Portal:Jamaica/Selected article/2007/June
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The Most Honourable Portia Simpson-Miller, ON, MP (born 12 December 1945 in Wood Hall, St. Catherine Parish) is, since 30 March 2006, the Prime Minister of Jamaica. She replaced outgoing Prime Minister P. J. Patterson, becoming the first female head of government of the nation and the third in the Anglophone Caribbean following Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Janet Jagan of Guyana. She also holds the position of president of the ruling People's National Party.
In the PNP's internal vote to elect Patterson's successor, held on 26 February 2006, she received 1,775 votes, while her nearest rival, national security minister Dr. Peter Phillips, took 1,538 votes. The ruling PNP has been in turmoil ever since her rise to power. She was only able to garner approximately 47% of the delegates' vote, making her the first PNP president to be elected by less than half of eligible delegates.
