Havana, Cuba – The late Professor Norman Girvan an Internationally recognized Caribbean economist and scholar was posthumously honored by the Government of Cuba on Monday, December 7th.

Norman Girvan was honored for his outstanding contribution to wider Caribbean integration and for his commitment to and support of the ideals of the Cuban Revolution.

At a ceremony held on Monday, December 7th at the Cuban Institute for Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) the Cuban Government in a proclamation accompanying the Medal of Friendship presented to his widow Jasmine, who hailed Girvan’s work as an educator, regional official and champion of the cause of freedom and independence in the wider Caribbean.

Professor Norman Girvan served as a senior academic at the University of the West Indies and as Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS) prior to his untimely death in 2014.

But it is his role in helping to win the release from a US prison of the famous Cuban Five that Girvan is most appreciated by the Government and People of Cuba.

The Cuban Five were among guests at the ceremony that was also attended by top government officials, members of the Caribbean diplomatic Corps here, a number of leading academics from across the region and the current Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States (ACS).

The presentation ceremony was held ahead of the formal opening Tuesday of the  9th International Conference of the Caribbean Studies Center at the University of Havana.

In accepting the award Mrs. Girvan described her late husband “as a true friend of the Cuban Revolution and the Cuban people who admired the progress your country has made over the years despite the blockade.” She thanked the government and people of Cuba for the honor and recognition bestowed on her late husband.

Jamaican born Girvan at the time of his death served as the United Nations Good Officer in the quest for a solution to the ongoing border controversy between Venezuela and Guyana.

Image: Florida-based former Guyanese diplomat Wesley Kirton with Mrs. Jasmine Thomas-Girvan, widow of Professor Norman Girvan.

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