Eric Eustace Williams was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation",having led the then British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956,to independence on 31 August 1962,and republic status on 1 August 1976,leading an unbroken string of general elections victories with his political party,the People's National Movement,until his death in 1981. He was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and also a noted Caribbean historian,especially for his book entitled Capitalism and Slavery.
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government,typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically seen as an alternative prime minister,premier,first minister,or chief minister to the incumbent;in the Westminster system,they head a rival alternative government known as the shadow cabinet or opposition front bench. The same term is also used to refer to the leader of the largest political party that is not in government in subnational state,provincial,and other regional and local legislatures.
The West Indies Federation,also known as the West Indies,the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation,was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that were part of the British Empire,including Trinidad and Tobago,Barbados,Jamaica,and those on the Leeward and Windward Islands,came together to form the Federation,with its capital in Port of Spain,Trinidad and Tobago. The expressed intention of the Federation was to create a political unit that would become independent from Britain as a single state —possibly similar to Canada,the Federation of Australia,or the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. Before that could happen,the Federation collapsed due to internal political conflicts over how it would be governed or function viably. The formation of a West Indian Federation was encouraged by the United Kingdom,but also requested by West Indian nationalists.
The music of the Bahamas is associated primarily with Junkanoo,a celebration which occurs on Boxing Day and again on New Year's Day. Parades and other celebrations mark the ceremony. Groups like The Baha Men,Ronnie Butler,Kirkland Bodie and Twindem have gained massive popularity in Japan,the United States and other places. Other popular Bahamian artists include Stileet and Stevie S.
Ralph Everard Gonsalves is a Vincentian politician. He is currently the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the leader of the Unity Labour Party (ULP).
SirJames Fitz-Allen Mitchell was a Vincentian politician who served as the second Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 1984 to 2000 and as the second Premier of Saint Vincent from 1972 to 1974. He founded the New Democratic Party (NDP) in 1975,and served as its president until 2000.
Sean Conway is a former provincial politician in Ontario,Canada and a university professor. He served for 28 years as a Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 2003 and was a high-profile cabinet minister in the government of David Peterson.
The Democratic Labour Party was the main opposition party in Trinidad and Tobago from 1957 till 1976. That party was the party which opposed the People's National Movement (PNM) at the time of Independence. After several splits brought about by leadership struggles,the party lost its hold on the Indo-Trinidadian community in the 1976 General Elections and was displaced in parliament by the United Labour Front under the leadership of Basdeo Panday,a former DLP senator. The party was the representative of the ethnic Indian community in the country;however Indian Muslims and Christians were said to be less loyal to the party than Indian Hindus.
The West Indies Democratic Labour Party (DLP) or Democrats was one of two Federal parties in the short-lived West Indies Federation,the other being the West Indies Federal Labour Party (WIFLP). The party was organised by Sir Alexander Bustamante to counter the WIFLP led by his cousin Norman Manley. In the 1958 West Indies federal elections,the party lost,winning 19 of the 45 seats in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation.
The West Indies Federal Labour Party (WIFLP) or Federalists was one of two main Federal parties in the short-lived West Indies Federation,the other being the West Indies Democratic Labour Party (DLP) or Democrats. The party was the first national party of the planned West Indies Federation. In the 1958 West Indies federal elections,the party was victorious,winning 25 of the 45 seats in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation.
The New Democratic Party (NDP) is a moderate conservative political party in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The party is led by Godwin Friday,and is currently the official opposition in the House of Assembly.
Arnhim Ulric Eustace is a Vincentian retired politician and economist. He served as the third Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,and is the former longtime leader of the opposition and former president of the New Democratic Party (NDP) after resigning in 2016.
Ebenezer Theodore Joshua was a Vincentian politician and the first chief minister of Saint Vincent from 1960 to 1967. He was the Leader of the Legislative Council from 1956 to 1961.
Basdeo Panday was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian statesman,lawyer,politician,trade unionist,economist,and actor who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001. He was the first person of Indian descent along with being the first Hindu to hold the office of Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. He was first elected to Parliament in 1976 as the Member for Couva North,Panday served as Leader of the Opposition four times between 1976 and 2010 and was a founding member of the United Labour Front (ULF),the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR),and the United National Congress (UNC). He served as leader of the ULF and UNC,and was President General of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union from 1973 to 1995.
Observers maintain that corruption in Paraguay remains a major impediment to the emergence of stronger democratic institutions and sustainable economic development in Paraguay.
A constitutional referendum was held in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on 25 November 2009. Voters were asked whether they approved of a new constitution which would have replaced the constitution in force since independence in 1979. The proposal was supported by only 43.13% of voters in the referendum,well short of the required two-thirds threshold. If approved,the proposed constitution would have abolished the monarchy of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines,at the time headed by Queen Elizabeth II,and would have given more power to the opposition. The referendum was the first of its kind to be held by a member of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States.
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.
Federal elections were held in the West Indies Federation for the first and only time on 25 March 1958. The result was a victory for the West Indies Federal Labour Party,which won 25 of the 45 seats in the House of Representatives.
Ivy Inez Joshua was a Grenadian-born seamstress and politician,who was the first woman elected to serve in the Legislative Council of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines when universal suffrage was granted. Though she won her seat in six consecutive election cycles,with a substantial majority each time she ran,Joshua was often the target of politically-based inquiries and investigations. She served in the legislature from 1958 to 1979 and simultaneously on the Executive Council from 1960 when she was appointed as the Minister of Social Services. Joshua served from 1961 to 1964 and again from 1967 to 1972 as a Minister without portfolio,before being appointed as Parliamentary Secretary and later leader of the opposition.
The history of Tobago covers a period from the earliest human settlements on the island of Tobago in the Archaic period,through its current status as a part of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Originally settled by indigenous people,the island was subject to Spanish slave raids in the sixteenth and early seventeenth century and colonisation attempts by the Dutch,British,French,and Courlanders beginning in 1628,though most colonies failed due to indigenous resistance. After 1763 Tobago was converted to a plantation economy by British settlers and enslaved Africans.
