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Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning was a Trinidadian politician who was the fourth prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago;his terms ran from 17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and from 24 December 2001 to 26 May 2010. He was also the political leader of the People's National Movement (PNM) from 1987 to 2010. A geologist by training,Manning served as Member of Parliament for the San Fernando East constituency from 1971 until 2015 when he was replaced by Randall Mitchell,but with the seat in 2020 being won by his son Brian Manning. Patrick Manning was the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives. He was the Leader of the Opposition from 1986 to 1990 and again from 1995 to 2001.
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.
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.
The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history,contesting all elections since 1956 serving as the nation's governing party or on four occasions,the main opposition. It is one out of the country's two main political parties. There have been four PNM Prime Ministers and multiple ministries. The party espouses the principles of liberalism and generally sits at the centre to centre-left of the political spectrum.
The House of Representatives is the elected lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago,along with the President and Senate of Trinidad and Tobago. The House of Representatives sits at the Red House. It has 41 members,each elected to represent single-seat constituencies. The Parliament is elected with a five-year term,but may be dissolved earlier by the President if so advised by the Prime Minister.
The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of the Government 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.
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.
Ralph Maraj is a Trinidad and Tobago politician,actor,playwright,and teacher. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under a People's National Movement (PNM) administration,Minister of Communication and Information Technology under a United National Congress (UNC) administration,and was a founding member of National Team Unity before returning to the PNM to work as a speech writer for Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Prior to entering politics in 1991,Maraj worked as a teacher at Naparima College in San Fernando. He also attended that school. He wrote several plays,the most successful being Cynthia Sweetness. Maraj also starred in the movies The Right and The Wrong (1969) and Bim (1974),described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago".
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.
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.
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 currently the world's second longest female incumbent to consecutively hold the office of Speaker. 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.
Pennelope Althea Beckles-Robinson is a Trinidad and Tobago attorney and politician. She has served as a Member of Parliament in the House of Representatives for Arima since the 2020 general election. She is the current Minister of Planning and Development. Previously she was the country's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
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.
Indirect presidential elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 19 January 2018.
Christine Carla Kangaloo is a Trinidadian politician,who is the president of Trinidad and Tobago since 2023. She was president of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago from 2015 until her resignation to run for president in 2023. She is the only person to serve as both President and Vice President of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago,the first woman to serve as Senate Vice President and third woman to serve as acting President of Trinidad and Tobago and Senate President. She became the second woman to serve as President of Trinidad and Tobago upon her assumption of office on 20 March 2023. Kangaloo has served as an Opposition Senator,Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister,Minister of Legal Affairs and Minister of Science,Technology and Tertiary Education in previous People's National Movement governments.
Indirect presidential elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 20 January 2023.
References
- 1 2 3 4 "General Information 2018 - Parliament of T&T by The Art Bank Limited". issuu.com. Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. 2 February 2023.
- 1 2 "The Honourable Occah Seapaul". www.ttparliament.org. Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago.
- ↑ "World News Briefs; Trinidad House Speaker Put Under House Arrest". The New York Times. 5 August 1995.
- ↑ Pemberton, Rita; McCollin, Debbie; Matthews, Gelien; Toussaint, Michael (19 March 2018). "Historical Dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago". Rowman & Littlefield.
- ↑ "Men and women of principle". www.guardian.co.tt.
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