Jamaican premier: ‘the poor people’s politician’

(Reuters) – Opposition leader Portia Simpson Miller  is set to become Jamaica’s prime minister for a second time  after her People’s National Party, tapping into voter discontent  over mounting economic woes, scored a landslide victory in  general elections.
Here are some facts about the Caribbean nation’s prime  minister-elect.
– Simpson Miller, 66, became Jamaica’s first female prime  minister in 2006, replacing P.J. Patterson. She narrowly lost an  election the following year. She is widely seen as one of  Jamaica’s most popular politicians. No official date has been  set for her swearing-in but it could come as early as Sunday.
– Born to a poor family in a village, Simpson Miller has  long championed the country’s social programs and some Jamaicans  refer to her as “the poor people’s politician.”
She is a former minister of welfare and sports and also  headed the Labor Ministry under previous governments. Analysts  say her personal history helped establish her political  credibility with Jamaicans, particularly in the island’s low-  and middle-income communities.
Referring to Jamaica’s debt-saddled economy, she said in her  acceptance speech on Thursday night, “as we move to balance the  books, we will be moving to balance people’s lives.”
– Simpson Miller has not unveiled a detailed plan to shore  up the economy of Jamaica, which ranks among the world’s most  indebted countries. Badly buffeted by the 2008-2009 global  economic crisis, Jamaica was forced to turn to the International  Monetary Fund for an $1.27 billion economic lifeline in 2010.
Simpson Miller’s economic team has not been announced yet  but analysts say People’s National Party campaign manager Peter  Phillips, a former agriculture and national security minister,  is likely to be a front-runner for finance minister.
Jamaica’s agreement with the IMF has stalled in recent  months. Simpson Miller has said she plans to sit down with the  IMF within weeks of taking office. She said while campaigning  that she wants to extend the period Jamaica has to repay loans  from the multilateral lender.
– In her first tenure as prime minister, Simpson Miller saw  support wane amid complaints her government responded poorly to  Hurricane Dean, which hit the country’s agriculture sector hard.  She was credited with bringing down Jamaica’s inflation to 5.8  percent during the 2006-2007 fiscal year from more than 12  percent a year earlier. Inflation had run more than 20 percent  in previous years.
– Simpson Miller holds a bachelor’s degree in public  administration from the Union Institute in Miami. She is a  former vice president of the People’s National Party and the  longest serving member of parliament, first elected in 1976.
– Simpson Miller is married with no children. Her husband is  Errald Miller, a former chief executive of Cable & Wireless  Jamaica.