PersonJewish Eligibility — Verified by JWR

Janet Jagan

American-born Guyanese politician, co-founder of the People's Progressive Party, prime minister in 1997 and President of Guyana from 1997 to 1999.

Georgetown, Guyana

Government Information Agency, GuyanaWikimedia Commons

Biography

Janet Jagan was born Janet Rosenberg in Chicago on 20 October 1920 to a Jewish family. She married Cheddi Jagan in 1943 and moved with him to British Guiana, where the couple became central figures in the independence and labor movements. She co-founded the People's Progressive Party and held numerous elected and ministerial posts over several decades. After Cheddi Jagan's death, she became Prime Minister and First Vice-President in March 1997. Following the December election, she was declared elected and assumed the presidency on 19 December 1997. She served until August 1999 and died in Georgetown on 28 March 2009.

Public links

jagan.org

Records held by Janet Jagan

Official portrait of Guyanese President Janet Jagan

JWR Verified

People & LifeFirst

First Jewish Woman to Serve as President of a Sovereign State

Record holder

Janet Jagan

Record value

19 December 1997

Janet Rosenberg Jagan, born in Chicago in 1920, became President of Guyana on 19 December 1997 after a national election held four days earlier. Guyana's parliamentary history records that she was declared elected and sworn in that day. Jagan had already spent decades in Guyanese public life and had served as prime minister and first vice-president earlier in 1997. Her presidency establishes the earliest verified case of a Jewish woman serving as president—and therefore head of state—of a sovereign country. The record is intentionally phrased around the presidency, avoiding ambiguity with ancient queens, ceremonial royal offices, prime ministers and temporary acting heads of state.

Country represented: Guyana
Achievement location: Georgetown, Guyana
Achievement date: 19 December 1997

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