CNW Male Person of the Year 2025: Andrew Holness

In 2025, Jamaica’s Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness not only secured a historic third consecutive term in office but also presided over what many observers are calling the most consequential year of his political career — a year defined by sharp declines in violent crime and a major climate disaster from which the island is now rapidly rebounding

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Holness’ re-election in September came against the backdrop of measurable improvements in public safety and a widely praised response to Hurricane Melissa, which struck Jamaica as a Category 5 storm in October. The Jamaica Labour Party’s campaign leaned heavily on these two pillars — security and effective crisis leadership — and voters rewarded continuity over upheaval.

At the start of 2025, Jamaica’s homicide figures told a story of sustained decline: official data showed a 13 per cent decrease in murders early in the year, with just 73 homicides by early February compared with 84 for the same period in 2024 — the lowest start to a year in recent memory.

As the year progressed, statistics reflected an even sharper drop. By late May, government figures showed a 43.3 per cent reduction in murders compared to the same period in 2024, with 275 homicides recorded from January 1 to May 28.

Holness and his ministers seized on those trends. In late November, the prime minister publicly stated that Jamaica was on track for its lowest annual murder count in nearly four decades, projecting fewer than 700 homicides for all of 2025 — a stark contrast to the 1,141 recorded in 2024. It achieved its projection at the end of 2025.

Security officials credited the downturn to a multi-pronged strategy involving enhanced intelligence-led policing, expanded surveillance technology, and sustained investment in the Jamaica Constabulary Force and Defence Force — including historic firearms seizures and gang disruption efforts.

Yet these gains were not uncontested. Human-rights advocates raised serious concerns about the heavy reliance on states of public emergency and intensified operations, arguing that civil liberties and community trust could be strained. But among many Jamaicans, especially in urban centres long plagued by violence, the overall sense was one of cautious optimism as neighbourhoods once beset by regular shootings reported quieter streets and fewer visible gang confrontations.

Just as security trends became politically advantageous, Hurricane Melissa threatened to undercut Jamaica’s progress. The October storm inflicted widespread damage, with thousands of homes and critical infrastructure — roads, power stations, hospitals — destroyed or severely compromised. Early reports put initial deaths in Jamaica at multiple single figures, with far more extensive impacts across the island’s western parishes.

Holness declared the entire island a disaster area and led the government’s coordinated emergency response. Unlike some disaster scenarios where appeals for international help are immediate, Jamaica leveraged existing disaster-risk financing to begin urgent relief and then mobilised global support for reconstruction. In December, government officials announced that the IMF, World Bank, Caribbean Development Bank, CAF and IDB Group had assembled a coordinated US$6.7 billion package to aid recovery and reconstruction over the next three years — a major win for Jamaica’s fiscal strategy and long-term resilience plans.

International leaders also praised Jamaica’s quick rebound. Messages of solidarity flowed from across the world, including personal expressions of support from Commonwealth figures — a symbolic nod to the island’s resilience in the face of one of the stormiest seasons on record.

Holness’ third-term victory, while narrower than some past JLP landslides, reinforced the political capital he has built around “security first” governance. The campaign’s emphasis on crime statistics and economic stability — even as global inflationary pressures weighed on consumer costs — resonated with voters weary of persistent violence and climate anxieties.

Critics will continue to sharpen their focus on civil rights, economic equity and deeper social reforms. But as Jamaicans move into 2026, the story of 2025 remains one of dramatic shifts — both in public safety and in how the nation responds to crisis with an eye toward long-term recovery and resilience.

For Andrew Holness, the year defined not just a political victory but a tangible transformation in the country’s recent trajectory.