Lisa Hanna

The Honourable Lisa Hanna MP
File:Lisa Hanna.jpg Lisa Hanna (centre) with the U.S. Ambassador (left) and USAID Mission Director (right)
Minister of Youth and Culture
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 January 2012
Preceded by	Olivia Grange
Member of Parliament for Saint Ann South East
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 September 2007
Preceded by	Aloun Ndombet-Assamba
Personal details
Born	(1975-08-20) August 20, 1975
Nationality	Jamaica
Political party	People's National Party

Lisa Hanna

Beauty pageant titleholder
Born	Lisa Hanna
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Brown
Title(s)	Miss Jamaica World 1993 Miss World 1993
Major competition(s)	Miss Jamaica World 1993 (Winner) Miss World 1993 (Winner) (Miss World Caribbean)

Lisa Rene Hanna (born August 20, 1975) is a Jamaican politician and beauty queen who was crowned Miss World 1993, becoming the third Jamaican to win the title. A member of the governing People's National Party, Hanna currently serves as Member of Parliament for Saint Ann South East and as Jamaica's Minister of Youth and Culture.

Early life

Lisa Hanna was born to Rene and Dorothy Hanna and grew up in Retreat, St Mary, Jamaica.

As a young girl she worked as a volunteer with the World Hunger Project and the JAMAL programme in Jamaica alerting people to the global status of hunger, starvation and the local plight of adult illiteracy. She also worked in conjunction with UNICEF to spearhead the Jamaican candlelight vigils to launch the International Convention on the Rights of the Child. She continued her community service throughout her young life and blazed a trail as Head Girl at The Queen’s School, Television co-host for one of Jamaica’s most popular television programmes, Rappin, and became one of the youngest United Nations Goodwill Ambassadors ever to be appointed by the United Nations Development Programme in Jamaica. Miss Hanna was also an active member of the Jamaica Labour Party youth arm (G2K).

Life after Miss World

Career in entertainment

In 1998, Hanna acted in How Stella Got Her Groove Back. In 2003, Hanna tried her hand in broadcasting, hosting a Jamaican talk show Our Voices and was a guest presenter on Xtra in the United States. She returned to her country a year later and was a communications consultant for the Hilton Hotel in New Kingston.

Education

Lisa went on to achieve her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degrees in communications from the University of the West Indies in 1998 and 2000 respectively. As an undergraduate student she was voted by the student body as the University’s External Affairs Chairperson for the Guild of Students. She served with good friends Basil Waite and Senator Floyd Morris. During her tenure, she raised the funds and built the Computer Facility for the Faculty of Arts and the Humanities, accessed several thousands of dollars in scholarships and grants for UWI students, trained over 2000 Jamaican children in character development through the Lisa Hanna Workshop and taught women in the skills training programmes in Jones Town Kingston.

Through her studies she was able to do a technical transfer to the Technology University Malaysia and the University of Singapore to study the impact of Information Technology on developing economies. More recently, Lisa has worked extensively in project management, media, marketing and public relations both locally and internationally. In conjunction with her corporate responsibilities, she continues to focus heavily on community service and quietly works in various Jamaican inner city communities.

Meet Lisa Hanna

The Honourable Lisa Rene Hanna has served as Member of Parliament for the constituency of Southeast St Ann since 2007; she is the youngest female constituency representative in the governing People’s National Party. She was appointed Minister of Youth and Culture in the Cabinet of the Government of Jamaica in January 2012 following an overwhelming call from the people of Jamaica signalling their preference for the PNP to lead the country.

Miss Hanna has demonstrated political acumen in her role as Chairperson of one of the six political regions of her party. In the 2011 elections she returned her party to dominance within the region. Prior to that election her party represented two of the six constituencies; now it represents four. She went on to ensure further victory at the polls in the 2012 Local Government elections, which resulted in her party leading both of the local Councils in her political region.

As Minister of Youth and Culture, she supervises 13 agencies ranging from those with responsibility for the care and protection of children, the holistic development of youth and the preservation and promotion of Jamaica’s dynamic and rich culture. She serves as chair of the Jamaica National Commission for UNESCO.

In less than 20 months since being assigned this portfolio, Miss Hanna has spearheaded the refurbishment and/or establishment of three national museums ensuring that the texture and fabric of Jamaica’s rich heritage is preserved and showcased. She has piloted legislation and policy initiatives aimed at protecting children, specifically those who have been in conflict with the law — ensuring that children were no longer held in detention with adults. She has ensured that all youth initiatives focus on inclusion of those marginalised as a result of their socio economic reality and/or their mental and social abilities. She led in engaging Jamaicans at home and overseas in a year long celebration of Jamaica’s 50th anniversary of Independence; and spearheaded the successful lobby for Jamaica’s first ever election to the important World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

Miss Hanna views her appointment as Minister of Youth and Culture as an opportunity to use the wealth of experience gained from her years of local and international advocacy to make a significant contribution to improving the quality of life of her fellow Jamaicans.

Prior to entering representative politics and her subsequent appointment as a Minister of government, Miss Hanna had a distinguished record of service at the local, regional and international levels. She was a volunteer with the Jamaica Foundation for Lifelong Learning (the country’s adult literacy organisation), the World Hunger Project and the United Nations Children Fund (Unicef). Miss Hanna was also one of the youngest persons ever appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme. She trained more than 2,000 children in character development through the Lisa Hanna Workshop and as Miss World 1993, utilised her national and global exposure to advance the cause of children and youth and engaged political leaders including, Fidel Castro and Nelson Mandela, on these and other developmental issues.

A trained and experienced communicator, Miss Hanna attained Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Communications from the University of the West Indies, Mona. She has worked extensively in media, marketing and public relations in Jamaica and internationally.

Miss Hanna is a committed and active representative and leader. She is also a dedicated mother to her son, Alexander.

Jamaican Parliament

In the 2007 general election, as a member of the People's National Party, Hanna contested and won the seat for St. Ann South East. Hence, positioning her as a Member of Parliament for that Constituency. She is one of the youngest women to be elected to the Jamaican Parliament. In addition to her duties as constituency representative she served as opposition spokesperson on Information, Youth and Culture up to December 2011. In the December 29, 2011 polls her party was elected into power. She was subsequently appointed as Minister of Youth and Culture.

External links

• People's National Party - Official Lisa Hanna profile

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Jody Weech	Miss World Caribbean 1993	Succeeded by Anita Bush
Preceded by Julie Bradford	Miss Jamaica World 1993	Succeeded by Johanna Ulett

Political offices
Preceded by Olivia Grange	Minister of Youth and Culture 2012-present	Incumbent
Preceded by Aloun Ndombet-Assamba	Member of Parliament for Saint Ann South Eastern 2007-present	Incumbent