Mr. Unison Whiteman was a key member of the New Jewel Movement NJM and close friend of Grenada prime minister, Maurice Bishop. During the Grenada Revolution, he served as Grenada’s Foreign Minister.
Educated at Howard University in Washington DC he graduated with a B.A. in Government and a M.A. in Economics.
Following a loss to Eric Gairy in the Grenada general election of 1972 as a candidate of the opposing GNP party, and his subsequent disillusionment of politics, Whiteman founded the Joint Endeavor for Welfare Education and Liberation: J.E.W.E.L. which later merged with another group, MAP, to form the New Jewel Movement in March 1973.
Initially, Whiteman, together with Bishop, served as Joint Coordinating Secretary of the NJM.
Whiteman was elected to Parliament on the opposition ticket to GULP in 1976.
Unison Whiteman was executed with Bishop and other close supporters on Bloody Wednesday, October 19, 1983 in Grenada.
- The Grenada Revo Story, Part 1Learn more about the backstory and the key players of the Grenada Revolution
- The Grenada Revo Story, Part 5October 19, 1983, the final day of the Grenada Revolution, ends in tragedy.
- Grenada Revolution TimelineView a timeline of the Grenada Revolution