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The politics of Trinidad and Tobago function within the framework of a unitary state regulated by a parliamentary democracy modelled on that of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, from which the country gained its independence in 1962. Under the 1976 republican Constitution, the monarch was replaced as head of state by a President chosen by an electoral college composed of the members of the bicameral Parliament, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of state of Trinidad and Tobago and the commander-in-chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1976, before which the head of state was the Queen of Trinidad and Tobago, Elizabeth II. The last governor-general, Sir Ellis Clarke, was sworn in as the first president on 1 August 1976 under a transitional arrangement. He was formally chosen as president by an electoral college consisting of members of both houses of Parliament on 24 September 1976, which is now celebrated as Republic Day.
Trinidad and Tobago elects its House of Representatives on the national level. The head of government, the prime minister, is chosen from among the elected representatives on the basis of his or her command of the support of the majority of legislators. The Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago has two chambers. The House of Representatives has 41 members, elected for a maximum five-year term in single-seat constituencies. The Senate has 31 members: 16 government senators appointed on the advice of the prime minister, six opposition senators appointed on the advice of the leader of the opposition and nine so-called independent senators appointed by the president to represent other sectors of civil society. The president is elected for a five-year term by an electoral college consisting of the members of both houses of Parliament. Other elected bodies include the local government bodies in Trinidad and the Tobago House of Assembly, which handles local government in the island of Tobago and is entrenched in the constitution.
The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is composed of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in addition to 41 directly elected members serving a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, and the Senate which has 31 members appointed by the President: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and 9 Independent Senators appointed by the President to represent other sectors of civil society. It is at present the only parliament in the world with an incumbent female President, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Leader of the Opposition and made history by appointing the Caribbean's first and only transgender parliamentarian on 15 February 2022. As of 20 April 2021, there are only 24 female members, or 32.9% and eight members born in Tobago or 11.0%.
The Senate of Trinidad and Tobago is the appointed upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, along with the President and House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago. The Senate currently sits at the Red House. The Senate has 31 members all appointed by the President: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and 9 Independent Senators appointed on the discretion of the President from outstanding persons who represent other sectors of civil society. The presiding officer, the President of the Senate, is elected from among the Senators who are not Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries. A senator must be at least 25 years old and a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. The current President of the Senate is Senator Nigel de Freitas. As of 20 April 2021, there are only 13 female senators, or 41.9% and 6 Tobagonian senators or 19.4%. The Senate made history on 15 February 2022 by appointing Jowelle de Souza as an acting opposition senator, thus making her the Caribbean's first and only transgender parliamentarian.
Princes Town is a town within an eponymous region, located on south-Central Trinidad island in Trinidad and Tobago. The population of the town is 28,335.
Wendell Adrian Mottley ORTT is a Trinidad and Tobago economist, politician and athlete. Mottley served as Senator and member of the House of Representatives with the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament and was Minister of Finance from 1991 to 1995. He was an Ivy League sprinter, winning two Olympic medals in 1964.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar ; born Kamla Susheila Persad, 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian lawyer, politician and educator who is the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, political leader of the United National Congress (UNC) political party, and was the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 26 May 2010 until 9 September 2015. She was the country's first female prime minister, attorney general, and Leader of the Opposition, the first woman to chair the Commonwealth of Nations and the first woman of Indian origin to be a prime minister of a country outside of India and the wider subcontinent.
Adrian Cola Rienzi was a Trinidadian trade unionist, civil rights activist, politician and lawyer.
Gillian Lucky is a Justice of Appeal at the Supreme Court of Judicature for Trinidad and Tobago. She was previously a High Court Judge, Director of the Police Complaints Authority, and a Member of Parliament for Pointe-à-Pierre.
Keith Christopher Rowley, is a Trinidadian politician serving as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, first elected into office on 9 September 2015 and again following the 2020 general election. He has led the People's National Movement (PNM) since May 2010 and was Leader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2015. He has also served as the Member of the House of Representatives for Diego Martin West since 1991. He is a volcanologist by profession, holding a doctorate in geology, specializing in geochemistry.
Bridgid Annisette-George is a Trinidadian lawyer and politician. She has been the Speaker of House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago since 2015, the second female to hold the position and is currently the world's longest serving female incumbent Speaker of a National Legislature. She previously served as a Senator and the third female Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago for the PNM before resigning to return to her private law practice.
Christine Carla Kangaloo is a Trinidadian politician, who is the president of Trinidad and Tobago since 2023.
Stuart Richard Young is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and an attorney at law, representing the People's National Movement (PNM). He has served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Port-of-Spain North/St. Ann's West since the 2015 general election. He is the current Minister of Energy and Energy Industries and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister. On January 6th, 2025 he was announced as the successor for Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago in August 2025 when Prime Minister Keith Rowley intends to resign from representational politics. Young has previously held the posts of Minister of National Security, Minister in the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs and Minister of Communications. Young was awarded Silk and elevated to Senior Counsel on June 20, 2024.
General elections will be held in Trinidad and Tobago in 2025 to elect 41 members to the 13th Trinidad and Tobago Republican Parliament. It will be the 100th anniversary of general elections in the country.
Anita Haynes is a Trinidad and Tobago politician representing the United National Congress. She has served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Tabaquite since the 2020 general election. She was previously an Opposition Senator from 2017 to 2020. She is the first female MP for Tabaquite.
Garvin Edward Timothy Nicholas is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and former diplomat. He served as a temporary Opposition Senator representing the United National Congress (UNC) in the 8th Republican Parliament and the 10th Republican Parliament. He was the Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2010 until 2013 and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Trinidad and Tobago to Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany. He served as the Attorney General for Trinidad and Tobago from 3 February 2015 until 17 June 2015. He is the leader of the Movement for National Development (MND), a political party which contested the 2020 general election.
Donna Cox is a Trinidad and Tobago politician from the People's National Movement.
Allyson West is a Trinidad and Tobago politician from the People's National Movement.
Renuka Sagramsingh-Sooklal is a Trinidad and Tobago politician from the People's National Movement.
References
- ↑ "Deonarine: T&T must monitor geopolitical tensions". Trinidad Express Newspapers. 2024-10-01. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
- ↑ "Senator Amrita Deonarine". Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago .
- ↑ Douglas, Sean (2022-03-23). "Senator Deonarine calls for forex ombudsman". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2025-01-07.
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