George Price | 1st leader of Belize, 92

George Price, 92, Belize's founding father and first prime minister, died Monday, just short of three decades since he had led the small Central American nation to independence. He died in a Belize hospital after a fall at his home. Prime Minister Dean Barrow declared a week of mourning.

Mr. Price was Belize's first leader when it became independent from Britain on Sept. 21, 1981. As head of the centrist People's United Party, he served two terms as prime minister, in 1981-84 and 1989-93, and is considered the father of the Caribbean country of about 300,000 that borders Mexico and Guatemala.

Belize is on the Central American mainland but maintains closer cultural ties with other English-speaking former British colonies in the Caribbean than with its Spanish-speaking neighbors. In a message broadcast to the nation, Barrow called Mr. Price "a giant of a man, the greatest architect of Belizean nationalism and Belizean sovereignty."

The government and Mr. Price's family planned a state funeral for next Monday, Barrow said. Until then, flags in Belize will be flown at half-staff, except for Independence Day on Wednesday.

- AP