Profile: Jamaica's PJ as PM

PJ Patterson has been Jamaica's premier for the past 10 years

By Andy von Glehn BBC correspondent

Jamaican Prime Minister PJ Patterson is hoping to win his third consecutive election to make a fourth straight term for his party in Wednesday's poll.

Click here for a profile of Edward Seaga

Mr Patterson, an attorney by profession, has been prime minister since March 1992 when he was chosen by his People's National Party to succeed Michael Manley, who retired because of ill health.

PJ Patterson

Life:

Born: 1935

Educated: University College of the West Indies; London School of Economics

Profession: lawyer

Political career:

1967: Nominated to Senate

1972-77: Minister of industry and tourism

1978-80: Foreign minister

1978-80; 1989-91: Deputy prime minister

1992: Succeeds Michael Manley as party leader and prime minister

1993: Wins general election

1997: Wins general election

Mr Manley, known as a champion of the developing world, espoused a brand of Caribbean socialism during his early years in office between 1972 and 1980 and angered the United States with his close ties to Cuban President Fidel Castro.

However, by the time he was re-elected in 1989, Mr Manley had refashioned himself as an advocate of the free market.

Mr Patterson's career in politics has shown views similarly diverse to those of Mr Manley.

Described as an architect of Mr Manley's later economic policies, Mr Patterson continued on the road of reform taken by Edward Seaga, who was prime minister in the 1980s and is challenging for the job again at this election.

But Mr Patterson also followed Mr Manley with his criticism of the US embargo against Cuba.

When President Castro visited Jamaica in 1998, Mr Patterson said: "We are opposed to the blockade of Cuba, which is morally wrong. No-one is going to cause us to ignore that we are close neighbours."

Farmer's son

Percival James Patterson was born at St Andrew, Jamaica.

Patterson's People's National Party has been ahead in opinion polls

His father was a farmer and his mother a teacher.

He studied at home and overseas, and was nominated to the Senate when he was 32.

He joined the House of Representatives in 1970 and started a steady climb up the political ladder.