Ptolemy Reid
Ptolemy Alexander Reid was a Guyanese veterinarian and politician who served as Prime Minister of Guyana from 1980 to 1984.
Reid studied veterinary medicine at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, but could not find employment in British Guiana, so he moved to England where he became a member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and then practiced in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. He returned to Guyana in 1958, and became involved in politics in 1960 when he joined the People's National Congress. He ran for office in 1961, hoping to represent the constituency of Pomeroon-Supenaam, but was unsuccessful.
When Forbes Burnham took power in 1964, Reid became a member of Burnham's cabinet, where he served as Deputy Premier and minister of home affairs, minister of trade ; finance minister ; minister of agriculture ; and minister of agriculture and national development. In 1980, when Burnham resigned as Prime Minister to become President, Reid took his place.
