Dr. Patrick Linton Allen was born on  7th February 1951, in the farming community of Fruitful Vale, Portland, the fourth of five children of Ferdinand Allen and his wife, Christiana (nee Grant).

He attended the Fruitful Vale All-Age School and after        successfully completing his Jamaica School Certificate Examination, and subsequently GCE examinations by private study, he joined the staff of the school as a pre-trained teacher at the age of 17. In 1970, he enrolled in the Moneague Teachers’ College.  Following his graduation, he taught at Water Valley All-Age School in St. Mary for four years before being appointed Principal of the Robin’s Bay All-Age School in the same parish in 1976.  In 1979, he became Principal of the Hillside Primary School, also in St. Mary, which had an enrollment four times the size of Robin’s Bay All-Age School.

A devout Seventh-day Adventist, Dr. Allen felt the urge from as early as age 11 to serve God as a full-time pastor, a call which he consistently resisted to pursue a teaching career.  In 1983, he found that he could no longer resist this calling and he entered Andrews University in Michigan where he obtained the Bachelor's degree in History and Religion before pursuing the Master's degree in Systematic Theology.

Dr. Allen returned to Jamaica in 1986 and was employed as a Pastoral Intern and subsequently District Pastor.  He has pastored many churches in St. Catherine and Clarendon.  He was formally ordained as a Seventh-day Adventist pastor in 1989. 

In 1993, Dr. Allen returned to Andrews University to read for his Doctorate, and in 1998 he was awarded the PhD in Educational Administration and Supervision.  During that period, he also worked as Assistant Registrar of Andrews University.  Upon his return to Jamaica in 1998, he was elected President of Central Jamaica Conference of Seventh-day Adventists with administrative responsibility for oversight of the churches in the parishes of St. Catherine, Clarendon, Manchester, St. Mary, and St. Ann.  In 2000, he was elected President of the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh-day Adventists with overall responsibility for the Seventh-day Adventist Churches and related organisations in Jamaica, the Bahamas, Turks and Caicos Islands, and the Cayman Islands.  He was re-elected President in 2005.

As President of the Union, he chaired the Union's Executive Committee made up of 62 church leaders.  He also chaired the Boards of:

•         Northern Caribbean University
•         Andrews Memorial Hospital
•         Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA)
•         Book and Nutrition Centre Limited
•         West Indies Union Investment Management
 Limited (IML)

Dr. Allen adopted a strategic approach to the development of the Union. After completing the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis, the Union, under his leadership, identified and adopted the strategic issues to encourage growth and consolidation, unity, healthy lifestyle, education, and the Church in the community.  Consequently, the membership increased by over 100,000. Three new Missions were created, and two Missions upgraded to Conference status.  Extensive growth and development were also achieved at Northern Caribbean University and Andrews Memorial Hospital, as well as other structural and innovative improvements in the administration and services of the Union.

He gave oversight to the network of Adventist-administered educational institutions in the four countries, which comprised 10 high schools, 22 primary schools and numerous basic schools. He demitted these positions on January 28, 2009 in preparation for his installation as Governor-General of Jamaica.

Dr. Allen also served as a member of the Police Civilian Oversight Authority, the Strategic Review Implementation Oversight Committee for the Jamaica Constabulary Force, and is a former Member of the Board of the Public Broadcasting Corporation of Jamaica. He also served as Vice-Chairman of the Bible Society of the West Indies. In 2003 he was appointed Justice of the Peace for the parish of Manchester.

The Order of Distinction in the rank of Commander was conferred on him in 2006.