FAMILY
Born: November 30, 1947 – Whim Village, Corentyne, Berbice, British Guiana (Guyana).
Parents: Gangama (Chunoo) and Nagamootoo Ramaswamy, (Mootoo), both deceased.
Spouse: Sita (Educationist) with 4 Children (Angela, Maria, Adela &; Moses Ernesto);
5 Grandchildren.
EDUCATION
* Auchlyne Scots School, Corentyne, Berbice
* Rose Hall & Comprehensive High Schools
* Accabre College of Social Sciences
* Venezuelan Spanish Language Institute
* Allen White School of Journalism, University of Kansas (Visiting Journalist)
* University of Guyana
* University of the West Indies (Hugh Wooding Law School)
POLITICS
- Entered politics at age 14. Since 1961, joined PPP-led anti-colonialist struggle for Guyana’s independence.
- 1964 -1976: member Progressive Youth Organisation (PYO)
- 1964-2011: member People’s Progressive Party (PPP)
- 1966: A founder of National Union of Students, and first Organising Secretary.
- 1964-1992: Activist for restoration of democracy, press freedom and human rights
- 1992/2 & 1995-2000: Senior Government Minister
- 1992-2001 & 2006-2011: Member of Parliament –PPP
- 2011-2012 – AFC Vice-Presidential Candidate & Member of Parliament
TEACHING
(1964-71): Corentyne Comprehensive High & Founder of Rosignol/Zeezight Secondary
CABINET/PARLIAMENTARY PORTFOLIO
1992/2001; 2006 – Member of Parliament.
1992 –2001(broken) Member of Cabinet under and Chief Speech Writer for four Presidents (Cheddi Jagan, Janet Jagan, Samuel Hinds and Bharrat Jagdeo)
Senior Minister of Information; Senior Minister of Local Government & Regional Development with responsibility for Information & Amerindian Affairs.
PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEES
1996-2001: Member of Select Committee on Constitutional Reform
1999/2001: Chairman of Oversight Committee of the Select Committee on Constitutional Reform
2006- 2009 Member, Foreign Relations, Standing Orders & Constitutional Reform Committees and Committees on Anti-Money Laundering and Finance of Terrorism Bill & Legal Practitioners Bill
JOURNALIST ORGANISATIONS
- General Secretary of Union of Guyanese Journalists – UGJ (1970-1992);
- Founder/Executive member of Caribbean Association of Media Workers- (1986-1992);
- Executive Member of Federation of Latin American Journalists – FELAP;
- Vice-President of International Organisation of Journalists – IOJ (1990-1996).
NOVEL/POETRY
Hendree’s Cure, Peepal Tree Press, UK (Nominee Guyana Literature Prize for First Novel)
For the Fighting Front– Anthology of Revolutionary Poems (Editor)
PUBLICATIONS (Booklets)
- Three Trials of Arnold Rampersaud
- Towards a Peaceful Solution: a Commentary on the Guyana-Venezuela Border Issue
- Fraud: a Synopsis of Guyana’s Rigged 1980 Elections
- The State of the Free Press in Guyana (with Cheddi Jagan)
- Race, Class and Nationhood (with Cheddi Jagan)
- Party Paramountcy over the Guyana Media
- Portrait of a People’s President: Dr. Cheddi Jagan (1918-1997)
- The Political Situation and the Way Forward in Guyana: A Discourse on the Implications of the 1997 Elections
RECENT & CURRENT DESIGNATION
- Member of Parliament
- Attorney-at-Law
- Justice of the Peace & Commissioner of Oaths
AWARDS/RECOGNITION
IOJ Scroll of Honour for Journalism (Vietnam); PAJ Press Week (Jamaica), Harvard University Guest author & Allen White University fellow (USA), GOPIO Community Service Award (India); PPP Meritorious Member Award (Guyana); Distinguished Service Plaque (PPP/NY Support Group).
CONTACT
Nagamootoo’s Law Office
35 North Road & King Street,
Lacytown, Georgetown, Guyana.
Tel: (592) 223-6313 / 612-1087
E-mail: mnagamootoo@yahoo.com