The Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, Prime Minister of Jamaica

Brief Biography 

The Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller, O.N., M.P. 

Prime Minister of Jamaica 

The Most Honourable Portia Simpson Miller was sworn in as Prime Minister of Jamaica on January 5, 2012. Previously she had been Prime Minister from March 2006 to September 2007, after having served for 17 years as a Cabinet Minister with portfolio responsibility for Labour and Social Security, Tourism and Local Government, Community Development and Sport. She was conferred with the Order of the Nation in May 2006.  

Mrs Simpson Miller has a distinguished record of service at the regional and international levels: she is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders (an international network of current and former women presidents and prime ministers whose mission is to mobilize on women’s issues); vice president of  the  Organization of American States’ High‐level Inter‐American Network on Decentralization, Local Government and Citizen Participation; Chairperson of the Caribbean Forum of Ministers responsible for decentralization,  local government, community development and citizen participation, and board member of the Commonwealth Local Government Forum.  She has also been a member of the Board of Trustees of CIFAL (an international training centre for governmental authorities) in Atlanta, Georgia. 

In March 2007, Mrs. Simpson Miller was awarded the International Olympic Committee’s World Women and Sport Trophy for her outstanding dedication to women in Jamaican Sports – both athletes and administrators.  

The leading architect of Jamaica’s Master Plan for Sustainable Tourism Development, Mrs Simpson Miller has been tireless in promoting and strengthening urban renewal and community development, leading to fundamental reforms in local government.

As Minister of Labour and Welfare, she presided over a significant expansion of Jamaica’s Overseas Work Programme and under her watch; the National Insurance Scheme was transformed into a major component of the government’s social protection system. She was also instrumental in establishing a Labour Chair in the University of the West Indies, Department of Government.  

In 2009, she received  the Distinguished  Award  for  her  dedication  and  commitment  to  urban renewal  and  community  development  from  the  Mayor, City  of Miami  and  also  the Bureau  of  Women’s  Affairs  Award  for  outstanding  contribution  to  the advancement  of  women’s  affairs  in  Jamaica.   Mrs. Simpson Miller was  also  invited  to  sit  on  the  board  of  the United  Nations  Institute  for  Training  and  Research  (UNITAR),  and  is  presently  a  member  of  that board.   

The Honourable Prime Minister holds  a  Bachelor  of  Arts  Degree  in  Public  Administration, and an Honorary  Doctorate from  the  Union  Institute  and  University  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  and  has  participated  in  the  Leaders  in  Development  Executive  Programme  at  the JFK School  of  Government,  Harvard  University.   

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