Prominent regional academic, Professor Norman Girvan, has died at 72.
Reports indicate that Girvan, who was born in Jamaica, was injured after suffering a fall while hiking in Dominica in early January.
It is reported that he was paralyzed from the neck down.
He was first flown to a medical facility in Martinique and later to Cuba where he died on Wednesday.
Norman Girvan was Professor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies.
Until recently he was Professorial Research Fellow at the UWI Graduate Institute of International Relations.
In 2010 he was appointed as the United Nations Secretary General’s Personal Representative on the Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy.
In 2002-2011 he was a Board Member of the South Centre and served as Vice Chairman from 2006 to 2011. Since 2009 he has been a member of the United Nations Committee on Development Policy.
He has been Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States, Professor of Development Studies and Director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies, and head of the National Planning Agency of the Government of Jamaica.
He received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics of the University College of the West Indies and his PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics. He has published extensively on the political economy of development in the Caribbean and the Global South. He is the recipient of several honours and awards.
only the good die may R.I.P
RIP Sir!
DNO you can have done a better job with the headline’s title as it is incomplete. “Preminent Regional Academic” is not a profession. I didn’t realize he was a professor until I started reading the article.
Don’t be silly!
Anderson
whose ever you are This took place in my area Kings Hill and not Laplaine.
My Condolences to the family…. can we please humanize this man by talking about things other than his academic achievements, those are Great, but is he survived by a wife and children who are morning his death, the headlines told me he was injured in Dominica, but I am no more informed as to what happen that caused his injuries, was he a lover of sports, hiking at age 72 tends to indicate a love for nature and physical fitness… He was a human being before he was an academic, mention his academic prowess but please tell me about the man also…just my two cents
Another intelligent one has passed on. It is such a loss to the Caribbean.
It is sad that he fell while hiking, no doubt a sport he loved as a West Indian. If only he had recovered but it was not meant to be.
My deepest sympathy to his family and colleagues.
May his soul rest in peace. Amen!
May his soul rest in peace . The incident happened in LaPlaine during a hike to the Sari Sari Falls
My sincere condolences to the family and friends of Professor Girvan
Very sad news. Thanking him for his contribution to the Caribbean.
sad
I knew him personally and attended several conferences where he was present. He had a sharp analytical mind, and this is so evident in his presentations and publications. He did not suffer fools lightly.
The Caribbean has lost a good man. Condolences to his family and to the family of economists in the region. May his soul rest in peace.
My condolences. I appreciated his body of work.
RIP Prof Girvan and condolences to his family and the UWI Fraternity
Distiguished and bright! A leading and rigourous Third World economist. Rendered meritorious service to UWI and the Caribbean in the field of regional integration.
May his soul rest in peace.
Oh My, how sad. May his soul rest in peace.
Condolences to his family and all who knew him.
Sad news for the University community in the Caribbean. While we employees can be replace with some level of ease, it’s almost impossible to replace brilliants minds! May his soul rest in peace
(Admin: btw, Prof Girvan was Jamaican)
@Anonymous from Anonymous-Why do you people not read properly, the article says he was born in Jamaica…geeeezzzz
The article was updated after the comment. Is that correct Admin?
perhaps it was corrected after the good reader pointed it out… it is up to the Editor of this site to note that the story was updated… that would be the ethical thing to do… so don’t me so hard on the person.. I don’t think they were scolding DNO…more like making a suggestion in good spirit.
wILL HIS FAMILY SUE that government a lot of money for his death due to lack of signs while hiking in Kingshill area?????
at la plaine it happened on the way to the waterfall… i did carried him…so sad
Anderson, give us some more info man. you were there.
Yes, Dominica can be quite dangerous with it’s terrain. A fall is not a good thing.
We were also together and it happened at Kingshill; an elevated community east of the capital City of Roseau. I will be most happy if we make the effort to speak the truth. We called the ambulance together with Jake Anne rei and carried him to the medics vehicle with one ambulant assistance and no one else. Lets try to stick to the truth and it wasn’t at LapoLaine as you evilly stated.
on tuesday 7 january 2014 about 11;30 norman his wife Jasime and two childern were on there way to the sari sari falls in laplaine. The trail was slippery and norman fell in the precipise. he was help by villagers and brought back on the trail. police and fireman came .We carried him on a stretcher he could not move he was in pain. place him on the ambulance to laplaine health centre and them PMH. He was subsequently air lifted to martinque