Arthur Chung
Arthur Chung | |
|---|---|
鍾亞瑟 | |
 | |
| 1st President of Guyana | |
| In office 17 March 1970 – 6 October 1980 | |
| Prime Minister | Forbes Burnham |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Forbes Burnham |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Arthur Raymond Chung 10 January 1918 |
| Died | 23 June 2008 (aged 90) Georgetown, Guyana |
| Resting place | Guyana Botanical Gardens |
| Party | Independent |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Middle Temple |
Arthur Raymond Chung (Chinese: 鍾亞瑟; 10 January 1918–23 June 2008) was President of Guyana from 17 March 1970 to 6 October 1980.[1] He was the first ethnic Chinese president and head of state of a non-Asian country.[2] A leader in Guyana's fight for independence during the British colonial era, Chung was honoured with Guyana's highest national honour, the Order of Excellence (O.E.).
Early life and career
[edit]Chung was born into a Chinese Guyanese family at Windsor Forest village at West Coast Demerara in British Guiana; he was the youngest of Joseph and Lucy Chung's eight children.[1] Arthur was educated at Windsor Forest, Blankenburg, and Modern High School. In 1954, he married another native of Windsor Forest, Doreen Pamela Ng-See-Quan, with whom he had one daughter and one son.[1]
Before civic service, Chung was an apprentice surveyor and sworn land surveyor. In the early 1940s, Chung entered the Middle Temple of London, England, and qualified as a barrister in 1947. He returned to Guyana and was later appointed an acting magistrate. He became a magistrate in 1954 and a senior magistrate in 1960. Chung also served as Registrar of Deeds and of the Supreme Court. He then became a puisne judge and finally an Appeal Court judge in 1963.[3]
President of Guyana
[edit]When Guyana became a republic under the dictatorship of Forbes Burnham in 1970, the Guyanese National Assembly elected Chung president, making him the first president of Guyana; he took office on 17 March 1970. As president, Arthur Chung was the commander-in-chief of Guyana's Armed Forces and chancellor of the Orders of Guyana. Ten years later, a constitutional revision transformed the presidency into an executive position, and Burnham succeeded Chung as president[1] on 6 October 1980.[4] During his time as president of Guyana, the office was that of a ceremonial head of state with the powers of the governor-general of Guyana, while Prime Minister Forbes Burnham was the head of government.
President Arthur Chung met Neelam Sanjiva Reddy and Indira Gandhi at a diplomatic meeting with the Indians.[5]
During his presidency, on June 27, 1972, Guyana established formal diplomatic relations with China, making Guyana the first English-speaking Caribbean country to establish diplomatic relations with the People's Republic of China.[6] In 1977, President Chung of Guyana visited China and met with officials and ambassadors.
Later years
[edit]Chung died aged 90 on 23 June 2008[1][4] at his home at Bel Air Springs, Georgetown. In the two months prior to his death he had been hospitalized a number of times, and he was last released from the hospital on 20 June.
A week after his death, he was buried at the Seven Ponds in the Botanical Gardens.[7]
Legacy
[edit]In 2015, it was announced that the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) would be renamed the "Arthur Chung Convention Centre" to commemorate President Arthur Chung, and newly elected President David A. Granger stated: "I would like the first President in this country to be remembered. ... this is the 45th anniversary year of becoming a Republic and Mr Chung was the first person of Chinese descent who was President in a non-Asian country and it was historic."[8] After undergoing rehabilitative work, the Arthur Chung Convention Centre was recommissioned in June 2018.[9]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 "Guyana's first President dies"Archived 14 February 2009 at the Wayback Machine, GINA, 23 June 2008.
- ↑ "Obituary - Arthur Chung". 29 June 2008. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- ↑ "270 PERSONALITIES CARIBBEAN - PDF Free Download". docplayer.net. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2020.
- 1 2 "Guyana's first president Arthur Chung dies" Archived 26 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine, Starbroek News, 24 June 2008.
- ↑ books.google.com/books?id=dehRAQAAMAAJ&pg=RA13-PA23
- ↑ "Visit to China by H.E. Raymond Arthur Chung, President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, 1977". Embassy of Guyana, Beiijing. Archived from the original on 17 December 2015.
- ↑ "Guyana's first president laid to rest at Seven Ponds". Stabroek News. 1 July 2008. Archived from the original on 8 August 2022. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
Yesterday ... with full military honours just after noon, following a state funeral at the National Cultural Centre.
- ↑ "International Conference Centre to be renamed in honour of first President" Archived 8 August 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Guyana Times International, 22 May 2018.
- ↑ "Rehabilitated Arthur Chung Centre recommissioned", Ministry of Public telecommunications, 8 June 2018.
