Colville Young

His Excellency Sir Colville Young GCMG MBE
Young in 2013
2nd Governor-General of Belize
Incumbent
Assumed office 17 November 1993
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Manuel Esquivel Said Musa Dean Barrow
Preceded by	Elmira Minita Gordon
Personal details
Born	20 November 1932 Belize City, British Honduras (now Belize)
Nationality	Belizean
Alma mater	St. Michael's College (Belize) University of the West Indies University of York

Viceregal styles of Sir Colville Young (1993–present)
Reference style	His Excellency
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Alternative style	Sir

Sir Colville Norbert Young GCMG MBE (born 20 November 1932) is the Governor-General of Belize, and also patron of the Scout Association of Belize. He was appointed Governor-General in 1993, taking office on 17 November of that year,^[1] and was knighted in 1994.^[2]

Education

Sir Colville studied at Belize's St Michael's College (now part of Anglican Cathedral College (ACC) and not to be confused with the institution now known as Maud Williams High School), and earned a B.A. degree in English from the University of the West Indies, Mona Campus, Jamaica prior to his doctorate in linguistics from the University of York in England.^[3]

Activities before becoming Governor-General

In the 1960s Young was a member of the opposition National Independence Party. He ran as the NIP candidate for the British Honduras Legislative Assembly in the Mesopotamia constituency in 1965 and 1969, but was defeated both times by C. L. B. Rogers, the People's United Party incumbent.^[4][5]

Along with future Prime Minister Manuel Esquivel, Young was one of the founding members of the Liberal Party, a short-lived pro-business political party which ultimately became a part of the United Democratic Party (UDP). Afterwards Young was interested in seeing Belize's development in academia and education, and after returning from England began trying to advance the nation in that regard. In the late 1980s Young became president of the University College of Belize, one of the five parent institutions of the University of Belize, and was one of its senior lecturers.^[3]

He became involved in music, composing all manner of musical pieces from operas to cantatas to others. He published a series of books of and about Belizean literature, including "Literature and Education in Belize", "Creole Proverbs of Belize", "From One Caribbean Corner" and "Caribbean Corner Calling", the last two containing poems in English and Belize Creole. Of these books, "Creole Proverbs" is his most recognized. In 1993, just before becoming Governor General, he published a book of short stories called "Pataki Full", earning acclaim from the local writing community. His stories have been featured in the Belizean Writers Series in "Snapshots of Belize", and a play "Riding Haas" in the drama anthology "Ping Wing Juk Me", also in the Series.

As Governor-General

Young became the Belizean governor-general shortly after the UDP under Esquivel regained power in the 1993 elections. He is currently the longest-serving governor-general in the British Commonwealth.

Family life

Young is married to Lady (Norma) Young, née Trapp, and has three sons and a daughter.^[6] He has two sisters (Myrna and Jean) and a younger brother (Wally).

Commitment to music

Young has a stated interest in promoting the development of Belizean music.^[7] Young has actively contributed to efforts in Belizean schools to maintain music as an educational staple.

See also

• List of national leaders

References

1. "BELIZE". World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 22 February 2010.
2. Johnson, Lisa. "His Excellency Sir Colville Young Governor General of Belize". The Pelican (Issue 1: July -Dec 2006). Retrieved 7 February 2015.
3. East, Roger; Thomas, Richard (2003). Profiles of people in power: the world's government leaders. Routledge. pp. 52–53. ISBN 978-1-85743-126-1.
4. General Elections 1965, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission. (accessed 19 November 2014)
5. General Elections 1969, Belize Elections and Boundaries Commission; accessed 19 November 2014.
6. Brill Online, International Year Book and Statesmen's Who's Who, http://brillonline.nl/entries/international-year-book-and-statesmens-who-s-who/young-h-e-sir-colville-norbert-g-c-m-g-m-b-e-ph-d-j-p-s-SIM_person_35876
7. "Governor General honors local musicians and donates musical instruments to SPRCS". San Pedro Sun. Retrieved 22 February 2010.