Hon. Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo

Co-operative Republic of Guyana

Vice President

Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo has served as Vice President of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana since August 2, 2020. Prior to his appointment in the administration of President Dr. Irfaan Ali, Dr. Jagdeo held the office of the Minister of Finance before being elected to serve as the President of Guyana from August 11, 1999 to December 3, 2011. As Minister of Finance, Dr. Jagdeo advanced the crafting of the National Development Strategy (NDS), which was launched in 1997. The National Development Strategy (NDS) sets out priorities for Guyana's economic and social development policies for the next decade. During his tenure as President (1999-2011) major economic and social reforms were undertaken in Guyana as well as pioneering strategy frameworks – the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) of 2004; the National Competitiveness Strategy of 2006; and the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) launched in 2009, among others. The Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) has identified an environmentally sustainable growth trajectory for Guyana and lead to a groundbreaking partnership with the Government of Norway for the purchase of US$250M of forest carbon, through avoided deforestation.  In July 2021, the LCDS 2030, an updated development strategy, was launched. Dr. Jagdeo also presided over Guyana’s efforts to move ahead with the first sale of carbon credits certified under the Architecture for REDD+ Transactions (ART). ART issued the world’s first TREES credits to Guyana in December 2021.   The 2001 Constitution Reform was also a major success of his tenure. Dr. Jagdeo was the first President of Guyana to relinquish office in accordance with term limits he signed into the Guyanese Constitution. Dr. Jagdeo pursued various levels of work in the international climate change arena from 2006. He holds a number of global leadership positions in the areas of sustainable development, green growth and climate change.