CARICOM Secretary-General Edwin Carrington is lauding Professor Rex Nettleford OCC, as a true Caribbean icon with a “life poured out for the Community,” even as Jamaica and the wider region mourn his passing.

In a note verbale to Jamaica’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade,  Carrington hailed Professor Nettleford as a “creative genius and a regionalist,” a press release from the CARICOM Secretariat at  Turkeyen said.

The Vice Chancellor Emeritus of the University of the West Indies passed away on Tuesday on the eve of his 77th birthday, in the USA.

In lauding the encyclopaedic life of this iconic Caribbean figure, the Secretary-General said, “Professor Nettleford has accomplished what few in our young region have been able to do in our post-independence.”

Carrington noted that Professor Nettleford’s contribution to Jamaica and the Caribbean Community “has been shaped by his love and commitment to culture and his strong desire to educate.”

Professor Nettleford exuded intellectual and artistic genius as a professor, a choreographer, a dancer, an orator, a mentor, a critic and was a household name across the region.

He was the recipient of fourteen honorary degrees from various universities and served in various leadership capacities in numerous regional and international bodies, including the West Indian Commission, the IDRC, UNESCO, the ILO and the OAS.

Professor Nettleford’s exemplary contribution to the region earned him the Order of the Caribbean Community, the highest honour of CARICOM, on July 1, 2008.

Carrington also noted that Jamaica and the region had shaped the life of Professor Nettleford and to the end of his life he worked to influence the shape of the region. “He is, in essence, among the best examples of a Caribbean Man – a veritable Caribbean Icon,” the Secretary-General declared.

He concluded his message on Nettleford’s passing by  extending deepest sympathy to the bereaved family, the University of the West Indies and the Government and people of Jamaica on behalf of the Governments and people of the Caribbean Community.