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 United National Congress is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unionist, and actor after a split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). After spending six years in opposition, the UNC won control of the government in 1995, initially in coalition with the NAR and later on its own. In the 2000 general election, the UNC won an absolute majority in the Parliament. In 2001, a split in the party caused the UNC to lose its parliamentary majority and control of the government. From 2001 to 2010, the UNC was once again Parliamentary Opposition party. In May 2010, the UNC returned to government as the majority party in the People's Partnership. The UNC's Political Leader, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, was sworn in as the first female Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. Kamla Persad-Bissessar was Prime Minister from 2010 until 2015.
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.
Anand Ramlogan is a member of the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago, England & Wales and the British Virgin Islands. He is the founder and head of Freedom Law Chambers which is based in the city of San Fernando, Trinidad. He served as junior counsel to the late Sir Fenton Ramsahoye QC in whose footsteps he followed to become the Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago during the period 28 May 2010 – 2 February 2015. As Attorney General, he was also the titular head of the bar.
The Commonwealth Chair-in-Office (CIO) is the Chair-in-Office of the Commonwealth of Nations, and is one of the main leadership positions in the Commonwealth. It is held by the host chairperson of the previous Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), and is maintained until the next CHOGM. Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa, Prime Minister of Samoa, is the current Chair-in-Office of the association since 25 October 2024.
General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 24 May 2010. The date of the general elections was announced by Prime Minister Patrick Manning on April 16, 2010, via a press release. The election was called over two years earlier than required by law. Polls showing that the UNC-led opposition coalition was likely to win the election were confirmed by the subsequent results.
The People's Partnership (PP) was a political coalition in Trinidad and Tobago among five political parties: the United National Congress (UNC), the Congress of the People (COP), the Tobago Organization of the People (TOP), Movement for Social Justice (MSJ) and National Joint Action Committee (NJAC). The political leader was Kamla Persad-Bissessar. The coalition was formed in advance of the 2010 general election attempting to form a multi-ethnic opposition bloc against the People's National Movement (PNM) government led by Patrick Manning. The coalition won the 2010 General Elections defeating the People's National Movement on May 24, 2010. On September 7, 2015, the coalition was defeated in the 2015 General Elections to the People's National Movement led by Keith Rowley. The coalition saw the departure of the Movement for Social Justice in 2012 and eventually disbanded on December 8, 2015.
The government of Trinidad and Tobago was in the hands of a coalition called the People's Partnership, led by Kamla Persad-Bissessar, between May 2010 and September 2015.
Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona is a Trinidadian politician who was the fifth President of Trinidad and Tobago from 2013 to 2018. Previously, he was a High Court Judge at the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago, and he served as a Judge of the International Criminal Court from 2012 to 2013.
Japan and Trinidad and Tobago established diplomatic relations since May 1964, two years after the isles had attained their independence in 1962.
The Hugh Wooding Law School (HWLS) is a law school in Trinidad and Tobago.
The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government.
Herbert Volney was a politician from Trinidad and Tobago, who was a member of the United National Congress (UNC) party. He served as Minister of Justice and Member of Parliament for St. Joseph/Maracas, Trinidad and Tobago.
Gary Griffith is a former commissioner of the Trinidad and Tobago Police Service, having served a term in office for the period 18 August 2018 to 17 August 2021 Under the previous government, led by a coalition including the party currently in Opposition, he had been appointed as Minister of National Security in Trinidad and Tobago on Friday 6 September 2013. Between May 2010 and September 2013, he had served as National Security Advisor to the Prime Minister. Griffith was a member of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force for 15 years, where he attained the rank of captain in 1998. He retired his Commissioned Officer position in May 2005. This attainment to the rank of captain was achieved after just six years service, which was an unprecedented achievement. He was the first military officer from this country to return home with a United Nations Peacekeeping Medal. He has also received the Efficiency decoration medal [EDM] for 12 years distinguished service as well as the Meritorious medal for duties performed during the 1990 attempted coup in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
Human rights in Trinidad and Tobago comprise a series of rights legally protected by the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago. Trinidad and Tobago has ratified a number of international treaties and conventions on human rights and parts or principles of these legal texts have been integrated into the domestic laws of the country. The Ministry of the Attorney General has established the International Law and Human Rights Unit to ensure adherence to these principles.
Camille Robinson-Regis is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer and politician, representing the People's National Movement. She was first elected as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Arouca South in 1992 and is the current Member of Parliament for Arouca/Maloney. She is the Minister of Planning and Development, the Lady Vice-Chairman of the People's National Movement, and the Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives.
The 2020United National Congress leadership election was held on Sunday, 6 December 2020, after Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar, the current leader of the UNC, faced losses commencing in January 2013 with the wipeout of her People's Partnership-led administration from the Tobago House of Assembly at the 2013 election, loss in the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election and loss in the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election. The candidates for political leader were incumbent Kamla Persad-Bissessar on Team Star against former member of parliament for St. Augustine and former Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment in the People's Partnership's government, Vasant Bharath, on Team Lotus. Former senator and Minister of Transport in the People's Partnership's government, Devant Maharaj, was an early candidate for political leader, but was never formally nominated as he dropped out on nomination day on the 15th of November 2020, citing irregularities in the voting process. He endorsed Vasant Bharath and Team Lotus. Kamla Persad-Bissessar won with of 87.15% of the votes, while Vasant Bharath got 12.85% of the votes.
Siparia is a parliamentary electoral district in Trinidad and Tobago in the south of Trinidad. It has been represented since 1995 by Kamla Persad-Bissessar of the United National Congress.
The 2022 United National Congress leadership election took place on 26 June 2022. Kamla Persad-Bissessar, political leader of the United National Congress, Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, former Prime Minister, and Member of Parliament for Siparia, went up for re-election with her slate of candidates on the Star Team. The Star Team ran unopposed for all but three three post in the UNC's national executive. These three candidates were independent and were not part of a slate of candidates. Fuad Khan, former Minister of Health in Persad-Bissessar's government and the former Member of Parliament for Barataria/San Juan challenged Persad-Bissessar for the post for political leader of the party. The leadership election was meant to set the stage of the UNC's national executive (NATEX) for the upcoming local elections and to start preparing for the 2025 Trinidad and Tobago general election.
Karen Nunez-Tesheira is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and attorney. She joined the People's National Movement (PNM) in the late 1990s. She became Member of Parliament for D'Abadie/O'Meara, and was appointed the Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago in Patrick Manning's cabinet in 2007. Her government was defeated by Kamla Persad-Bissessar of the UNC in the 2010 Trinidad and Tobago general election, in which Nunez-Tesheira lost her parliamentary seat.
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