Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, ON, GCMG, CD (1951- )
Name: Patrick Linton Allen
Date of Birth: February 7, 1951
Industry: Education, Government, Theology
His Excellency the Most Hon. Sir Patrick Allen, ON, GCMG, CD, was appointed Governor-General of Jamaica on February 26, 2009. He is the sixth person, and fifth Jamaican, to hold this position since independence in 1962. He has pastored over twenty churches and is a board member of several companies, organizations and public bodies.
Patrick Linton Allen was born on February 7, 1951 in Fruitful Vale, Portland, to Ferdinand Allen a farmer, and Christiana Allen, a housewife.
He attended the Fruitful Vale All-Age School in Portland, and Moneague College in St. Ann. He later taught at the Water Valley All-Age School in St. Mary for three years before being appointed Principal of the Robins Bay Primary School in St. Mary in 1976. Between 1976 and 1983, he was the principal of Robins Bay All-Age, Hillside Primary and Port Maria High School. In 1985 he attended the Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan, USA where he received a Bachelor’s degree in History and Religion. In 1986 he pursued a Master’s degree in Systematic Theology and in 1996 he went back to read for his Doctorate. During that period, he worked as an Assistant Registrar of Andrews University and in 1998 he was awarded the Ph.D degree in Educational Administration and Supervision. Sir Patrick Allen returned to Jamaica in 1986 and was assigned as a pastoral intern to various churches in Spanish Town and May Pen. He was formally ordained as a Seventh Day Adventist pastor in 1989. Following his ordination, Allen served as pastor of the Spanish Town Seventh Day Adventist Church, the largest church in the Central Jamaica Conference of Seventh Day Adventists. He was later appointed Education and Communications Director of the Central Jamaica Conference between 1986 and 1991, and from 1990 to 1993 he served as Director of Education and Family Life of the West Indies Union of Seventh Day Adventists based in Mandeville.
Upon his return to Jamaica in 1998, he was elected President of the Central Jamaica Conference of Seventh Day Adventists with responsibility for the parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Mary and St. Ann. In 2000, he was elected President of the West Indies Union of Seventh Day Adventists with overall responsibility for the Seventh Day Adventist churches and related organizations in Jamaica, Bahamas and the Cayman Islands. He was re-elected President in 2005. He also served as Chairman of the Board of the Northern Caribbean University for eight and a half years, was a Vice Chairman of the Board of the Bible Society of the West Indies, and through the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA), gave oversight to extensive community interventions. On June 12, 2009 Queen Elizabeth the second, appointed Allen as Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George.
Sir Patrick Allen is a member of the Order of the Nation (ON), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Michael and St. George (GCMG) and in August 2006, the Jamaican government conferred on him the rank of Commander of the Order of Distinction (CD) for service in education, religion, and social work.
His other awards and accomplishments include: An Honorary Doctor of Public Service, being listed in ‘Who is Who’ in American Universities and Colleges (1985), membership in the Phi Kappa Phi, Phi Delta Kappa, Phi Alpha Theta and Alpha Mu Gamma Honors Societies.
Allen has also served as Chairman of the Board of Directors of: the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, Book and Nutrition Centre Limited and the West Indies Union Investment Management Limited. He oversees the network of Adventist-administered educational institutions in Jamaica which comprise 10 high schools, 22 primary schools and numerous basic schools. He has also served as a member of the Police Civilian Oversight Authority, the Strategic Review Implementation Oversight Committee for the Jamaica Constabulary Force and is a former Director of the Public Broadcasting Corporation.
Sir Patrick Allen married Miss Denise Patricia Beckford on July 20, 1975. They have three children together, Kurt and Candice who reside in Michigan and Atlanta respectively, and David who resides in Jamaica.
References
“His Excellency…Patrick Linton Allen.” www.kingshouse.gov.jm
“The Governor General.” www.jis.gov.jm
Kellner, Mark .“New Man at Jamaica’s Helm.” www.adventistworld.org