The history of Trinidad and Tobago begins with the settlements of the islands by Amerindians, specifically the Island Carib and Arawak peoples. Both islands were explored by Christopher Columbus on his third voyage in 1498. Trinidad remained in 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 crown colony. Trinidad and Tobago obtained its independence from the British Empire in 1962 and became a republic in 1976.
Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning was a Trinidadian politician who was the fourth and sixth 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 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 and 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.
Sir Ellis Emmanuel Innocent Clarke was the second and last Governor-General of Trinidad and Tobago and the first President of Trinidad and Tobago. He was one of the main architects of Trinidad and Tobago's 1962 Independence constitution.
Noor Mohamed Hassanali was the second President of Trinidad and Tobago (1987–1997). A retired high-court judge, Hassanali was the first Indo-Trinidadian and Tobagonian and Muslim to hold the office of President of Trinidad and Tobago and was the first Indian and the first Muslim head of state in the Western Hemisphere.
The Hon. Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson SC, OCC, TC, was the third President of Trinidad and Tobago, serving from 19 March 1997 to 17 March 2003. He was also Trinidad and Tobago's third Prime Minister, serving in that capacity from 18 December 1986 to 17 December 1991. He is internationally recognized for his proposal that eventually led to the founding of the International Criminal Court.
Manny Ramjohn was an athlete from Trinidad and Tobago, born in San Fernando, and educated at Naparima College in San Fernando.
Dr. Jean Ramjohn-Richards is a Trinidadian doctor and the former First Lady of Trinidad and Tobago from 2003 until 2013. She was born in San Fernando and was educated at Naparima Girls' High School and Naparima College before attending medical school in Ireland. She is married to former President George Maxwell Richards and has two children. She is a cousin of former President Noor Hassanali and Olympian Manny Ramjohn.
The Senate is the appointed upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. The Senate currently sits at Tower D, International Waterfront Centre in Port of Spain as the traditional seat, the Red House is undergoing restoration. 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 in 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.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar is a Trinidadian lawyer and politician who was the seventh Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 26 May 2010 to 9 September 2015. She was the country's first female Prime Minister, Attorney General, and Leader of the Opposition. She is also the first woman of Indian origin to be a prime minister in a country outside of India and South Asia.
Earl Wilbert Lovelace is an award-winning Trinidadian novelist, journalist, playwright, and short story writer. He is particularly recognized for his descriptive, dramatic fiction on Trinidadian culture: "Using Trinidadian dialect patterns and standard English, he probes the paradoxes often inherent in social change as well as the clash between rural and urban cultures." As Bernardine Evaristo notes, "Lovelace is unusual among celebrated Caribbean writers in that he has always lived in Trinidad. Most writers leave to find support for their literary endeavours elsewhere and this, arguably, shapes the literature, especially after long periods of exile. But Lovelace's fiction is deeply embedded in Trinidadian society and is written from the perspective of one whose ties to his homeland have never been broken."
The Girl Guides Association of Trinidad and Tobago is the national Guiding organization of Trinidad and Tobago. It serves 3,065 members. Founded in 1914, the girls-only organization became a full member of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts in 1963.
Surujrattan Rambachan is a Trinidad and Tobago politician, academic and cultural activist who As of 2013 was the Works and Infrastructure Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and deputy political leader of the United National Congress Party (UNC) and member of parliament for Tabaquite. He previously served as mayor of Chaguanas, Senator and Minister in the Ministry of Industry and Tourism and Ambassador to Brazil. In 1980 he was a founding member of the Organisation for National Reconstruction and served as Deputy Political Leader of that party. He played a key role in the establishment of Indian Arrival Day as a national celebration in Trinidad and Tobago. He is now the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament for the constituency of Tabaquite.
Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona, was the fifth President of Trinidad and Tobago. Previously he was 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.
Cuba–Trinidad and Tobago relations are bilateral relations with current relationship between Republic of Cuba and the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Both nations formally established diplomatic relations on the 8 December 1972.
Jereem Richards is a Trinidadian track and field sprinter who specializes in the 200 metres and 400 metres events. Richards is from Point Fortin, Trinidad and Tobago, and attends the University of Alabama. He was part of the Trinidad and Tobago team that won the bronze medal in the 4×400 m relay at the 2012 IAAF World Indoor Championships, and the gold medal in the 4 x 400m relay at the 2017 IAAF World Championships.
Philip Louis Ulric Cross was a Trinidadian jurist, diplomat and Royal Air Force (RAF) navigator. He is recognised as possibly the most decorated West Indian of World War II.
According to the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, the supreme law of the nation, the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago is the primary legal advisor to the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.
Events in the year 2018 in Trinidad and Tobago.
