The Honourable
Olivia Grange
OJ CD DSE MP
Olivia Grange (left)
Member of the Jamaica Parliament
for Saint Catherine Central
Assumed office
1997
Personal details
Born (1946-04-27) 27 April 1946
Down Town Kingston, Kingston, Jamaica
Political partyJLP
Children1 daughter
Alma materRyerson Polytechnical Institute

Olivia "Babsy" Grange OJ, CD, DSE[1] (born 27 April 1946) is a Jamaican politician. She has served as Member of Parliament for Saint Catherine Central since 1997 and as Jamaica's Minister of Sports, Youth and Culture for the duration of the Jamaica Labour Party government from 2007 to 2011 and Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport since 2016.

Early life

Grange was born on 27 April 1946[2] in Luke Lane, West Kingston, Jamaica. Her father was a shoemaker and her mother was a dressmaker.[3] She attended All Saints Primary, Gainstead High, and Ryerson Polytechnical Institute in Canada.[2]

Career

From 1983 to 1985, Grange served as Government Senator and Parliamentary Secretary for Information and Culture. From 1985 to 1989, she was the Minister of State in the Office of the Prime Minister. Running as a Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) candidate for St. Catherine Central, Grange was elected into parliament in 1997. In 2007, she was appointed as Minister of Information, Youth, Sports & Culture. She is currently the Minister of Sports, Culture, Entertainment and Gender Affairs after the JLP was elected to office in 2016. A reggae enthusiast, Grange is also a founding member of the Jamaica Association of Composers, Authors and Publishers (JACAP). She also co-founded Canada's "first black community newspaper", Contrast.[4]

Personal life

Grange has one daughter and three granddaughters.[4]

Recognition

In 1997, Grange was nominated as Woman of the Year in Jamaica.[5] In June 2009, she was named as the Caribbean Community's first Champion for Culture. In 2015, Grange was awarded the rank of Commander (CD) in the Order of Distinction for her contributions to the country's music scene and cultural development.[4] In her capacity as the Gender Minister of Jamaica, she was presented with the annual DUSUSU Awards in 2019 for her contribution to the development of girls affairs in Jamaica, especially tackling the issue of teenage pregnancy. The annual award founded by Girl Education advocate and Film maker - Zuriel Oduwole, recognizes the work of a First Lady and a Gender Minister across the 54 African countries and their diaspora. Olivia Grange became the first recipient of the award, outside of the African continent [6][7][8][9]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gardner, Claudia (6 March 2023). "Grange Conferred With One Of Ethiopia's Highest Honors". DancehallMag. Retrieved 26 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Olivia Grange". Jamaica Labour Party. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  3. ↑ "Lunch With Lalah: A Different Side Of 'Babsy'". Jamaica Gleaner. 18 July 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 "Olivia Grange". Office of the Prime Minister. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  5. ↑ "The Honourable Olivia "Babsy" Grange, MP, CD". Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment, and Sport. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  6. ↑ DUSUSU AWARD: Zuriel Oduwole honors Senegalese First Lady Marieme Faye Sall, archived from the original on 20 December 2021, retrieved 14 May 2021
  7. ↑ Oliver. "Grange receives award for gender work". mcges.gov.jm. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  8. ↑ "Jamaica Observer Limited". Jamaica Observer. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  9. ↑ "Bureau of Gender Affairs Jamaica". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
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