Scores Pay Final Respects to Hugh Hart

Scores of people gathered at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Chapel in Mona, St. Andrew on Wednesday (June 10) to pay final respects to late former Cabinet Minister Hugh Cecil Edmund Hart.

Prime Minister, Dr. the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, headed the list of mourners at the Official Memorial Service, which included Cabinet members, parliamentarians, family and friends, members of the judiciary, and well-wishers from across society.

Dr. Holness read the first bible lesson from Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, 14, with Opposition Leader, Mark Golding, reading the second lesson from Romans 8:28-39.
Mr. Hart died on April 16, 2026, at age 96.

A distinguished attorney, Mr. Hart was remembered as a patriot who helped to shape modern Jamaica.

He served as Minister of Mining and Energy between 1983 and 1989 and Minister of Tourism between 1984 and 1989.

He was a member of the Senate between 1980 and 1993 and an advisor on bauxite matters.

In her tribute, Minister of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport, Hon. Olivia Grange, said that Mr. Hart was a giant of a man with a gracious heart.

“I remember Hugh Hart as a man with a great heart and a charming personality. A sincere man, an unwavering friend and committed nation builder, he saw the world from different angles and saw in every experience an opportunity to promote the development of ordinary people,” she said.

She noted that he belonged to that generation of nation builders whose intellect, loyalty, discipline and unwavering patriotism helped shape modern Jamaica.

She said he was a consummate deal maker and a champion negotiator, adding that as a legal luminary, he walked tall, blazing and leaving a trail of professionalism and unlimited vision.
Minister Grange highlighted his contribution to tourism.

“I believe it was Hugh Hart who began the concept of focusing on expanding the number of visitors as the goal of the tourism industry. It was an industry that he believed in because he was able to sell Jamaica as a destination.

“He believed in the country and the people, and so he set the target of one million visitors as a tourism milestone, which was achieved for the first time in 1987,” she pointed out.

She said that Mr. Hart saw Jamaica as one of the world’s greatest destinations and international brands, and this platform was the core of his tourism pursuits, noting that in 1986, he brought to Jamaica the supersonic Concorde airliner, the fastest commercial passenger plane in history.

Delivering a remembrance, Dr. Carlton Davis said that Mr. Hart was by any measure an outstanding Jamaican.

He recalled that as Minister with responsibility for the bauxite industry, Mr. Hart had to closely monitor the overseas markets that consumed the product and develop strategies to deal with situations like economic downturns.

“This potpourri of issues were, of course, very challenging and would make many people run for cover to safer havens and not to have to deal with it. But, our dear departed friend never flinched.

As a matter of fact, he seemed to have relished the challenges and walked about joyfully,” he said.

Dr. Davis said that as Executive Director of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), he worked closely with Mr. Hart during those years on bauxite matters, noting that they maintained a friendship up to the time of his death.

He noted that Mr. Hart had good interpersonal skills and a good temperament, and had an ability to get along with people with different views and work with them.

“Hugh eschewed pomp and circumstance. He was what you would call a regular guy, and a lot of people found that an endearing characteristic,” he said.

Partner at legal firm Hart Muirhead Fatta, Tracey Long, said Mr. Hart’s legacy will endure for generations to come.

“Hugh did not simply practise law with distinction, he lived life with enthusiasm, generosity and joy. As I reflect on Hugh’s roles, I realise they were never really about practising law, growing older or even achieving success.

They were lessons on how to live, work at what you love, be kind, stay young at heart, never stop contributing, enjoy life’s blessings, inspire others, worry less, laugh more,” she said.

She noted that these were principles he lived and demonstrated through his conduct, generosity and unwavering commitment to his clients, colleagues and friends.