Sir Howard Felix Hanlan Cooke (13 November 1915 – 11 July 2014) served as the fourth Governor-General of Jamaica from 1 August 1991 to 15 February 2006.
Early life
Cooke was born on 13 November 1915, in Goodwill, St. James, Jamaica, the son of David Brown Cooke and Mary Jane Minto. In his youth, Cooke was the group scoutmaster and secretary of the St. Andrew Boys' Scout Association and captain of the County of Cornwall cricket team. He attended Mico University College in Kingston and London University in London. working at Standard Life Insurance Company, Jamaica Mutual Life Insurance Company, and ALICO. He became a member of the Parliament of the West Indies Federation in 1958, and then the independent Jamaican Parliament as a Senator and a Member of the House of Representatives after 1962. He was a minister in the government of Michael Manley during the 1970s and President of the Senate of Jamaica from 1989 to 1991. On 1 August 1991, he became the fourth Governor-General of Jamaica, succeeding Florizel Glasspole. Queen Elizabeth visited Jamaica in 1994 and 2002 while Cooke was Governor-General. He retired on 15 February 2006, and became the first Governor-General to invest his successor, Kenneth Octavius Hall. Afterwards, Cooke was appointed Chancellor of the International University of the Caribbean in Kingston.
Awards and honours
In 1980, Cooke received the Special Plaque for Distinguished Service from the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. In 1991, Cooke was awarded both the Order of the Nation and the Knight Grand Cross of the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG). In 1994, he was awarded the Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).