Early Years: The People's Progressive Party (PPP)
Burnham was one of the principal founders of the People's Progressive Party (PPP), which was launched on January 1, 1950; the Indo-Guyanese labor leader Cheddi Jagan became PPP Leader, while Burnham became its Chairman. In 1952, Burnham became the president of the party's affiliated trade union, the British Guiana Labour Union, in 1952. In 1953, the PPP won 18 of 24 seats in the first election permitted by the British colonial government. In the short-lived PPP government that followed, Burnham served as Minister of Education.
In 1955, there was a split in the PPP between Burnham and Jagan. As a result, Burnham went on to form the People's National Congress in 1958, and this party entered its first election under that name in 1961.
Read more about this topic: Forbes Burnham
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