Pioneer political leader

Kingston, Jamaica - Jamaicans are mourning the woman they affectionately called "Lady Rose," an 80-year-old former government minister and the first woman to head a Jamaican political party.

Rose Agatha Leon was killed during an apparent robbery in her Kingston home, police said. The house had been ransacked and a pickup truck was missing. There were no immediate arrests.

A chauffer discovered Leon's body in a bedroom Monday, August 16. She had been bound and gagged with an electrical cord, and a piece of cloth was wrapped around her neck, police said.

Former Prime Minister Edward Seaga called Leon "one of Jamaica's outstanding women in public and private life."

A beautician by profession, Leon headed Seaga's Labor Party from 1948 to 1960. She served in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1955 and was minister of health and housing from 1953-55.

In the 1960s she switched allegiance and joined the People's National Party of former Prime Minister Michael Manley.

Leon served in Parliament from 1972 to 1976 and was an advisor to the Ministry of Social Security from 1977 to 1980. She also served as deputy mayor of Kingston from 1971-72.

"She had everything, charisma, personality, charm, and a way of making people who disagreed with her still like her," said Hector Wynter, a trustee of the Jamaica Labor Party.

Leon is survived by a daughter. ¨