Marlene Malahoo Forte, QC, MP, JP
Passionate about public service, Marlene Patricia MALAHOO FORTE, Q.C., MP, is the Attorney General of Jamaica (since 2016 March 7) and Member of Parliament for the constituency of St James West Central (since 2016 Feb 25). She is dubbed a technocrat-politician, who brings a unique approach to executive decision-making and representational politics, shaped by perspectives gained from work across all three branches of government, media, academia and volunteerism. She is also known for implementing innovative solutions with measurable results to difficult problems. She has been honoured as a Professional Woman of Excellence and for Service Excellence and Distinguished Professional Achievements that have inspired others. She is a member of the Integrity Commission Oversight Committee of the Parliament and Jamaica’s Lead Expert on the Committee of Experts of the Mechanism for the Follow-up on Implementation of the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption (OAS MESICIC).
Ms Malahoo is a member of the Cabinet’s National Security Council and attends the Cabinet’s Legislation and Public Order Committees and the National Council on Justice, among others. She guided the development of the legal framework for Jamaica’s national response to the COVID19 pandemic, with necessary checks and balances and appropriate parliamentary oversight on the Prime Minister’s use of executive orders. Regionally, she is a member (and former chairman) of the Caribbean Community’s (CARICOM) Legal Affairs Committee and an executive member of the CARICOM’s Council of Legal Education. She appears in court, primarily before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in England, in cases of high importance for the government and is a member of the Rules Committee of the Supreme Court of Jamaica.
Ms Malahoo is the vice-president for Latin America & the Caribbean on the Board of Governance of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for the 20212023 term. She is a fourth-term legislator, with a thorough knowledge of the legislative process and demonstrated attention to detail at all stages. Her tenure spans both Houses of Parliament of Jamaica, on both sides of the aisle. She was first elected to the House of Representatives on February 25, 2016 and re-elected on September 3, 2020. Initially, she was appointed Senator in Government and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade on July 15, 2009 in the Bruce Golding Administration; and then re-appointed Senator in Opposition, on January 16, 2012, and subsequently named Shadow Minister of Health and Healthy Lifestyle.
During her time as Foreign Minister of State, she regularly headed Jamaica’s delegation at various international and regional fora, including at Heads of Government/State Conferences and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). She was also a member of the Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the European Union and the African Caribbean Pacific group (JPA EU-ACP). She was quickly noticed by her counterparts for her skillful negotiation and staunch advocacy on behalf of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and highly indebted middle-income countries (HIMIC). For her adroitness in statecraft and international affairs, she was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum and the Junior Chamber International Top Young Person in the West Indies. While in Opposition, she successfully called for the dismissal of the Minister of Health and was named among the top three Shadow Ministers between 2012-2016. She has also hosted, owned and executively produced a prime daytime Call-in Radio Talk Show “JUSTICE”, with live internet stream. In disrupting the status-quo to successfully clear a huge backlog of cases as a trial judge of the Parish Courts she earned the commendation of the wider society, though incurring the wrath of some members of the bar and was honoured as a Bigga High Achiever in the Legal & Justice System. From her early years at the public bar she had an enviably high success rate in the trial and appellate courts, as a formidable, fair and fearless prosecutor.
Ms Malahoo’s goal is to help increase integrity in actions and systems in government, to make government more accountable and efficient. Qualifications include MPA (Harvard); LLM (King’s College London, Commonwealth Scholar); LLB (University of West Indies Cave Hill). Also, Yale World Fellow; Associate Alum Oxford BSG; former head girl of the Manning’s School.
