Howard Campbell, Gleaner Writer 
RUDOLPH BROWN, Chief Photographer
The country's newest Opposition Leader, Dr. Kenneth Baugh, with the Instrument of Authority that was presented to him by Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke (in the background) on Friday.
DR. KENNETH Baugh, newly appointed leader of the Opposition in Jamaica, once had his eyes set on becoming leader of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP).
He says while he has never made it public, he once eyed the JLP top job.
"Anybody who is active in politics has that ambition but as time goes along you learn to compromise," he told The Sunday Gleaner.
With over 30 years experience as a surgeon under his belt, Kenneth Baugh knows the importance of patience during an operation.
It is a virtue he will need in his new job. Dr. Baugh, 63, was officially named temporary Opposition leader Friday by Governor-General, Sir Howard Cooke, in a function at King's House which was attended by party members, several of whom have sparred bitterly during the last 10 years.
The scenes of camaraderie, Dr. Baugh says, were evidence that the JLP had finally exorcised its demons. "I'm confident that the majority of members want to see the party settle down and the fact is, since 1997, the JLP has become a cohesive force," he told The Sunday Gleaner. "There were problems in the party recently because leadership change was imminent and that's not unique."
HIT BY TURMOIL
Edward Seaga, who left representational politics last week after 45 years, ran the JLP with an iron grip for 30 years, but not even he could quell the turmoil between the party's older heads and its younger members, who were torn between loyalty to him and Chairman Bruce Golding. Mr. Golding is expected to replace Mr. Seaga when party delegates vote for a new leader at the JLP's conference on February 19.
Although Dr. Baugh's laid-back persona cast him as a moderate, Douglas Vaz, who served alongside him in the JLP government of the 1980s, says he is not to be taken lightly: "While having a soft demeanour he is a man of high integrity and very high principles. Whoever takes him for granted will find out that he's no pushover," Mr. Vaz told The Sunday Gleaner.
After a four-year break from politics, Dr. Baugh re-entered the fold in 1997 when he unsuccessfully contested the West Central St. Catherine seat for the JLP in general election that year. Two years later, he was appointed general secretary, a post he held for four years.
MEDICINE HIS MAIN PASSION
Born in Spring Mount, St. James, Kenneth Baugh Jr. is the fourth of 10 children. He studied medicine at the University of the West Indies' Mona campus, graduating in 1968; he later studied general surgery at the Royal College of London. He joined the staff at Cornwall Regional Hospital in his home parish in 1976 at a time when Jamaicans were divided on whether to accept or reject then Prime Minister Michael Manley's socialist policies. Dr. Baugh said his main passion was medicine but as the 1970s wore on, he became more socially aware and eventually became a JLP member.
"Things were deteriorating with the economy and there was also this fear of communism which I thought was inappropriate for Jamaica," he said.
In the October 1980 General Election, Kenneth Baugh the rookie defeated Howard Cooke, a respected figure in St. James politics, to take the North West St. James seat. He was appointed minister of health in Prime Minister Edward Seaga's Cabinet. In the 1989 election, he moved to West Rural St. Andrew but lost to the People's National Party's (PNP) Claude Clarke. After that defeat, he says, he took a break from politics and concentrated on re-building his practice.
DOUBLE DISAPPOINTMENT
His return in 1997 resulted in double disappointment as the JLP was routed at the polls by the PNP and he lost the West Central St. Catherine seat to Alethia Barker. That constituency had been a safe seat for the party for almost 30 years through Enid Bennett; five years later he turned the tables on Ms. Barker with a comfortable win.
Dr. Baugh, who is married to Vilma and is the father of three children, says one of his priorities as interim leader is to get an early date for a by-election which will decide the next member of Parliament for West Kingston. Another is to get the JLP back on track to face the PNP in the general election.
"What I want to see is the JLP and more importantly, Jamaica doing well. The country needs it because the government hasn't got it right," he said.
