Background
John Alfred Osborne was born on 27 May1936 in Monserrat.
John Alfred Osborne was born on 27 May1936 in Monserrat.
He received his elementary and secondary education in Montserrat, after which he left for Great Britain where he attended Paddington Technical College.
Returning to Montserrat in I960, he established himself as a shipbuilder and shipowner, amassing considerable wealth.
Osborne was first elected to the Legislative Council in 1966 and then won his constituency five successive times, the last in 1983. Opposed to William Henry Bramble during the latter half of the 1960s, Osborne joined with Bramble’s son and heir apparent, Percival Austin Bramble in 1970, to found the Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), which was swept to power that year. Osborne served for a short time as minister of agriculture in the Percival Bramble government but soon left the party, criticizing Bramble for his socialist policies and autocratic leanings.
With the support of a powerful intellectual and union leader, James Irish, Osborne formed the Peoples Liberation Movement (PLM) in 1976. In 1978 the PLM won all the seats in the Legislative Council, and Osborne became chief minister. This victory was repeated in 1983, when the PLM won all but two seats.
Osborne pursued a policy of ardent support for free enterprise. As a result, he gained strong backing from the powerful local business class and attracted North American investors to the country. His government also sought to revive local agriculture through production of cotton, red peppers, and vegetables. At the same time, Osborne allowed the social and welfare programs of the previous government, which he once regarded as evidence of its socialist leanings, to remain intact.