Jamaica får sin første kvindelige premierminister

Redaktionen

The Caribbean island of Jamaica is to have a female prime minister for the first time, BBC Online reports Sunday.

Portia Simpson Miller was elected president of the governing Peoples National Party in an internal vote. She will automatically become prime minister when the incumbent, PJ Patterson, steps down in the next few weeks after 14 years in the post.

Mrs Simpson Miller, currently local government minister, narrowly beat the national security minister to the job. Dr Peter Phillips had been seen as the favourite to succeed Mr Patterson but his record on tackling violence has been questioned.

There have been more than 4.000 cases of homicide in Jamaica since he took charge of security five years ago.

Political opponents argue Mrs Simpson Miller does not have the skills needed to run the country. But commentators say the 60-year-old has gained strong popular appeal during her decades in politics.

– She is a women who is very determined, a firebrand type of politician who has really hit home when it comes to the majority of people – especially women, the poor and the unemployed, Radio Jamaicas Kathy Barrett told BBC.