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| CATEGORIES ABOUT FORBES BURNHAM | |
| presidents of guyana | |
| burnham, forbes | |
| prime ministers of guyana | |
| 1923 births | |
| 1985 deaths | |
| guyanese politicians | |
| leaders of political parties | |
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Burnham, who was of African descent, was born in Kitty , East Demerara , Guyana. In 1950 , he formed a left-wing party, the People's Progressive Party , along with India n labor leader Cheddi Jagan . Burnham and Jagan began feuding in 1955 , and Burnham formed a more moderate party, the People's National Congress . Jagan's party began winning legislative elections, but came into conflict with British authorities, who changed the constitution that ensured that Burnham could form a coalition government and become Premier of Guyana in 1964 . He at first pursued moderate policies, but in 1970 , his policies became much more left-wing. He declared Guyana to be a "co-operative republic" and established strong relations with Cuba , the Soviet Union and other communist countries. Ironically, this is the mere reason why the Jagan's party was not given power, because Britain was forced by the United States to eradicate any country that would be under the headings of "communism." The United States did not want such a country to be within the Western World, and hence aided in creating a dictatorship instead. Burnham's policies became more dictatorial during the 1970s. He had a referendum passed in 1978 which made it harder for his party to lose power, with results which were believed by many to be fraudulent. In 1980 the constitution was changed to make the position of President stronger, and Burnham abandoned the position of Prime Minister to become President. He won the first Presidential elections in 1980, again with possibly fraudulent results. Burnham also became internationally notable for the Jonestown mass suicide, which occurred in Guyana in 1978, and which some blame partly on Burnham. Burnham remained President of Guyana until his death. He died suddenly in Georgetown, Guyana . Burnham also served as Guyana's first Foreign Minister from 1966 to 1972. He was married to Viola Burnham , who was also involved in politics. |
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