George Price
George Price was born in Belize City in what was then British Honduras, to William and Irene (née Escalante) Price on January 15th, 1919. He had eight sisters and two brothers.
Price received his early education at Holy Redeemer Primary School and St. Johns College High School (SJC). He survived the hurricane of 1931 which destroyed SJC at Loyola Park, swimming away from the wreckage. Under the Jesuits he was exposed to the teachings of Catholic social justice, in particular the encyclical Rerum novarum. Upon graduation, young George felt a call to the priesthood, so he went to study abroad, first attending the Saint Augustine’s Minor Seminary in Mississippi, United States, and later the Mayor Seminario Conciliar in Guatemala City. Throughout his life Price remained a devout Roman Catholic and attended Mass daily.
The war in Europe prevented him from completing his studies in Rome and, instead, George Price returned to Belize. He was hired by local businessman Robert Sidney Turton as his private secretary. Price also contributed to the Belize Billboard, then run by Philip Goldson.
After receiving encouragement from Turton, Price ran for election to the Belize City Council in 1944 and 1947, being successful in 1947. Upon the formation of the People’s Committee (PC) in 1950, Price was named its Assistant Secretary, and in a famous speech later that year claimed that “National Unity” propelled the PC’s actions. With the formation of the PUP, Price’s stature rose and he ascended through the party ranks until he became Party Leader following a leadership dispute in 1956.
Elected to the colony’s newly created Legislative Assembly in 1954, he also served as mayor of Belize City from 1956 to 1962. In 1956, Price became party leader of the PUP. As First Minister, a post he held since 1961, he led the team which began negotiations over independence with The United Kingdom. He maintained that post as Premier in 1964.
In 1981 Belize gained its independence, and Price served as the country’s first prime minister and foreign minister until 1984. The PUP was defeated in the elections by the United Democratic Party under Manuel Esquivel, with Price unexpectedly losing his own House of Representatives seat to a political newcomer. Price continued to lead the PUP from outside the National Assembly while Florencio Marin became Leader of the Opposition. Price resumed the post of prime minister after successfully returning to the House in the 1989 election, serving until 1993, when he was again succeeded by Esquivel. In October 1996 he announced his resignation as party leader, and on 10 November 1996 was formally succeeded by Said Musa. Price remained a member of the Belize House until the 2003 election. George Price died on September 19th, 2011.