Mark Golding has thrown his hat into the ring for president of the 82-year-old People’s National Party (PNP) and was nominated to run against Lisa Hanna, St Ann South East member of parliament, for the presidency on November 7.
A former treasurer of the party, Golding is a top attorney and investment banker who was notably courted to join the PNP by Peter Bunting, his long-time friend and business partner. He was appointed to the Senate in 2007, and in 2017 entered representational politics when he easily won a by-election to replace veteran politician Dr Omar Davies as member of parliament (MP) for St Andrew Southern, a so-called PNP safe seat. In September, he was elected to serve his first full term as MP. Here are five things you should know about Golding.
- Mark Golding is the son of Professor Sir John Golding, Jamaica’s first orthopaedic surgeon, and Lady Patricia Golding, a career public servant.
- He studied law at Oxford University and graduated with first-class honours. He also received a Commonwealth Scholarship to attend the University of London, where he obtained a master’s degree in commercial and corporate law.
- He is married to Sandra Golding. The two have three children.
- The former minister of justice is a commercial lawyer. Golding was called to the Bar in 1990 and has been a partner in one of Jamaica’s leading law firms, Hart Muirhead Fatta, since 1993.
- He is the co-founder of the investment bank, Dehring, Bunting & Golding (DB&G), in 1992, and co-founder of Proven Investments Limited in 2010.
