Leader of the Opposition (Trinidad and Tobago)
| Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago | |
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| Official Opposition Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago Leader of the Opposition's Office | |
| Style | The Honorable (formal) Leader of the Opposition (spoken) |
| Member of |
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| Reports to | Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Seat | Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Chloe Building, 11 Charles Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago[1] |
| Nominator | House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Appointer | President of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Term length | While leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government |
| Constituting instrument | Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Inaugural holder | Ashford Sastri Sinanan (Legislative Council of British Trinidad and Tobago) Rudranath Capildeo (Parliament of the Dominion of Trinidad and Tobago) Basdeo Panday (Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) |
| Formation | 31 August 1962 |
| Salary | TT$355,080 per annum (2019)[2] |
| Website | www |
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 Trinidad and Tobago portal |
The Leader of the Opposition (officially the Leader of the Opposition of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago) is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government.
The Leader of the Opposition is a member of the House of Representatives, and is appointed by the President of Trinidad and Tobago.
The current Leader of the Opposition is Kamla Persad-Bissessar, leader of the United National Congress.
Leaders of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
| DLP (3) ULF (2) UNC (2) PNM (2) Independent (2) PDP (1) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opposition Leader[3] | Term of office
Duration in years and days |
Parliament | Party | Election | Head of Government Chief Minister (1950-1959) Premier (1959-1962) Prime Minister (1962-present) |
Head of State Monarch/Governor (1951-1962) Monarch/Governor-General (1962-1976) President (1976-present) | |||||
| No. | Portrait | Opposition Leader (birth–death) Constituency |
Took office | Left office | |||||||
| 1 | 
|
Ashford Sastri Sinanan
(1923–1994) Member for Victoria South |
1951 | 1956 | 8th Legislative Council
(1950–1956) |
Independent | 1950 | Albert Gomes (1950–1956) as Chief Minister |
George VI (1936–1952) |
Hubert Rance (1950–1955) | |
| Elizabeth II (1952–1976) |
Edward Beetham (1955–1960) | ||||||||||
|
Bhadase Sagan Maraj
(1920–1971) Member for Caroni North Acting Opposition Leaders during Maraj's term:
|
26 October 1956 | 21 September 1961 | 9th Legislative Council
(1956–1961) |
People's Democratic Party (1956-1957) | 1956 | Eric Williams (1956–1981) as Chief Minister (1956–1959), as Premier (1959–1962), as Prime Minister (1962–1981) | ||||
| 2 | 4 years, 330 days | Democratic Labour Party (1957-1961) | Solomon Hochoy (1960–1972) | ||||||||
| 1 | 
|
Rudranath Capildeo
(1920–1970) MP for Saint Augustine(1961–1966) MP for Chaguanas (1966–1967) Acting Opposition Leaders during Capildeo's term:
|
29 December 1961 | June 1967 | 1st Independent Parliament
(1961–1966) |
Democratic Labour Party | 1961 | ||||
| 2nd Independent Parliament
(1966–1967) |
1966 | ||||||||||
| 5 years, 4 months | |||||||||||
| 2 |
|
Vernon Jamadar
(1929–2002) MP for Oropouche |
July 1967 | 1971 | 2nd Independent Parliament
(1967–1971) |
Democratic Labour Party | — | ||||
| 3 |
|
John R.F. Richardson
(1926–2001)[4] MP for Point Fortin |
21 July 1972 | 19 June 1976 | 3rd Independent Parliament
(1972–1976) |
Independent | 1971[a] | Ellis Clarke (1972–1976) | |||
| 3 years, 334 days | |||||||||||
| 4 | 
|
Basdeo Panday
(1933–2024) MP for Couva North |
1976 | 1977 | 1st Republican Parliament
(1976–1977) |
United Labour Front | 1976 | Ellis Clarke (1976–1987) | |||
| 5 | 
|
Raffique Shah
(born 1946) MP for Siparia |
9 August 1977 | 31 March 1978 | 1st Republican Parliament
(1977–1978) |
United Labour Front | — | ||||
| 234 days | |||||||||||
| (4) |
|
Basdeo Panday
(1933–2024) MP for Couva North |
1978 | 1986 | 1st Republican Parliament
(1978–1981) |
United Labour Front | — | ||||
| 2nd Republican Parliament
(1981–1986) |
1981 | George Chambers (1981–1986) | |||||||||
| 6 |  |
Patrick Manning
(1946–2016) MP for San Fernando East |
1986 | 1990 | 2nd Republican Parliament
(1986) |
People's National Movement | 1986 | A. N. R. Robinson (1986–1991) | |||
| 3rd Republican Parliament
(1987–1990) |
Noor Mohamed Hassanali (1987–1997) | ||||||||||
| (4) | |
Basdeo Panday
(1933–2024) MP for Couva North |
1990 | 6 November 1995 | 3rd Republican Parliament
(1990–1991) |
United National Congress | 1991 | Patrick Manning (1991–1995) | |||
| 4th Republican Parliament
(1992–1995) | |||||||||||
| (6) | |
Patrick Manning
(1946–2016) MP for San Fernando East |
6 November 1995 | 24 December 2001 | 5th Republican Parliament
(1995–2000) |
People's National Movement | 1995 | Basdeo Panday (1995–2001) | |||
| 6th Republican Parliament
(2001) |
2000 | A. N. R. Robinson (1997–2003) | |||||||||
| 2 years, 109 days | |||||||||||
| (4) | |
Basdeo Panday
(1933–2024) MP for Couva North |
24 December 2001 | 26 April 2006 | 7th Republican Parliament
(2002) |
United National Congress | 2001 | Patrick Manning (2001–2010) | |||
| 8th Republican Parliament
(2002–2006) |
2002 | ||||||||||
| 4 years, 123 days | George Maxwell Richards (2003-2013) | ||||||||||
| 7 |  |
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
(born 1952) MP for Siparia |
26 April 2006 | 8 November 2007 | 9th Republican Parliament
(2007–2010) |
United National Congress | 2007 | ||||
| 1 year, 196 days | |||||||||||
| (4) | |
Basdeo Panday
(1933–2024) MP for Couva North |
8 November 2007 | 25 February 2010 | 9th Republican Parliament
(2007–2010) |
United National Congress | — | ||||
| 2 years, 109 days | |||||||||||
| (7) | |
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
(born 1952) MP for Siparia |
25 February 2010 | 26 May 2010 | 9th Republican Parliament
(2007–2010) |
United National Congress | — | ||||
| 90 days | |||||||||||
| 8 |  |
Keith Rowley
(born 1949) MP for Diego Martin West |
26 May 2010 | 9 September 2015[5] | 10th Republican Parliament
(2010–2015) |
People's National Movement | 2010 | Kamla Persad-Bissessar (2010–2015) | |||
| 5 years, 106 days | Anthony Carmona (2013–2018) | ||||||||||
| (7) | |
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
(born 1952) MP for Siparia |
9 September 2015 | Incumbent | 11th Republican Parliament
(2015–2020) |
United National Congress | 2015 | Keith Rowley (2015–present) | |||
| 12th Republican Parliament
(2020–present) |
2020 | ||||||||||
| 9 years, 107 days | Paula-Mae Weekes (2018–present) | ||||||||||
See also
- Politics of Trinidad and Tobago
- President of Trinidad and Tobago
- List of prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago
Footnotes
- ^ Originally elected as MP for Point Fortin under the PNM in 1971, but became an independent in July 1972 and was appointed Leader of the Opposition, as thus he was the only non-PNM member of the House of Representatives, as the DLP had protested the 1971 election and only the PNM won.
References
- ^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament".
- ^ "DRAFT ESTIMATES OF THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 2019" (PDF). Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament". www.ttparliament.org. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ "Caribbean Elections Biography | John R.F. Richardson". www.caribbeanelections.com. Retrieved 9 January 2020.
- ^ "Rowley sworn in as T&T PM". 9 September 2015.