Lenox Shuman | |
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Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana | |
In office 2 September 2020 – 31 March 2023 | |
Member of the National Assembly | |
In office 2 September 2020 – 31 March 2023 | |
Personal details | |
Born | 13 September 1973 St. Cuthbert's Mission, Guyana | (age 50)
Lenox Ron O'Dell Shuman [1] (born 13 September 1973) [2] is a Guyanese politician who served as Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of Guyana and Member of Parliament from 2 September 2020 to 31 March 2023. He is also the founder and leader of the Liberty and Justice Party. [3]
On 2 September 2020, Shuman became the first Indigenous-Guyanese to become Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly. [4]
Shuman was born on 13 September 1973. His mother was of mixed race, and his father descended from a long line of Lokono chiefs. [5] In 1990, the family emigrated to Canada. He graduated from Confederation College in business and obtained a pilot licence. [2] Before entering the world of politics, Shuman was a Canadian citizen working as a pilot for Sunwing Airlines. [6] In 2009, he married Amanda Van Herten. [2]
In 2009, [2] Shuman returned to Guyana, and was elected toshao (village chief) for St. Cuthbert's Mission in 2015. [4] [2] The same year, [2] he was elected vice-chairman of the National Toshaos Council. [4] In 2019, the courts ruled that members of the National Assembly had to have Guyanese citizenship only, [7] therefore Shuman relinquished his Canadian citizenship, to form the Liberty and Justice Party and run for president in the March 2020 Guyanese general election. [6]