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The Most Honorable Andrew Holness will be the first-ever Prime Minister to be the keynote speaker at a Delaware State University Commencement Ceremony. The Jamaican Prime Minister will give the keynote address at the May 10 Graduate Commencement.
In this photo: The Most Honorable Andrew Holness will be the first-ever Prime Minister to be the keynote speaker at a Delaware State University Commencement Ceremony. The Jamaican Prime Minister will give the keynote address at the May 10 Graduate Commencement.
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Jamaica Prime Minister to give keynote at Graduate Commencement

Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Jamaican Prime Minister, The Most Honorable Andrew Holness, ON, PC, MP will deliver the keynote address at Delaware State’s Graduate Commencement ceremony at 1:00 pm on Friday May 10, 2024.  The ceremony will be held indoor at the William B. DeLauder Education & Humanities Theatre on campus.

In October 2011, Prime Minister Holness became the youngest person, at age 39, to serve as the Prime Minister of Jamaica. Before his elevation to Prime Minister and Leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, he became a Member of the Jamaican Parliament in 1997, representing West Central St. Andrew, a constituency he continues to represent today. He served as Opposition Spokesperson on Education and Land and Development and worked on housing issues. He would later serve as one of Jamaica’s most transformative Ministers of Education from 2007 to 2012. 

Prime Minister Holness is the first-ever sitting Prime Minister to speak at a DSU Commencement Ceremony. Other past notable DSU Commencement speakers include then-past President John Kofi Agyekum of Ghana in 2015 and then-U.S. Vice President Joe Biden in 2016. The University offers Ed.D., and Master’s Degree programs in Education Leadership in Jamaica and an Associate of Art/Science Program for Jamaica’s high school students and graduates.

University President Tony Allen noted the significance of Prime Minister Holness as Keynote Speaker, saying, “Prime Minister Holness has led Jamaica’s remarkable economic turnaround that has attracted global attention. We could not be more pleased to have a distinguished leader offer his words of wisdom to the 2024 graduating class. We are all looking forward to hearing his perspectives on sustainable development as he shares his vision of a shared prosperity for all.”