As a young activist in 1969, Michael Myvett protested the
Vietnam War conducted by the United States, while affiliated with the Ad Hoc Committee for the Truth About Vietnam. This group was co-founded by
Said Musa, a future Prime Minister. In 1970, Finnegan became a member of the
United Black Association for Development. By late 1972 he had become estranged from UBAD president
Evan X Hyde. During this period he changed his name to Michael Kwame Finnegan. Finnegan then became a political protege of
Dean Lindo, an early UDP leader. He was a founding member of the UDP in 1973. Finnegan already had a reputation as a gifted street campaigner. He worked as a UDP activist throughout the rest of the 1970s and 1980s. Finnegan was first elected to office in
1993, when he became a member of the
Belize House of Representatives from the Mesopotamia
constituency, a safe UDP seat in Belize City. Finnegan was one of only two UDP House members re-elected in
1998 (
Dean Barrow, a future Prime Minister, was the other); they were two of three successful UDP candidates nationwide. Until his 2020 retirement, Finnegan was re-elected with at least 60 percent of the vote in every ensuing election. In the Belize House, Finnegan was noted for his lively, uncensored debate style as well as his liberal use of
Belizean Creole. Finnegan declined to be a candidate in the
2020 Belizean general election. The UDP nominated his nephew,
Shyne Barrow, to succeed him in the Mesopotamia constituency, which is widely considered a UDP safe seat. Barrow was elected with 53% of the vote.
Health There had been speculation that an ailing Finnegan would stand down at the
2015 general election. In March 2015 Finnegan told
Tropical Vision Limited that he was "worn" and considering retirement. However, in September 2015, Finnegan confirmed he was running for re-election. Former Belize City Mayor
Zenaida Moya may seek to succeed Finnegan in Mesopotamia should he stand down in the future. Finnegan was successfully treated for
prostate cancer in 2010. He underwent spinal surgery in the United States in 2014. ==Family==