA95#v=onepage&q=%22The%20provision%20enabled%20a%20change%20to%20republican%20status%20to%20be%20made%22&f=false ''Monarchy and the End of Empire: The House of Windsor, the British Government, and the Postwar Commonwealth''], Philip Murphy, OUP Oxford, 2013, page 95</ref>

== 1966–1980: Prime Minister of Guyana ==
In one of Burnham's first acts upon independence, he passed a sweeping "National Security Act", permitting unrestricted search-and-seizure powers and the ability to detain individuals for up to 90 days without trial.<ref name=BlackPast/>

Burnham still had a significant electoral disadvantage, as voting support mostly followed racial lines, and  about 50% of the Guyanese population on independence was Indo-Guyanese<ref name="UN Demographic Yearbooks"
>{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm#2001|title=United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics|website=unstats.un.org|access-date=3 October 2017}}</ref> and would likely support Jagan's PPP, making a fair election nearly impossible to win for Burnham.<ref name=Ramharack/> A telegram from the US Ambassador stated that "he intends to remain in power indefinitely" and "if necessary, he is prepared to employ unorthodox methods to achieve his aims".<ref name=Ramharack/> In a meeting with US president [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] in July 1966, Burnham discussed a scheme to promote immigration of [[Afro-Caribbean people]] in an effort to improve his electoral chances in the 1968 election. This scheme was unsuccessful.<ref name=Ramharack>{{cite news |last1=Ramharack |first1=Baytoram |title=Rethinking Forbes Burnham: Revelations from the "303 Committee" on laying the foundation for Guyana's dictatorship |url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2021/11/14/news/guyana/rethinking-forbes-burnham-revelations-from-the-303-committee-on-laying-the-foundation-for-guyanas-dictatorship/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Stabroek News |date=14 November 2014}}</ref> In 1967, Burnham stated that "overseas vote figures could be manipulated pretty much as he wished". Burnham later stated that he would "identify and register all Guyanese of African ancestry in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States in order to get their absentee votes in the next election", and suggested that Indo-Guyanese living abroad may have trouble getting registered or receiving ballots.<ref name=Ramharack/>

In October 1966, Venezuelan soldiers occupied [[Ankoko Island]] in the [[Guyana–Venezuela territorial dispute|disputed Essequibo territory]]. Burnham demanded the withdrawal of Venezuelan armed forces, but his request was denied.<ref name=":12">{{Cite web|url=http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2011/09/26/raul-leoni-paro-en-seco-a-guyana-en-la-isla-anacoco-documento/|title=Raúl Leoni paró en seco a Guyana en la Isla Anacoco (documento)|date=26 September 2011|website=[[La Patilla]]|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111202054932/http://www.lapatilla.com/site/2011/09/26/raul-leoni-paro-en-seco-a-guyana-en-la-isla-anacoco-documento/|archive-date=2 December 2011|access-date=17 January 2020}}</ref>

===1968 general election===
{{main|1968 Guyanese general election}}
The PNC attained a majority government in the [[1968 Guyanese general election|general elections of 1968]] through electoral fraud, using an inflated "overseas vote" to skew the results in their favour.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Ishmael |first1=Odeen |title=The December 1968 Electoral Fraud in Guyana |url=http://www.guyanajournal.com/1968electionfraud.html |website=www.guyanajournal.com |publisher=Guyana Journal |access-date=10 March 2022 |date=29 September 2005}}</ref><ref name=N1/><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Westmaas |first1=Nigel |title=1968 and the Social and Political Foundations and Impact of the "New Politics" in Guyana |journal=Caribbean Studies |year=2009 |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=110–111 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25702371 |access-date=10 March 2022 |publisher=Institute of Caribbean Studies, UPR, Rio Piedras Campus |doi=10.1353/crb.2010.0003 |jstor=25702371 |language=English|doi-access=free }}</ref> The PNC won 93.7% of the 36,745 overseas ballots, allowing Burnham to claim an absolute majority. An independent review by the Opinion Research Centre of London was only able to verify 15% of the entries on the overseas list.<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> An investigation looking into the identity of some of the voters found that two horses near [[Manchester]], a closed butcher's shop in [[Brooklyn]] and a railway in [[London]] had been counted as registered voters, and there were many addresses where the reported voters had never been resident. Only just over 100 voters of 900 checked in the United Kingdom were genuine, and in [[New York (state)|New York]] only 40% were genuine. Peter D'Aguiar called it "a seizure of power by fraud, not an election."<ref name=Pulitzer/>

===Rupununi Uprising and Tigri Area dispute===
{{Main|Rupununi Uprising}}
{{Main|Tigri Area}}
In 1968, a conference of 40,000 Amerindian people presented demands to Burnham, being dissatisfied with his [[afrocentrism|afrocentrist]] policies.<ref name=":22">{{Cite book|last=González|first=Pedro|title=La Reclamación de la Guayana Esequiba|year=1991|location=Caracas}}</ref> The Agriculture Minister declared that the inhabitants' land ownership certifications would no longer be recognized and the zone would be occupied by the [[Afro-Guyanese]] population.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|date=4 July 2020|title=Guyana: De Rupununi a La Haya|url=https://www.eneltapete.com/historia/1407/guyana-de-rupununi-a-la-haya|access-date=13 March 2021|website=En El Tapete|language=es}}</ref> A provisional [[secessionist]] government was declared and attacks on [[Lethem, Guyana|Lethem]] began. The uprising was ultimately quelled by the [[Guyana Defence Force|Guyana Defence Force (GDF)]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Braveboy-Wagner|first=Jacqueline Anne|title=The Venezuela-Guyana Border Dispute: Britain's Colonial Legacy In Latin America|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2019|isbn=9781000306897}}</ref>

In 1969, following the establishment of [[Camp Tigri]] by Surinamese authorities, the [[Guyana Defence Force]] would take Camp Tigri and assert authority over the [[Tigri Area]].<ref name="gids">{{cite web|url=https://www.dbnl.org/tekst/_gid001197001_01/_gid001197001_01_0099.php|title=De Gids. Jaargang 133|website=Digital Library for Dutch Literature|date=1970|access-date=16 June 2020|language=nl}}</ref> Guyana continues to hold the camp despite a 1970 agreement to withdraw military forces.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Tracy|date=12 May 2014|title=Suriname, Guyana in Dispute Over Mineral-Rich Land|url=https://atlantablackstar.com/2014/05/12/suriname-guyana-dispute-mineral-rich-lands/|access-date=27 February 2021|website=Atlanta Black Star|language=en-US}}</ref>

===Establishment of the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana===
Before 1970, Burnham mostly pursued [[moderate (politics)|moderate]] political policies.<ref name=Britannica /> Burnham veered sharply to the left and established relations with [[Cuba]] (8 December 1972)<ref>{{cite news |title=President praises 'massive' Cuban contribution to Guyana's development |url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2022/12/23/news/guyana/president-praises-massive-cuban-contribution-to-guyanas-development/ |access-date=2 January 2023 |work=Stabroek News |date=23 December 2022}}</ref> and the [[Soviet Union]] (17 December 1970)<ref>{{cite book|last=Ginsburgs|first=George|author2=Slusser, Robert M.|title=A calendar of Soviet treaties, 1958–1973|publisher=[[Brill Publishers|BRILL]]|year=1981|isbn=90-286-0609-2|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3X4nnE7eKjEC|pages=819|access-date=17 July 2009}}</ref> and a strong relationship with [[North Korea]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Farley |first1=Robert |title=A Strange Cold War Partnership: North Korea and Guyana |url=https://thediplomat.com/2016/06/a-strange-cold-war-partnership-north-korea-and-guyana/#:~:text=The%20relationship%20between%20North%20Korea%20and%20Guyana%20largely,cleavages%20that%20did%20not%20exist%20in%20the%20DPRK. |access-date=2 January 2023 |work=The Diplomat |date=28 June 2016}}</ref> In 1969, as noted by one study, Burnham “declared his dissatisfaction with the free enterprise system and his willingness to embrace Marxism/Leninism.”<ref>[https://guyanapalmtree.tripod.com/id35.html GUYANA PALM TREETHE NEW PNC: THINK TANK]</ref> On 23 February 1970, he declared Guyana a "co-operative republic".<ref name=BlackPast/> Adopting a policy of [[autarky]], he banned all forms of imports into the country, including flour and varieties of rice that had been integral to the diet of Indo-Guyanese. Burnham also nationalised the major industries that were foreign-owned and -controlled.<ref name=BlackPast/> By 1979 his policies had reduced the private sector's share in the economy to only 10%.<ref name= Britannica /> In declaring the Co-Operative republic, Burnham replaced the Head of State, removing the British monarch and installing [[Arthur Chung]] as the first president (in a mostly ceremonial role), though Guyana remained a member of the [[Commonwealth of Nations]] ([[Sonny Ramphal]], Burnham's foreign minister from 1972-1975, became the second [[Commonwealth Secretary-General]] in 1975, and served in that post until 1990).<ref name="csind" />

During an interview in September 1972, Burnham noted his opposition to capitalism and his belief in a socialist alternative for Guyana:

{{Blockquote|MARVIN X: Prime Minister, how did you come about the idea of a Co-operative Republic – does this idea have to do with the nature of how black people have always lived?

PRIME MINISTER: Well, we reject the capitalist system! For us it has only meant domination and exploitation. We are socialists. We in Guyana wanted to find a vehicle that would involve the small man in the economy of the country, and give him, eventually, as dominate a role in the economy as he has in politics by virtue of the vote. And we identified the cooperative because its part of the history of the earliest Amerindians in this country; it’s part of the history of freed slaves in Guyana. In fact, where we are sitting here now, my house, is part of a village, Victoria, the first village in Guyana bought on a cooperative basis by freed black slaves. So far as Indians who came from India subsequently are concerned, also, they have a tradition of cooperatism. We thought the cooperative could be our instrument, giving as it does an opportunity to the ordinary man to participate, pooling his resources without us and with the assistance of government , being able to take ahold of the economy.<ref>The Black Scholar, Volume 4, Number 5, February 1973, P.24</ref>}}

===Port of Spain Protocol===
On 18 June 1970 Burnham signed the Port of Spain Protocol with Venezuela. The protocol, in place for 12 years, promoted co-operation between the two countries on the Border Dispute in Guayana Esequiba.<ref>{{cite web |title=Port of Spain Protocol |url=https://peacemaker.un.org/sites/peacemaker.un.org/files/GY-GB-VE_700618_ProtocolPortSpain%28eng%29.pdf |website=peacemaker.un.org |publisher=United Nations |access-date=2 January 2023}}</ref> The protocol was not renewed after 12 years.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2018/sgsm18879.doc.htm|publisher=UN|title=Secretary-General Chooses International Court of Justice as Means for Peacefully Settling Long-Standing Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy|date=30 January 2018}}</ref>

===Membership of the Non-Aligned movement===
Burnham, after attending the 1970 summit of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] in [[Lusaka]], [[Zambia]], paid official visits to several African countries—Zambia, [[Uganda]], [[Kenya]], [[Tanzania]] and [[Ethiopia]]—over the period 12–30 September 1970. The Guyanese government remained fully involved in the African liberation movement throughout the 1970s.<ref name=Granger/>

Burnham sent more than a hundred Guyanese public servants to various departments of the Zambian Government. Many Guyanese doctors, engineers, lawyers and secretaries worked in Southern African states throughout the 1970s.<ref name=Granger/>

===House of Israel===
{{Main|House of Israel (Guyana)|l1= House of Israel}}
In 1972, Rabbi David Hill arrived in Guyana and established the House of Israel, a religious sect that the opposition accused of operating as a private army for Burnham's PNC.<ref name="jones">{{cite web|url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=34259|title=The "Other" Jim Jones: Rabbi David Hill, House of Israel, and Black American Religion in the Age of Peoples Temple|author=Nishani Frazier|website=San Diego State University|access-date=23 November 2021}}</ref> In 2014 [[Joseph Hamilton (politician)|Joseph Hamilton]], a former House of Israel priest, testified that the House of Israel committed "oppressive and terrorizing acts on behalf of the PNC."<ref name="chronicle">{{cite news|url=https://guyanachronicle.com/2014/06/03/corbin-delivered-guns-to-house-of-israel/ |title=Corbin delivered guns to House of Israel|website=Guyana Chronicle|access-date=23 November 2011|date=3 June 2014}}</ref>

===1973 general election===
{{Main|1973 Guyanese general election}}
In the [[1973 Guyanese general election|1973 general election]], Burnham received 70% of the vote and 37 of the 53 seats in the National Assembly. It is generally accepted that Burnham had significant untoward influence on the results of the elections, making them fraudulent.<ref name=N1/> During the transportation of ballot boxes by the military, the army shot dead two Indo-Guyanese poll workers, who became known as the "Ballot Box Martyrs".<ref name=Pulitzer/> Shortly after the election, Burnham expanded powers of preventive detention, allowing restrictions on movement and possession of firearms, and search without warrant.<ref name=detentionbill>{{cite news |title=Legislative acts as a form of social control – British emergency detention bill and the preventive detention act, 1966–1991 |url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2012/03/29/features/history-this-week/legislative-acts-as-a-form-of-social-control-british-emergency-detention-bill-and-the-preventive-detention-act-1966-1991/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Stabroek News |date=29 March 2012}}</ref>

===Declaration of Sophia===
{{Main|Declaration of Sophia}}
On 14 December 1974, Burnham issued the [[Declaration of Sophia]], stating that "the Party should assume unapologetically its paramountcy over the Government which is merely one of its executive arms."<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.guyanatimesinternational.com/the-state-under-burnham/ |title=The State under Burnham|website=Guyana Times International|access-date=6 December 2021|date=4 March 2016}}</ref> The Declaration also called for a transition to a socialist state, and a nationalisation of its economy.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Chandisingh|first=Rajendra|date=1983|title=The State, the Economy, and Type of Rule in Guyana: An Assessment of Guyana's "Socialist Revolution"|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2633448|journal=Latin American Perspectives|volume=10|issue=4|pages=59–74|doi=10.1177/0094582X8301000405 |jstor=2633448 |s2cid=145724717 |issn=0094-582X|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The declaration also led to the founding of the [[Guyana National Service]], a [[paramilitary]] organisation under the control of the party.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Guyana National Service|author=[[David A. Granger]]|url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2008/12/10/guyana-review/the-guyana-national-service/ |website=Stabroek News|access-date=6 December 2021|date=10 December 2008}}</ref>

===1978 referendum===
{{Main|1978 Guyanese constitutional referendum}}
The PNC government's five-year term was due to end in 1978, forcing a new election. On 1 April 1978, Burnham announced a referendum to allow the constitution to be changed by a 2/3 majority in parliament (which the PNC had) rather than a referendum. The opposition presented a united front against the referendum. During the campaign, the PNC terminated the contract of critical newspaper "the Catholic Standard" with a state-owned printing company, hampering their ability to distribute critical material. Advertisements for opposition parties were banned in state media, and violence was used to break up opposition meetings and gatherings. Public employees were forced to sign blank proxy forms allowing others to vote on their behalf. It was also noted that there were over 10% (65,000) more people on the electoral role than the United Nations estimate of the number of eligible voters. The opposition groups eventually urged the Guyanese population to boycott the referendum.<ref name=GuyanaJournal/> During this time, prominent Guyanese poet [[Martin Carter]] was beaten by individuals affiliated with the PNC while protesting the government's refusal to hold elections.<ref>{{cite web |title=Martin Carter |url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/martin-carter |website=poetryfoundation.org |publisher=Poetry Foundation |access-date=4 January 2023}}</ref>

Burnham won the [[1978 Guyanese constitutional referendum|1978 referendum]]. There are anecdotal claims from hundreds of Indo-Guyanese (and Afro-Guyanese who were PPP supporters) that PNC enforcers aggressively, often violently, denied PPP supporters the opportunity to vote. Official figures showed the referendum passing with an implausible 97.9 percent of the vote.<ref name=N1/> There were accusations that PNC supporters voted multiple times.<ref name=GuyanaJournal/>

A week later, on 17 July 1978, the government used its new powers to change the constitution to postpone the scheduled election. These powers were also used to introduce the new constitution introduced in 1980.<ref name=GuyanaJournal>{{cite web |last1=Ishmael |first1=Odeen |title=The Rigged Referendum of 1978 |url=http://guyanajournal.com/rigged_referendum.html |website=guyanajournal.com |publisher=Guyana Journal |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

===Involvement in Jonestown===
{{Main|Jonestown}}
On 18 November 1978, a total of 909 people of the [[Peoples Temple]] died in a [[mass suicide]] in [[Jonestown]]. Burnham had previously allowed the group, led by [[Jim Jones]], to move to Guyana from [[San Francisco]], US,<ref name=LATimes/> and had a good relationship with the group. The incident drew international attention to Guyana,<ref name=LATimes/> and an inquest established by the opposition blamed Burnham, considered to be an ally of Jones,<ref name=Symbiotic>{{cite web |title=Jim Jones and the Guyana Government: A Symbiotic Relationship |url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=70275 |website=jonestown.sdsu.edu |publisher=San Diego State University |access-date=2 January 2023}}</ref> for the deaths.<ref name="multiref1">{{Cite book |last1=Reiterman |first1=Tim |last2=Jacobs |first2=John |title=Raven: The Untold Story of Rev. Jim Jones and His People |publisher=Dutton |year=1982 |isbn=978-0525241362 |page=576 |url=https://archive.org/details/ravenuntoldstory00reit}}</ref>

There are suggestions that Burnham's government participated in a [[cover-up]] of the affair. Burnham's wife [[Viola Burnham|Viola]] and his deputy prime minister [[Ptolemy Reid]] were among the first to the scene, and may have returned from the massacre site with nearly [[US$]]1 million in cash, gold and jewellery. One of Burnham's secretaries may also have visited Jonestown only hours before it occurred, a visit that was never explained.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Judge |first1=John |title=The Black Hole of Guyana: The Untold Story of the Jonestown Massacre |url=https://jonestown.sdsu.edu/?page_id=78282#_edn40 |website=jonestown.sdsu.edu |publisher=San Diego State University |access-date=2 January 2023}}</ref>

===1979 Fire, and murder of Bernard Darke===
{{Main|Murder of Bernard Darke}}

In 1979, a fire destroyed many of the official government records, including official communications with the Peoples Temple. There is some speculation that the fire was started deliberately by Burnham's government, and there are reports that men in [[Guyana Defence Force]] uniforms were seen running from the fire.<ref name=Symbiotic/> Two different government offices were burned. [[Walter Rodney]] was arrested and charged with arson. The trial was deferred three times, and later dropped due to lack of evidence.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03064228108533287 |title=A poem for Walter Rodney|author=Edward Kamau Brathwaite|journal=Index on Censorship |publisher=The Caribbean|date=June 1981|volume=10 |issue=6 |page=26|doi=10.1080/03064228108533287 |s2cid=152261408 |access-date=23 November 2021|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

During civil unrest after the fire and arrest, [[Jesuit priest]] Bernard Darke was stabbed to death by members of the [[House of Israel (Guyana)|House of Israel]],<ref name="Bahamas Spectator; 14 July 2009">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Thirty Years Since Guyana-Based Priest's Murder |url=http://www.bahamasspectator.com/thirty-years-since-guyana-based-priests-murder/ |newspaper=Bahamas Spectator |publisher=The Caribbean World News Network |date=14 July 2009 |access-date=14 May 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304102540/http://www.bahamasspectator.com/thirty-years-since-guyana-based-priests-murder/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Rose">{{cite book |last=Rose |first=Euclid A. |date=2002 |title=Dependency and Socialism in the Modern Caribbean: Superpower Intervention in Guyana, Jamaica, and Grenada, 1970–1985 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KkPb3-krfQgC |chapter=Guyana: The Adoption of Cooperative Socialism |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KkPb3-krfQgC&pg=PA210 |location=Lanham, Massachusetts |publisher=Lexington Books |page=210 |isbn=9780739104484 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YmSqCinu9aQC&pg=PA17 |title = Ethno-politics and Power Sharing in Guyana: History and Discourse|isbn = 9780982806104|last1 = Hinds|first1 = David|year = 2011| publisher=New Academia Publishing, LLC }}</ref> a [[religious cult]] closely associated with Burnham and his PNC party.<ref name="Vidal and Whitehead">{{cite book |last1=Vidal |first1=Silvia |last2=Whitehead |first2=Neil L. |author-link2=Neil L. Whitehead |year=2004 |chapter=Dark Shamans and the Shamanic State |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Vnh4-e8fqcC&pg=PA75 |editor1-last=Whitehead |editor1-first=Neil L. |editor1-link=Neil L. Whitehead |editor2-last=Wright |editor2-first=Robin |title=In Darkness and Secrecy: The Anthropology of Assault Sorcery and Witchcraft in Amazonia |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5Vnh4-e8fqcC |publisher=Duke University Press |pages=74–75 |isbn=9780822333456 |access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref> Darke was associated with the ''Catholic Standard'', a newspaper described as being "extremely critical" of the PNC.<ref name="Rose"/> According to a 2013 article by Kaieteur News, the editor of Catholic News, [[Andrew Morrison]], may have been the actual target of this attack, making it a failed [[assassination]] attempt.<ref name=Rooplall>{{cite news|last1=Rooplall|first1=Dwijendra|title=A closer look at 'The Catholic Standard'|url=http://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2013/12/25/a-closer-look-at-the-catholic-standard/|access-date=11 May 2015|publisher=[[Kaieteur News]]|date=25 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="sixpeoples">{{cite news|url=http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news401/ns401287.htm|title=A GREAT GUYANESE DIES|website=Stabroek News via Land of Six Peoples|access-date=8 September 2020|date=28 January 2004}}</ref>

== 1980–1985: President of the Co-Operative Republic of Guyana ==
[[File:Heads of State Cancun Summit 1981.jpg|thumb|Heads of state at the [[North–South Summit|1981 Cancun Summit]]. Burnham is fifth from the left in the back row.]]
[[File:Presidential Standard of Guyana (1980-1985) under President LFS Burnham.svg|right|thumb|207x207px|Forbes Burnham presidential standard]]
[[File:Dr Banda attending the Commonwealth Heads of Government Conference in New Dheli, November 1983.jpg|thumb|Burnham at a meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of Government in [[New Delhi]], 1983 (Fourth from left)]]
In 1980 the constitution was changed to make the presidency an [[Executive president|executive post]]; until this time the post had been held by [[Arthur Chung]] in a ceremonial head-of-state role. Burnham won election as president that year, winning 76% of the vote to 20% for Jagan in the official results. International Observers protested that Indo-Guyanese voters were prevented from voting in several polling locations, and there were widespread accusations of [[electoral fraud]].<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> The executive president was granted the powers to dissolve Parliament at will, veto legislation, and to appoint or dismiss almost all senior members of government.<ref name=encyclopedia.com/> The new constitution declared the country to be a “cooperative republic…in transition from capitalism to socialism.”<ref>[https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Encyclopedia_of_Christianity/yaecVMhMWaEC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Forbes+Burnham+capitalism&pg=PA489&printsec=frontcover The Encyclopedia of Christianity Volume 2 1999 P.489]</ref> 

Burnham introduced [[mass games]] to Guyana. They were first held in February 1980 to commemorate the founding of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://apjjf.org/2015/13/4/Moe-Taylor/4258.html|title='Only a disciplined people can build a nation': North Korean Mass Games and Third Worldism in Guyana, 1980–1992|website=The Asia-Pacific Journal: Japan Focus|date=26 January 2015 |accessdate=13 April 2021}}</ref>

===Assassination of Walter Rodney===
{{Main|Walter_Rodney#Assassination|l1=Assassination of Walter Rodney}}
[[Walter Rodney]] died on 13 June 1980 in Georgetown at the age of 38 in a [[car bomb]] explosion. His brother Donald, who was injured in the explosion, said that a sergeant in the [[Guyana Defence Force]] and a member of the [[House of Israel (Guyana)|House of Israel]],<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/04/30/news/guyana/house-israel-hit-squad-rodneys-brother/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211123185614/https://www.stabroeknews.com/2014/04/30/news/guyana/house-israel-hit-squad-rodneys-brother/ |archive-date=23 November 2021 |title=House of Israel was hit squad – Rodney's brother|website=Stabroek News|access-date=23 November 2021|date=30 April 2014}}</ref> named Gregory Smith, had given Rodney the bomb that killed him.<ref name=workersworld>{{Cite web|last=Azikiwe|first=Abayomi|date=28 February 2016|title=Guyana commission confirms Burnham gov't murdered Walter Rodney|url=https://www.workers.org/2016/02/24183/|access-date=16 March 2021|website=Workers World|language=en-US}}</ref>

In 2014, [[Donald Ramotar]] launched an inquiry into the murder of Rodney despite resistance from the PNC. In 2016, the Commission of Inquiry released findings that state that President Forbes Burnham, aided by the Guyana Defence Force and Guyana Police Force, was part of the conspiracy to assassinate Rodney, the leader of the Working People's Alliance (WPA), a group which posed a threat to Burnham. Rodney's WPA believed that different ethnic groups (including Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese) historically disenfranchised by colonialism should all have a part in the governance of Guyana, a position that challenged Burnham's hold on power.<ref name=GSmithdead>{{cite web |title=Gregory Smith dead |url=http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news022/ns211247.htm |website=www.landofsixpeoples.com |access-date=23 November 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214115013/http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news022/ns211247.htm |archive-date=14 December 2018|date=24 November 2002}}</ref><ref name=workersworld/>

===Last years of presidency===
In the last years of Burnham's presidency, his quasi-socialist policies led to economic stagnation. Guyana was not able to export sufficient goods, especially Guyana's main exports, [[bauxite]], rice and sugar, to earn the foreign exchange for vital imports, leading to a [[trade deficit]]<ref name= Britannica/> and massive foreign debt.<ref name=encyclopedia.com/> Commodity shortages and a near-breakdown in public services occurred, and Burnham enforced [[austerity]] measures and looked for economic support from Soviet-leaning countries.<ref name=BritannicaIndependence/> Burnham's authoritarian policies continued to lead to mass emigration,<ref name= Britannica/> contributing to a net decrease in the population of Guyana that continued throughout the 1980s.<ref>{{cite web|title=Final 2012 Census Compendium|url=https://www.statisticsguyana.gov.gy/|website=Bureau of Statistics – Guyana|access-date=27 July 2017}}</ref>

In Burnham's state-controlled economy, Afro-Guyanese held most jobs and the [[news media]] were controlled by the government. Jagan claimed that there was also economic suppression, as people remained politically inactive due to fear of losing their jobs.<ref name=encyclopedia.com/> Burnham continued as president until his death in 1985.

==Political philosophy==
Burnham's leadership was characterized by authoritarian rule.<ref name=ACE/> According to Walter Rodney, "Burnham's style of rule has many similarities with that of the late Nicaraguan dictator [[Anastasio Somoza García|Anastasio Somoza]]. Somoza oppressed not only the exploited classes of his country but also sectors of his own class (the bourgeoisie) who refused to go along with his personal style of political domination."<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Rodney |first1=Walter |title=People's Power, No Dictator |journal=Latin American Perspectives |date=1981 |volume=8 |issue=1 |pages=64–78 |doi=10.1177/0094582X8100800106 |jstor=2633131 |s2cid=144410850 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2633131 |access-date=2 January 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Rodney referred to Burnham's political philosophy as "pseudo-socialism".<ref name=Moe/> Rival Cheddi Jagan said that "Burnham is like a cork in the ocean and moves with the tides."<ref name=LATimes/> According to [[Manning Marable]], "The [[Carter administration]] viewed Guyana in the same political league as Somalia and Communist China, a nominal socialist regime which outlawed democratic rights at home and was willing to become a junior partner with US imperialism."<ref name=Jacobin/>

Burnham was a supporter of the [[Non-Aligned Movement]],<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> which Guyana had joined in 1970. Membership of the Non-Aligned movement was seen as a cornerstone of Guyana's foreign policy. Burnham's other foreign policies included establishing maintaining membership and good relations within [[CARICOM]]<ref name=Brotherson/> (including being a founding member of [[CARIFTA]] and being the man behind the first 1972 [[Caribbean Festival of Arts]]<ref>{{cite web |title=History of Carifesta |url=https://caricom.org/history-of-carifesta/ |website=caricom.org |publisher=CARICOM |access-date=2 January 2023}}</ref>) and in the [[Commonwealth of Nations]].<ref name=Brotherson>{{cite journal |last1=Brotherson |first1=Jr., Festus |title=The Foreign Policy of Guyana, 1970–1985: Forbes Burnham's Search for Legitimacy |journal=Journal of Interamerican Studies and World Affairs |date=1989 |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=9–36 |doi=10.2307/165891 |jstor=165891 |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-interamerican-studies-and-world-affairs/article/abs/foreign-policy-of-guyana-19701985-forbes-burnhams-search-for-legitimacy/169ECD4EE587B1C0AD61B8B01F38233B| access-date=1 January 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Burnham also advocated [[Regionalism (international relations)|regionalism]].<ref name=encyclopedia.com />

Burnham was staunchly opposed to South Africa's [[apartheid]] policies. On one occasion, English Cricketer [[Robin Jackman]]'s visa was rescinded after his arrival in Georgetown due to his connections with apartheid in South Africa, and a boycott of the [[1976 Summer Olympics]] was also put in place by Burnham in protest after the [[New Zealand national rugby union team]] had [[1976 New Zealand rugby union tour of South Africa|toured South Africa earlier in 1976]] and were not banned by the [[International Olympic Committee]]. After Burnham's death, in 2013 the post-apartheid government in South Africa awarded Burnham the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo for his support of South African interests.<ref name=Granger />

Burnham made all education, including tertiary education, free during his time in office.<ref>{{cite news |title=Burnham's legacy of free education will continue |url=https://guyanachronicle.com/2019/08/07/burnhams-legacy-of-free-education-will-continue/ |access-date=4 January 2023 |work=Guyana Chronicle |date=7 August 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Burnham and education |url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2007/10/21/opinion/editorial/burnham-and-education/ |access-date=4 January 2023 |work=Stabroek News |date=21 October 2007}}</ref>

Burnham was accused of corruption during his premiership by opposition parties.<ref name=NYT/> Walter Rodney said that "Burnham encourages around himself individuals who are weak or corrupt because he then exercises vicious control over them," and called his administration a "corrupt dictatorship".<ref name=Jacobin>{{cite news |last1=Rodney |first1=Walter |title=Walter Rodney and the Struggle for Democracy in Guyana |url=https://jacobin.com/2020/06/walter-rodney-guyana |access-date=4 January 2023 |work=Jacobin}}</ref>

===Afrocentrist policies and accusations of racism===
Burnham's administration has been accused of [[Afrocentrism|afrocentrist]] policies<ref name=":22" /> and [[discrimination]] against the Indian population.<ref name=Pulitzer>{{cite news |last1=Bahadur |first1=Gaiutra |title=Guyana: CIA Meddling, Race Riots and a Phantom Death Squad |url=https://pulitzercenter.org/stories/guyana-cia-meddling-race-riots-and-phantom-death-squad |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Pulitzer Center |date=2 August 2015}}</ref> Burnham's administration was mostly Afro-Guyanese.<ref name=NYT/> The Guyanese armed forces under the Burnham administration were majority Afro-Guyanese<ref name=Pulitzer /> after Burnham purged the armed forces of Indo-Guyanese from 1968,<ref>{{cite news |title=Indians and the army |url=https://www.guyanatimesinternational.com/indians-and-the-army/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Guyana Times International |agency=Guyana Times |date=1 June 2012}}</ref> and under the state-controlled economy Afro-Guyanese took up the majority of jobs<ref name=encyclopedia.com /> despite being a minority of the population.<ref name="UN Demographic Yearbooks"/> The resettlement of Afro-Guyanese in [[Amerindian]] lands was a major contributing factor in the [[Rupununi Uprising]].<ref name=":1" />

Guyanese journalist [[Freddie Kissoon]] expressed the opinion that Burnham was not [[racist]], but was aware that his support was predominantly Afro-Guyanese, the Indo-Guyanese mostly supported Jagan, so that Burnham  had to deliver policies to please the Afro-Guyanese racial group and maintain his popular support.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kissoon |first1=Freddie |title=Burnham and Kwayana: Iconoclastic notes on racism |url=https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2022/01/27/burnham-and-kwayana-iconoclastic-notes-on-racism/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Kaieteur News |date=27 January 2022}}</ref> Kissoon went on to criticise Burnham for his authoritarian policies regardless of intention, stating that "The reign of Forbes Burnham was frightening and demoralizing"<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kissoon |first1=Freddie |title=We must never forget those 5 months of 2020 |url=https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2020/08/30/we-must-never-forget-those-5-months-of-2020/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Kaieteur News |date=30 August 2020}}</ref> and also stating that during Burnham's tenure "almost 99 percent of Indian Guyanese felt that Guyana had no place for them, and that its president and his party were treating them as second-class citizens," and that Indo-Guyanese "lived in fear of Burnham".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kissoon |first1=Freddie |title=Forbes Burnham: Granger's vulgarisation of history |url=https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2021/08/09/forbes-burnham-grangers-vulgarisation-of-history/ |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Kaieteur News |date=9 August 2021}}</ref>

Walter Rodney wrote in an essay that a pamphlet by [[Jessie Burnham]]<ref name=JessieBeware/> described Forbes' "racist attitude towards Indians".<ref name=Jacobin/> In the pamphlet, a letter is shown in which Burnham writes "I feel strongly about the Indian attitude but the time has not come yet for me to broadcast those feelings".<ref name=JessieBeware/> In 1962, Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. stated that Burnham was regarded as racist by the [[US state department]] and British colonial office.<ref name=JFKlib/>

===Authoritarian policies===
Burnham passed many authoritarian policies during his tenure, starting with the "National Security Act" after independence.<ref name=BlackPast/> Burnham would pass laws to restrict movement, increase police powers to search and detain, and restrict firearms.<ref name=detentionbill/> He would come to tightly control media coverage.<ref name=encyclopedia.com/><ref name=NYT/> He would also make constitutional changes that would provide him with the power to veto legislation, make further constitutional changes without a referendum, control governmental appointments and dissolve parliament.<ref name=encyclopedia.com/>

===Role in state-sanctioned violence===
In 2016, Burnham's government was found to be complicit in the [[Walter Rodney#Assassination|assassination of Walter Rodney]]<ref name=GSmithdead/> and has been accused of using violence to break up opposition meetings and gatherings,<ref name=GuyanaJournal/> being complicit in the deliberate [[arson]] of government buildings,<ref name=Symbiotic/> and having a role in the [[Murder of Bernard Darke]].<ref name="Vidal and Whitehead"/> Burnham was Head of Government when the army killed two Indo-Guyanese poll workers in 1973 (the "Ballot Box Martyrs").<ref name=Pulitzer/>

Prior to taking control of the Guyanese government, Burnham was mentioned in police reports in the violent demonstrations of 1963,<ref name=CIA/> and his PNC party was accused of leading the mobs that caused extensive property damage in the Black Friday riots of 1962.<ref name=Seeram/>

===Covert involvement with the CIA===
According to declassified documents from the [[National Security Archive]], From 1962 to 1968 Burnham was provided with support from the US [[Central Intelligence Agency]]. During this time, Burnham agreed to CIA intervention in Guyana, and received financial assistance in the lead-up to both the 1964 and 1968 elections.<ref name=CIA/>

==Personal life==
Burnham's sister [[Jessie Burnham]] was also active in politics, and was one of the first female members of the [[House of Assembly (British Guiana)|House of Assembly]].<ref name=P>[http://parliament.gov.gy/GUYANA%20PARLIAMENT%20HISTORY%202009-1.pdf Historical information events & dates on the Parliament of Guyana from 1718 to 2006] Parliament of Guyana</ref>

Burnham's first marriage was to [[Trinidadian]] Sheila Bernice Lataste-Burnham, having met her in [[London]] when they were both students. Lataste was born in [[Woodbrook, Port of Spain|Woodbrook]]. They married in Tranquility Methodist Church, [[Port of Spain]]<ref name=laidtorest/> in May 1951.<ref name=GyGraphic/> With Lataste, Burnham had three children: [[Richard Van-West Charles|Roxanne Van West Charles]], Anabelle Pollard and Francesca Onu. The couple later divorced. Lataste-Burnham died in 2011 at the age of 91.<ref name=laidtorest>{{cite news |title=Burnham's first wife laid to rest |url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2011/08/07/news/guyana/burnham%e2%80%99s-first-wife-laid-to-rest/ |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=Stabroek News |date=7 August 2011}}</ref>

In February 1967<ref name=GyGraphic/> Burnham married high school Latin teacher Viola Victorine Harper ([[Viola Burnham]]),<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=3 March 1967 |title=Milestones: Mar. 3, 1967 |language=en-US |magazine=Time |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,843492,00.html |access-date=17 December 2022 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> who also became involved in politics, serving as Vice President of Guyana under [[Desmond Hoyte]]. Viola died in 2003 at the age of 72. Burnham had two daughters with Viola, Melanie<ref>{{cite news |title=Melanie Damishana |url=https://guyanachronicle.com/2013/11/30/melanie-damishana/ |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=Guyana Chronicle |date=30 November 2013}}</ref> and Ulele,<ref>{{cite news|first=Jomo|last=Paul|title=Daughter of Burnham joins Jagan's son in endorsing APNU+AFC |url=https://www.inewsguyana.com/daughter-of-burnham-joins-jagans-son-in-endorsing-apnuafc/ |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=i News Guyana |date=10 May 2015}}</ref> and adopted a son, Kamana.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Kissoon |first1=Freddie |title=Bharrat Jagdeo misled Guyanese on Forbes Burnham's family |url=https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2015/08/18/bharrat-jagdeo-misled-guyanese-on-forbes-burnhams-family/ |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=Kaieteur News |date=18 August 2015}}</ref>

Burnham was a [[Methodist]] by religion. His hobbies included [[swimming]] and [[horse-riding]], and he also played [[chess]], [[billiards]], [[patience (game)|patience]],<ref name=GyGraphic/>  [[cricket]], [[tennis]] and [[fishing]].<ref name=encyclopedia.com />

Burnham lived in [[Castellani House, Guyana|Castellani House]] from 1965 to 1985, during which time it was referred to as "The Residence".<ref name=Kandasammy>{{cite news|last=Kandasammy|first=Lloyd F.|title=Around the Museums of Guyana|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=2492&dat=20080424&id=TkZaAAAAIBAJ&pg=2195,8128801|accessdate=20 August 2012|newspaper=Stabroek News|date=24 April 2008|pages=20–22}}</ref><ref name=NTG>{{cite web|last=National Trust of Guyana|author-link=National Trust of Guyana|title=Historic Bourda|url=http://www.nationaltrust.gov.gy/new/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=163|work=National Trust of Guyana Official Website|accessdate=20 August 2012}}</ref>

===Personality===
After a meeting in 1962, [[Thomas J. Dodd]] described Burnham as "an intelligent, well-educated gentleman". [[Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr.]], also in 1962, said that Burnham was regarded as "an unprincipled opportunist, racist and demagogue, only interested in personal power."<ref name=JFKlib>{{cite web |last1=Lincoln |first1=Evelyn |title=BRITISH GUIANA: SECURITY, 1961–1963 |url=https://www.jfklibrary.org/asset-viewer/archives/JFKPOF/112a/JFKPOF-112a-005 |website=jfklibrary.org |publisher=John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum |access-date=5 January 2023}}</ref> Jessie Burnham described her brother as ambitious and manipulative.<ref name=JessieBeware/> [[Neil L. Whitehead]] claimed in a book that Burnham was superstitious and engaged with [[obeah]], employing an obeah advisor known as Mother Monica and devouring raw duck eggs and 100-year-old Chinese eggs to increase his potency or power.<ref name="Vidal and Whitehead"/>

==Death and burial==
[[File:Tomb of President Forbes Burnham (13919830762).jpg|thumb|207x207px|Tomb of President Forbes Burnham]]
Burnham died of heart failure during throat surgery in Georgetown on 6 August 1985 at the age of 62.<ref name= BlackPast/><ref name=LATimes>{{cite news |last1=Long |first1=William R. |title=Guyana's President Burnham Dies at 62 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-08-07-mn-3760-story.html |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=Los Angeles Times |date=7 August 1985}}</ref><ref name=Britannica>{{cite web |last1=Ray |first1=Michael |title=Forbes Burnham |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Forbes-Burnham |website=www.britannica.com |publisher=Britannica |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref><ref name=GINA/> Several sources suggest that Forbes had had heart problems in the years leading up to his death, and may have had diabetes. A man who worked for Burnham said he had heard that the president had had a "heart scare" about three and a half years before his death.<ref name=LATimes/> The throat surgery was conducted with the assistance of two specialists from Cuba.<ref name=Mysteries/> He was buried in the Botanical Gardens a few days later. His body was later exhumed and taken to the [[Soviet Union]] to be preserved for permanent display. It was returned to Guyana for his final burial a year later. It was not explained why Burnham was having throat surgery'<ref name=Mysteries>{{cite news |title=The mysteries surrounding the death and burial of the Founder Leader |url=https://www.kaieteurnewsonline.com/2016/08/09/the-mysteries-surrounding-the-death-and-burial-of-the-founder-leader/ |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=Kaieteur News |date=9 August 2016}}</ref> it was suggested he may have had a [[Polyp (medicine)|polyp]],<ref name=LATimes/> or [[throat cancer]].<ref name=Mysteries/> There are also theories as to why Burnham's body was buried after being prepared for permanent open display.<ref name=Mysteries/>

His body is in Burnham's Mausoleum (built in 1986) in the [[Guyana Botanical Gardens]] in Georgetown. The Mausoleum is built mostly from reinforced concrete, with a floor of [[granite]] sourced from the [[Cuyuni-Mazaruni|Mazaruni]] and [[Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo|Upper Essequibo]] regions. It was designed by Guyanese architect George Henry in a crucifix shape. It is maintained by the National Trust of Guyana.<ref name=NationalTrust>{{cite web |title=Burnham's Mausoleum |url=https://ntg.gov.gy/monument/burnhams-mausoleum/#:~:text=Burnham%E2%80%99s%20Mausoleum%2C%20located%20in%20the%20Botanical%20Gardens%2C%20next,of%20James%20Ethelbert%20Burnham%20and%20Rachel%20Abigail%20Sampson. |website=ntg.gov.gy |publisher=National Trust of Guyana |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref>

==Legacy==
[[File:1763 Monument, Georgetown, Guyana. 2014.jpg|thumb|1763 monument, erected by Burnham's administration]]
Burnham is considered a controversial figure.<ref name=BlackPast/> Burnham's successor, [[Desmond Hoyte]], called Burnham a "great leader".<ref name=LATimes/> President of Guyana [[David A. Granger]] said "He was a brilliant man, a futuristic thinker, a man of honour, having integrity and a high degree of discipline,"<ref name=Chronicle/> and Granger would call Burnham the "author of social cohesion and architect of national unity".<ref name=NewsSourcegy>{{cite news |title=Forbes Burnham transformed Guyana from divided colony -Pres. Granger |url=https://newssourcegy.com/news/forbes-burnham-transformed-guyana-from-divided-colony-pres-granger/ |access-date=4 January 2023 |work=News Source Guyana |date=7 August 2016}}</ref> [[Indira Gandhi]] named Burnham as one of the twentieth century's outstanding figures.<ref name=encyclopedia.com/> Moe Taylor, a historian at the [[University of British Columbia]], called Burnham's premiership a "deeply divisive chapter in Guyana's recent history."<ref name=Moe>{{cite journal |last1=Moe |first1=Tyler |title=Walter Rodney, Forbes Burnham, and the specter of pseudo-socialism |journal=Canadian Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Studies |date=26 March 2020 |volume=45 |issue=2 |pages=193–211 |doi=10.1080/08263663.2020.1733850 |s2cid=216304044 |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/08263663.2020.1733850 |access-date=1 January 2023|url-access=subscription }}</ref> In a review of Burnham's rise to power published in 2020, [[John Prados]] characterised Burnham as "corrupt, arbitrary, and self-dealing", and referred to him as "a dictatorial figure".<ref name=CIA/>

As of 2022, the two political parties that Burnham founded remain the two most popular and influential parties in Guyanese politics, with Burnham's People's National Congress Reform party being the most important member in [[A Partnership for National Unity]], and these two parties closely contesting the [[2020 Guyanese general election]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Mendes-Franco |first1=Janine |title=Guyana's 2020 general election results mired in controversy |url=https://globalvoices.org/2020/03/08/guyanas-2020-general-election-results-mired-in-controversy/ |website=globalvoices.org |date=8 March 2020 |publisher=Global Voices |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref> Support for the two parties continues to follow the racial divide between Afro-Guyanese and Indo-Guyanese.<ref name=raciallines/>

Burnham's administration put in place many of the national symbols of Guyana during his premiership, including the [[Flag of Guyana|Flag]], the [[Coat of arms of Guyana|Coat of arms]], the [[Dear Land of Guyana, of Rivers and Plains|National Anthem]], the [[Victoria amazonica|national flower]], [[Hoatzin|national bird]] and the national motto. The 1763 monument to commemorate the [[Berbice slave uprising]] and the [[Non-Aligned Movement|Non-aligned]] monument with busts of [[Nasser]], [[Kwame Nkrumah|Nkrumah]], [[Nehru]], and [[Josip Broz Tito|Tito]] were both erected during Burnham's premiership. Burnham instituted national holidays including [[Holi|Pagwah]], [[Diwali]] and [[Mashramani]]. National projects completed during his premiership include the [[Soesdyke-Linden Highway]], [[Demerara Harbour Bridge]] and [[Cheddi Jagan International Airport]].<ref name=encyclopedia.com/>

Burnham improved [[women's rights|women's legal rights]] in Guyana with the release of the State Paper on Equality for Women in 1976, which was aimed at "securing equality of treatment by employers of men and women workers" and "making sex discrimination unlawful in employment, recruitment, training, education and the provision of housing, goods, services and facilities to the public." Burnham also opened the door to women serving in the [[Guyana Defence Force]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Grainger |first1=David |title=WOMEN IN THE GUYANA DEFENSE FORCE |url=http://guyanaundersiege.com/Women/Women%20in%20GDF.htm#:~:text=The%20State%20Paper%20on%20Equality%20for%20Women%20was,housing%2C%20goods%2C%20services%20and%20facilities%20to%20the%20public.%22 |access-date=3 January 2023 |work=Guyana under siege}}</ref>

Guyana obtained massive debts during Burnham's tenure,<ref name=encyclopedia.com/> experienced no GDP growth between 1973 and 1993,<ref>{{cite web |title=Guyana GDP 1960–2023 |url=https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/GUY/guyana/gdp-gross-domestic-product |website=macrotrends.net |publisher=The World Bank |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref> and experienced relatively high [[inflation]] of around 10% per year in the same period.<ref>{{cite web |title=Guyana Inflation |url=https://www.indexmundi.com/facts/guyana/inflation |website=www.indexmundi.com |publisher=World Bank |access-date=3 January 2023}}</ref>

Following Burnham's death, [[Desmond Hoyte]] became president. The [[1985 Guyanese general election]] was also considered to be fraudulent; the next "free and fair" election would come in 1992, the first fair election since 1964, where Cheddi Jagan was elected president.<ref name=N1/> The Guyanese electoral process remains subject to voter fraud; the [[2020 Guyanese general election]] was marred by an attempt by PNC leader [[David A. Granger]] to alter the results, with [[Bruce Golding]] stated he had "never seen a more transparent attempt to alter the result of an election."<ref>{{Cite web|date=14 May 2020|title=Golding exposes electoral fraud at OAS meeting|url=https://www.stabroeknews.com/2020/05/14/news/guyana/golding-exposes-electoral-fraud-at-oas-meeting/|access-date=10 June 2020|website=Stabroek News|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Awards==
*[[Order of Excellence of Guyana]] (1973)<ref>{{cite news |title=Prime Minister Hinds bestowed with Order of Excellence |url=https://www.guyanatimesinternational.com/prime-minister-hinds-bestowed-with-order-of-excellence/ |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=Guyana Times International |publisher=Guyana Times |date=2 June 2011}}</ref>
*[[Order of José Martí]]: [[Cuba]] (1975)<ref name=Chronicle>{{cite news |last=Croker|first=Elvin Carl|title=The majesty of the man L.F.S. Burnham |url=https://guyanachronicle.com/2019/08/18/the-majesty-of-the-man-l-f-s-burnham/ |access-date=1 January 2023 |work=Guyana Chronicle |date=18 August 2019}}</ref>
*Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Nile]]: [[Egypt]]<ref name=Chronicle/> (1975)<ref name=GyGraphic/>
*[[Honorary doctorate]]: [[Dalhousie University]] (1977)<ref>{{cite web |title=1892 ‑ 1999 Honorary Degree Recipients |url=https://www.dal.ca/academics/convocation/grad_FAQ/history_traditions/honorary_degree_recipients/hon_degree_1892_1999.html |website=www.dal.ca |publisher=Dalhousie University |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref>
*[[Order of the Southern Cross|Ordem Nacional do Cruzeiro do Sul]]: [[Brazil]] (1983)<ref name=Chronicle/>
*[[Orders, decorations, and medals of Bulgaria|Star of Planina]] (Order of the [[Balkan Mountains]]): [[Bulgaria]] (1984)<ref name=Chronicle/>
*[[Order of the Yugoslav Great Star]]: [[Yugoslavia]] (1985)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=16 April 1985 |title=Вредност несврстаности стално се потврђује |url=http://istorijskenovine.unilib.rs/view/index.html#panel:pp&#124;issue:UB_00064_19850416&#124;page:6&#124;query:%D0%BE%D1%80%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BD%20%D1%98%D1%83%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%81%D0%BB%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B5%20%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%B5%20%D0%B7%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B4%D0%B5 |journal=Borba |volume=63 |pages=6}}</ref>
*[[Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo]]: [[South Africa]] (2013)<ref>{{cite news|last1=Lubisi|first1=Cassius|title=South African National Orders 2013 – The Presidency|url=http://www.politicsweb.co.za/documents/south-african-national-orders-2013--the-presidency|access-date=29 January 2016|agency=South African Government Information|publisher=politicsweb|date=22 April 2013}}</ref>
*[[Order of the National Flag]] First Class: [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]]<ref name=encyclopedia.com>{{cite web |title=Forbes Burnham |url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/people/history/guyana-history-biographies/forbes-burnham |website=encyclopedia.com |access-date=1 January 2023}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

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{{succession box|
  before=[[Cheddi Jagan]]|
  title=[[List of Prime Ministers of Guyana|Prime Minister of Guyana]]<br />(until 1966: British Guiana)|
  years=1964–1980|
  after=[[Ptolemy Reid]]
}}
  {{succession box|
  before=[[Arthur Chung]]|
  title=[[List of Presidents of Guyana|President of Guyana]]|
  years=1980–1985|
  after=[[Desmond Hoyte]]
}}
{{s-end}}
{{Heads of State of Guyana}}
{{Heads of government of Guyana}}
{{Foreign Ministers of Guyana}}
{{Education ministers of Guyana}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnham, Forbes}}
[[Category:1923 births]]
[[Category:1985 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Georgetown, Guyana]]
[[Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics]]
[[Category:Presidents of Guyana]]
[[Category:Prime ministers of Guyana]]
[[Category:Foreign ministers of Guyana]]
[[Category:Attorneys general of Guyana]]
[[Category:Leaders of political parties]]
[[Category:Guyanese Methodists]]
[[Category:Guyanese people of African descent]]
[[Category:People's National Congress Reform politicians]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of the Companions of O. R. Tambo]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Order of Excellence of Guyana]]
[[Category:Guyanese expatriates in the United Kingdom]]