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Johnny Briceño

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The Honourable
Juan Antonio Briceño
5th Prime Minister of Belize
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 November 2020
MonarchElizabeth II
Governors GeneralSir Colville Young
Stuart Leslie (acting)
Froyla Tzalam
DeputyCordel Hyde (2020–present)
Preceded byDean Barrow
Leader of the Opposition
In office
31 January 2016 – 12 November 2020
Prime MinisterDean Barrow
Preceded byFrancis Fonseca
Succeeded byPatrick Faber
Member of the Belize House of Representatives for Orange Walk Central
Incumbent
Assumed office
30 June 1993
Personal details
Born
Juan Antonio Briceño

(1960-07-17) 17 July 1960 (age 64)
Orange Walk Town, British Honduras
(now Belize)
Political partyPeople's United Party
SpouseRossana Briceño
RelationsElijio Briceño (father)
Children3
Alma materSt. John's College
University of Texas

Juan Antonio "Johnny" Briceño (born 17 July 1960) is a Belizean politician who is the 5th and current Prime Minister of Belize since 12 November 2020, and the leader of the People's United Party (PUP) since 2016. He was Leader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2020.[1] From 1998 to 2007, he served as Deputy Prime Minister under Prime Minister Said Musa.

Early life and education

Briceño was born in Orange Walk Town on 17 July 1960.[2] His father Elijio Briceño was a government minister in the 1980s, but in 1985 was convicted of conspiring to smuggle marijuana and cocaine into the United States, with the indictment naming a brother and a nephew as co-conspirators.[3][4]

Briceño graduated from Muffles College in 1978.[5] He earned an associate degree in business administration from St. John's College in 1980, and a bachelor's degree in business administration from the University of Texas at Austin in 1985.[2]

In 1990, Briceño and his brother Jaime[6] founded Centaur Communications, a cable television provider which later branched out into Internet service, television news, and radio.[7]

Career

Briceño was first elected to the Belize House of Representatives from the Orange Walk Central constituency in 1993;[8] in 1994 he successfully ran in the town council elections of Orange Walk Town.[2]

In 1994, Briceño was elected Co-Chairman of the People's United Party;[2] in 1996, he was elected Deputy Party Leader.[9] When the PUP won the 1998 elections, Briceño was appointed as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Natural Resources and the Environment.[2]

In August 2004 he led a group of ministers, known as the G-7 alliance, who made a number of reform demands, including the dismissal of Ralph Fonseca from the Cabinet. When Prime Minister Said Musa failed to meet these demands, the group resigned; however, Musa subsequently agreed to all of the demands except for the dismissal of Fonseca and the G-7 ministers remained in the Cabinet.[10] Briceño also gained an additional portfolio, the Ministry of Finance.[2] Briceño was later one of the ministers who opposed Musa's proposal to settle the country's Universal Health Services debt; as a result of this, Musa attempted to demote Briceño from his position as Deputy Prime Minister, but Briceño refused to accept the lesser posts in the Cabinet that he was offered and instead resigned from the Cabinet on 5 June 2007.[10]

At a national convention of the PUP in July 2007, Briceño was re-elected as one of the party's deputy leaders.[11] In the February 2008 general election, in which the PUP was defeated, Briceño was re-elected in his constituency of Orange Walk Central; he was one of only six successful PUP candidates.[12]

On 30 March 2008, Briceño was elected as the leader of the PUP at a party convention in Belmopan, succeeding Musa. He defeated Francis Fonseca, who was considered to be the candidate preferred by the party establishment, receiving 330 votes against 310 for Fonseca.[13]

Citing unspecified health issues, Briceño abruptly resigned as both PUP and opposition leader in October 2011 without leading the party in a general election. He retained his seat in the National Assembly.[14] He was succeeded in both leadership positions by Fonseca.[15]

2015 recording incident

In March 2015, shortly after the PUP's decisive defeat in municipal elections, a recording was made public of Briceño sharply criticizing the 1998–2008 Musa government. In the recording, Briceño accused Musa and Ralph Fonseca of stealing "millions, tens of millions of dollars," and stated, "... had this been another country they would have been in jail right now." Briceño also claimed he went deeply into debt personally as PUP leader on the party's behalf, and blamed Francis Fonseca for losing the 2012 general election and local elections. Briceño claimed the recording was made without his consent and refused to comment on it. Francis Fonseca characterized the incident as an "internal party matter."[16]

Prime Minister of Belize (2020–present)

On 11 November 2020, the People's United Party, led by Briceño, won government in the 2020 general election, defeating the United Democratic Party, led by Patrick Faber. He took office as Prime Minister of Belize on 12 November 2020. He is the first Prime Minister who is not from Belize City.[17]

Reactions

  • Guatemala: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated Briceño,[18] as did President Alejandro Giammattei.[19]
  • Nicaragua: The President and Vice President sent a joint letter to congratulate "Brother Prime Minister" Briceño and the PUP, invoking the memory of George Cadle Price.[20]
  • Taiwan: President Tsai Ing-wen and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulated Briceño and thanked outgoing PM Barrow, acknowledging the "longstanding friendship" between Taiwan and Belize.[21]
  • Spain: The Spanish Embassy In Guatemala also congratulated the Belizean people for the normal development of these elections in a complex context marked by COVID-19.
  • United States: The US Embassy commended the Belizean people "for upholding the democratic heritage of the hemisphere."[22]
  • Mexico: The Mexican Embassy in Belize congratulated John Briceño for his victory and wished him success in his new government.
  • CARICOM: Secretary-General Irwin LaRocque told the newly elected John Briceño that his margin of victory in the 2020 general election is a reflection of the confidence Belizeans have in his ability to lead the country in a challenging environment.[23]
  • Venezuela: The Venezuelan Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed its intention to continue paving the way towards a relationship of friendship and cooperation with the sisterly nation of Belize, in order to promote and consolidate the well-being and stability of their peoples.[24]
  • Switzerland: The Swiss Embassy in Mexico congratulated John Briceño for his victory as the newly elected Belizean Prime Minister.
  • Honduras: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Honduras congratulated the people and Government of Belize for the electoral process in which their democratic will was reflected.
  • Cuba: Cuban Minister of Foreign Affairs congratulated John Briceño and stated "We ratify the will to continue advancing in our relations of brotherhood, solidarity and cooperation" in a communiqué.
  • Italy: Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs congratulated John Briceño and expressed solidarity to those affected by hurricane Eta.

Additional congratulations were sent by the Organization of American States.[5]

Personal life

Briceño and his wife Rossana (a 1986 graduate of Muffles College)[5] have three sons.[2] On 24 November 2020, two weeks after starting his term as Prime Minister, he declared he was diagnosed with COVID-19 and was doing well.[25]

References

  1. ^ "Hon. John Briceño takes oath as Leader of the Opposition". The Belize Times. February 14, 2016. Archived from the original on February 17, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Cablegate: Bio -- Belize: John Briceno". www.scoop.co.nz. Scoop News. March 31, 2008. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  3. ^ "Former Government Minister Elijio Joe Briceno Dies". Love FM. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  4. ^ Warnock, Elliott (September 10, 1985). "Former Belize minister gets 7 years on drug charges". UPI. Retrieved April 23, 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "Prime Minister's alma mater sends congratulations". Breaking Belize News. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  6. ^ "Jaime Briceno – PUP – People's United Party". www.pup.org.bz. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  7. ^ "About Us – Centaur Communications". Centaur Belize. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  8. ^ Hon. Juan Antonio (Johnny) Briceno Archived 2014-09-24 at archive.today. National Assembly (Belize). (accessed 23 September 2014)
  9. ^ "From the Publisher – Amandala Newspaper". amandala.com.bz. 15 March 2015. Retrieved 2020-11-15.
  10. ^ a b "Vildo is Deputy P.M. – Florencio replaces Johnny!" Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine, Amandala Online, June 5, 2007.
  11. ^ Adele Ramos, "Musa and Ralph step down - PUP D-day March 30!" Archived 2010-02-24 at the Wayback Machine, Amandala Online, February 15, 2008.
  12. ^ "Confirmed winners" Archived 2011-05-22 at the Wayback Machine, Amandala Online, February 8, 2008.
  13. ^ "Johnny stuns Francis in 'Pan!" Archived 2012-02-08 at the Wayback Machine, Amandala Online, April 1, 2008.
  14. ^ "Johnny Briceño steps down as Leader of the PUP" Archived 2014-10-19 at the Wayback Machine, The San Pedro Sun, October 7, 2011. (accessed 23 September 2014)
  15. ^ "Francis Fonseca is the New Leader of the PUP". The San Pedro Sun. 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  16. ^ Ali, Marion. "CONfirmation!" Archived 2016-08-17 at the Wayback Machine, The Reporter, 13 March 2015. (accessed 31 March 2015)
  17. ^ "Belize election: Opposition win brings change after 12 years". BBC News. 12 November 2020. Retrieved 13 November 2020.
  18. ^ Exteriores, Ministerio De Relaciones (2020-11-12). "Felicitación a Jhon Briceño, Primer Ministro de Belice". Gobierno de Guatemala, juntos saldremos adelante. (in Spanish). Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  19. ^ "Presidente Giammattei felicita a primer ministro electo de Belice". Agencia Guatemalteca de Noticias (in Spanish). 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  20. ^ "Message to the Prime Minister of Belize" (PDF). Barricada. 11 November 2020.
  21. ^ China (Taiwan), Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of (2020-11-13). "MOFA congratulates Belize PM Briceno, looks forward to closer bilateral cooperation". Taiwan Today. Retrieved 2020-11-13.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "United States Congratulates Belize on Successful Elections". Breaking Belize News. 2020-11-12. Retrieved 2020-11-13.
  23. ^ "CARICOM Congratulates New Government in Belize". CNW Network. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  24. ^ "President Maduro congratulates the Belizean people for the successful election day and its elected Prime Minister John Briceño". Ministerio de Poder Popular para Relaciones Exteriores. Retrieved 2020-12-04.
  25. ^ http://www.loopslu.com/content/belizes-opposition-wishes-pm-speedy-recovery-covid-19-4. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
Party political offices
Preceded by Leader of the People's United Party
2016–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition
2016–2020 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Belize
2020–present 		Incumbent
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