This article lists governors of Trinidad and Tobago. [1]
Term | Image | Incumbent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1 January 1889 – 1891 | ![]() | Sir William Robinson | had been governor of Trinidad since 1885 |
19 August 1891 – 1896 | ![]() | Sir Frederick Napier Broome | |
2 June 1897–December, 1900 | | Sir Hubert Edward Henry Jerningham | |
4 December 1900–August 1904 | Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney | [2] | |
30 August 1904 – 29 August 1908 | ![]() | Sir Henry Moore Jackson | |
11 May 1909–January 1916 | ![]() | Sir George Ruthven Le Hunte | |
1 June 1916–31 December 1921 | ![]() | Sir John Robert Chancellor | |
1 January 1922–1924 | Sir Samuel Herbert Wilson | ||
22 November 1924–1930 | Sir Horace Archer Byatt | ||
22 March 1930 – 1936 | Sir Alfred Claud Hollis | ||
17 September 1936 – 10 January 1938 | ![]() | Sir Murchison Fletcher | |
8 July 1938 – 1942 | Sir Hubert Winthrop Young | ||
8 June 1942 – 1947 | ![]() | Sir Bede Edmund Hugh Clifford | |
7 March 1947–1950 | Sir John Valentine Wistar Shaw | ||
19 April 1950–1955 | ![]() | Sir Hubert Elvin Rance | |
23 June 1955–1960 | ![]() | Sir Edward Betham Beetham | |
4 July 1960–31 August 1962 | Sir Solomon Hochoy | ||
The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Indigenous First Peoples. Trinidad was visited by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498,, and claimed in the name of Spain. Trinidad was administered by Spanish hands until 1797, but it was largely settled by French colonists. Tobago changed hands between the British, French, Dutch, and Courlanders, but eventually ended up in British hands following the second Treaty of Paris (1814). In 1889, the two islands were incorporated into a single political entity. Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the British Empire in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.
Modern Trinidad and Tobago maintains close relations with its Caribbean neighbours and major North American and European trading partners. As the most industrialized and second-largest country in the English-speaking Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago has taken a leading role in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and strongly supports CARICOM economic integration efforts. It also is active in the Summit of the Americas process and supports the establishment of the Free Trade Area of the Americas, lobbying other nations for seating the Secretariat in Port of Spain.
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies 11 km (6.8 mi) off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmost island in the West Indies. With an area of 4,768 km2 (1,841 sq mi), it is also the fifth largest in the West Indies.
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.
Arouca is a town in the East–West Corridor of Trinidad and Tobago located 19 km (12 mi) east of Port of Spain, along the Eastern Main Road. It is located west of Arima, east of Tunapuna and Tacarigua, south of Lopinot, and north of Piarco. It is governed by the Tunapuna–Piarco Regional Corporation. Arouca may be a corruption of Arauca, an Amerindian tribe.
Sir William Robinson was a British colonial governor who was the last Governor of Trinidad and the first Governor of the merged colony of Trinidad and Tobago. He was also the 11th Governor of Hong Kong.
Sir Solomon Hochoy was the last colonial governor of Trinidad and Tobago and the first governor-general upon the country's independence in 1962. He was the first non-European governor of a British crown colony and the first ethnically Han Chinese and nationally Caribbean person to become Governor-General in the Commonwealth.
Trinidad and Tobago first participated in the Summer Olympic Games in 1948, before they attained their independence from Great Britain. Despite being a small nation in the Caribbean, Trinidad and Tobago has been able to place themselves firmly in international sports. In 1946, Sir Lennox O’Reilly organized the nation’s first Olympic committee. Trinidad and Tobago have participated in sixteen Summer Olympiads and three Winter Olympics.
Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated 11 kilometres off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and 130 kilometres south of Grenada. It shares maritime boundaries with Barbados to the east, Grenada to the northwest, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the north and Venezuela to the south and west. Trinidad and Tobago is generally considered to be part of the West Indies. The island country's capital is Port of Spain, while its largest and most populous city is San Fernando.
Sir Hubert Edward Henry Jerningham, was a British Liberal Party politician and Governor of Mauritius 1892–1897, then Governor of Trinidad and Tobago between 1897 and 1900.
The Anglican Diocese of Trinidad and Tobago is the administrative structure grouping together Anglicans in the nation of Trinidad and Tobago under a bishop. It is one of eight dioceses of the Church in the Province of the West Indies.
Diplomatic relations between the Russian Federation and Trinidad and Tobago were established on June 6, 1974. Russia is represented in Trinidad and Tobago through a non-resident embassy in Georgetown, Guyana.
The Queen of Trinidad and Tobago was the head of state from independence in 1962 until the abolition of the monarchy in 1976. The monarch's constitutional roles were delegated to a governor-general, who acted on the advice of government ministers.
The Merikins or Merikens were African-American Marines of the War of 1812 – former African slaves who fought for the British against the US in the Corps of Colonial Marines and then, after post-war service in Bermuda, were established as a community in the south of Trinidad in 1815–1816. They were settled in an area populated by French-speaking Catholics and retained cohesion as an English-speaking, Baptist community. It is sometimes said that the term "Merikins" derived from the local patois, but as many Americans have long been in the habit of dropping the initial "A" it seems more likely that the new settlers brought that pronunciation with them from the United States. Some of the Company villages and land grants established back then still exist in Trinidad today.