The Bruce Golding-led Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) defied even the prophets to eke out its first general election win in 18 years in 2007.

Golding, in his victory speech, said, "However perplexing some may find the results, the fact is that the people have spoken."

Golding, who could be described as the 'comeback kid' who in 2005 returned to the JLP from the National Democratic Movement, which he had founded in 1995 after walking away from the JLP, has since had a bumpy journey as 'driver' of the rickety old bus called Jamaica.

Portia Simpson Miller stepped into the history books in 2006 when she became Jamaica's first woman prime minister, serving from March 2006 to September 2007. In 2006, Forbes magazine ranked her #89 on its list of the world's 100 most powerful women.

She replaced outgoing Prime Minister P.J. Patterson, becoming the first female head of government of the nation and the third in the Anglophone Caribbean, following Eugenia Charles of Dominica and Janet Jagan of Guyana.

Unfortunately, Simpson Miller lost the 2007 general election to the Bruce Golding-led Jamaica Labour Party.

After one decade, 14 albums (eight of which are studio albums), two of them multi-platinum, many number one hits, and numerous top-10 singles worldwide, this Grammy-winning artiste has paved the way for many aspiring Jamaican performers interested in making it big in the US and UK.

Orville 'Shaggy' Burrell, The Gleaner Honour Award recipient for voluntary service for 2009, is undoubtedly one of the country's more positive role models in the music business.

His philanthropic pursuits have also set him apart from many of his counterparts.

The Shaggy and Friends Make a Difference Foundation has raised millions of dollars and donated numerous pieces of equipment to assist sick Jamaican children at the Bustamante Hospital.

On October 15, 2007, Shaggy was awarded the Jamaican Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander.

Barack and Michelle Obama, the first African-American couple to grace the halls of the White House, have warmed the hearts of many around the globe.

Born to a Kenyan father and an American mother, Barack Obama has a multi-racial heritage. He made history when he was elected as the 44th president of the United States of America, as he is the first African American to hold this post.

In October, 2009, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced that Obama had won the 2009 Nobel Peace Prize "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples". As specific examples of the work that led to the award, the Nobel Prize Committee highlighted his efforts to promote nuclear non-proliferation (particularly in Iran), and the fostering of a "new climate" in international relations, especially in reaching out to the Muslim world.

In his first few months as commissioner of the Jamaica Customs Department, Danville Walker faced a number of protests and much verbal abuse.

But the commissioner still remains resolute and determined to eliminate corruption, and change the negative perception of the department.

Formerly of the Jamaica Defence Force, Walker, who has seen Jamaica through several turbulent general elections as head of the Electorial Office of Jamaica (EOJ), vowed he would not back down until Customs brings in the revenue it should for the country.

During his tenure at the EOJ, Walker conducted seven elections, served on several electoral observer missions (chief of mission on three occasions) and was a member of the Commonwealth Observer Group, which observed the national and provincial elections in South Africa.

Usain Bolt is undoubtedly one of the most recognised persons throughout the globe, and arguably the most naturally gifted athlete the world has ever seen.

Bolt confirmed his tremendous talents when he realised his dreams by winning a phenomenal three gold medals at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, China.

But Bolt did not just win medals, he smashed records. He obliterated the 100m, 200m and with his teammates, the 4x100 m world records at Games.

Just a year later, he further cemented himself as the fastest human being alive when he delivered a mind-numbing 9.58 in the 100m at the World Championships in Berlin, Germany.

He then repeated the superhuman feat in the 200m by clocking another record - 19.19.

Bolt outdid United States President Barack Obama in an Askmen.com Most Influential Men of 2009 poll and finished as a runner-up, also alongside Obama, for the Time magazine Person of the Year.

Edith Allwood-Anderson, the feisty president of the Nurses' Association of Jamaica (NAJ), is a nurse with strong medicine. Her name is synonymous with a fiery personality and a no-nonsense attitude.

She has been leading the nurses' organisation for her fifth consecutive term and seems to never disappoint her colleagues.

Born in Prospect, St Elizabeth, Allwood-Anderson knows the rigours of being a nurse in Jamaica. She was a public-health nurse for 15 years at the Mandeville Regional Hospital.

With more than 30 years in the profession, Allwood-Anderson's main issue of contention is the fact that there has been little improvement in the salaries of nurses.

In 2007, Allwood-Anderson was awarded the Order of Distinction in the rank of Officer - the nation's fifth-highest honour.

In 2005, at his appointment, Contractor General Greg Christie pledged to carry out his task with "unbridled integrity, impartiality, transparency and forthrightness, pledging that "high ethical conduct would be the moral cornerstone of the Office of the Contractor General" during his tenure.

Over the past four years, Christie has performed his job with stellar integrity.

Christie, a stickler for the observance of rules governing the awarding of government contracts, licences and permits, has, in the past, locked horns with both the ruling Jamaica Labour Party and the People's National Party over special reports submitted to Parliament.

A record 100 per cent compliance rate for the third consecutive quarter was recorded by the Office of the Contractor General under his watch.

Paula Llewellyn made Jamaican history in March when she became the country's first female director of public prosecutions (DPP), succeeding Kent Pantry.

Prior to taking up the position of DPP, the legal eagle served as senior deputy of public prosecutions since 1999.

Llewellyn graduated from the Norman Manley Law School in 1984. Her first post was as clerk in the St James Resident Magistrate's Court. In 1986, she acted as Crown Counsel in the Office of the DPP.

The young girl, who attended St George's Primary and St Hugh's High School, was always articulate and persuasive in her arguments.

He is described as God-fearing and humble, but Robert Levy, president and chief executive officer of Jamaica Broilers, was the antithesis of those lofty accolades in his youth.

As he tells it, he dropped out of high school in fourth form and looking back, he is convinced he was dyslexic.

Levy joined Jamaica Broilers at age 19 in 1959, one year after the official formation of the company. During his first year at Jamaica Broilers, he fast-tracked his knowledge of the operation by working in several key areas.

After being appointed to the post of joint CEO in 1994, Levy assumed the position of president and CEO of the Jamaica Broilers Group of Companies in 2001. During his tenure, the group realised significant increase in profits and, in the more recent past when the Group expanded into the production of ethanol, Jamaica Broilers Group Ltd also saw substantial growth in its operations.

Usain Bolt and his coach, Glen Mills, have been on a near four-year journey, filled with revelations, growth and triumph.

Mills, celebrated as one the world's best sprint coaches, helped to create history through his guidance of and influence on the career of the world's fastest man.

Mills' track-and-field career spans more than 40 years. He began coaching high-level junior athletes in the early '70s and succeeded Herb McKenley as Jamaica's head coach in 1987. Since that time, Jamaican athletes have earned 33 Olympic medals (nine gold, 16 silver and eight bronze), plus 71 World Championships medals (13 gold, 31 silver and 27 bronze).

Mills was North American, Central American and Caribbean Championships coach of the year in 2008 and was awarded the Order of Distinction in 2008.

This controversial coach is arguably one of the best track-and-field coaches of all time. He boasts several of the world's top performers in the sport, including Olympic and World Championships 100m gold medallist, Shelly-Ann Fraser, gold medallist at the 400m at the Olympics and World Championships Melaine Walker, and one of the fastest men on the planet, Asafa Powell, just to name a few.