One of the most colorful chapters in American Jewish history
ended on March 28, with the death, at age 88, of Janet Jagan,
former president of the South American country of Guyana. Born
Janet Rosenberg in Chicago in 1920, she was one of only three
Jewish women ever to lead a modern nation. The other two were
Golda Meir of nearby Milwaukee, and Ruth Dreifuss, a former
member of the Swiss Federal Council representing the Geneva
canton, who held the rotating presidency of the Swiss
Confederation from January 1 to December 31, 1999. Jagan (rhymes
with Reagan) is remembered, too, as the first woman — Jewish or
otherwise — ever freely elected as president of a South American
country (as distinguished from various wives of Argentine
dictator Juan Peron). She was the first white person ever
elected to lead Guyana, and was the country’s longest-serving
legislator. And she was probably the only American Jew ever
chased out of public office by both the British marines and the
American CIA. Most important, she was a domi