His Early Life

Michael Norman Manley was born in Kingston, Jamaica, on December 10, 1924. He was the second son of the Right Excellent Norman Washington Manley, a National Hero of Jamaica, and Edna Manley (nee Swithenbank), a renowned sculptor and patron/facilitator of Jamaican arts and culture.

Educated at Jamaica College between 1935 and 1943, Michael Manley, upon graduation, went to serve the Royal Canadian Air Force. In 1945 he entered the London School of Economics & Political Science (LSE) and began a career in activism. A member of the West Indian Students' Union
and Caribbean Labour Congress, Manley campaigned against racial discrimination in London and supported the struggle for a West Indies Federation and political independence for the Caribbean.

All three issues were to remain central elements of his political thought throughout his public life. After graduation from LSE, Manley worked as a broadcast journalist with the External Services of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), then returned to Jamaica in 1951. The following year, he became associate editor of the nationalist weekly newspaper Public Opinion. He wrote a regular column "Root of the Matter" which contained the seeds of much of his emerging political thought.

In April 1952 he joined the People's National Party (PNP) and began to work with the newly formed National Workers Union (NWU). Between 1955 and 1972 Manley was the chief negotiator for the NWU. His contribution to the Jamaican labour movement was outstanding. He established a modern labour contract for bauxite/alumina workers and modernised labour negotiation practices in the sugar industry. He founded the Caribbean Mine & Metal Workers Federation and was its President for 13 years.