The Most Famous
POLITICIANS from Trinidad and Tobago
This page contains a list of the greatest Trinidadian Politicians. The pantheon dataset contains 15,577 Politicians, 11 of which were born in Trinidad and Tobago. This makes Trinidad and Tobago the birth place of the 140th most number of Politicians behind Monaco and Mauritania.
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Trinidadian Politicians of all time. This list of famous Trinidadian Politicians is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Trinidadian Politicians.
1. Paula-Mae Weekes (1958 - )
With an HPI of 49.01, Paula-Mae Weekes is the most famous Trinidadian Politician. Her biography has been translated into 33 different languages on wikipedia.
Paula-Mae Weekes (born 23 December 1958) is a Trinidadian politician and jurist who was the sixth president of Trinidad and Tobago from 2018 to 2023. She is the first female President of Trinidad and Tobago, as well as the second female head of state in Trinidad and Tobago after Elizabeth II and the second female president of African descent in the Americas following Ertha Pascal-Trouillot.
2. George Maxwell Richards (1931 - 2018)
With an HPI of 48.51, George Maxwell Richards is the 2nd most famous Trinidadian Politician. His biography has been translated into 36 different languages.
George Maxwell Richards (1 December 1931 – 8 January 2018) was a Trinidadian politician who served as the fourth president of Trinidad and Tobago, in office from 2003 to 2013. He was the first president of Trinidad and Tobago and head of state in the Anglophone Caribbean to have Amerindian ancestry. A chemical engineer by training, Richards was Principal of the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad from 1984 to 1996. He previously worked for Shell Trinidad Ltd before joining the University of the West Indies in 1965. He was sworn into office as president on 17 March 2003 for a five-year term.
3. A. N. R. Robinson (1926 - 2014)
With an HPI of 47.09, A. N. R. Robinson is the 3rd most famous Trinidadian Politician. His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.
Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson (16 December 1926 – 9 April 2014; known as A. N. R. or "Ray" Robinson), was a Trinidadian politician who was the third president of the country, 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 recognized for his proposal that eventually led to the founding of the International Criminal Court. Robinson was the first active politician to be elected to the presidency, and was the first presidential candidate who was not elected unopposed (the Opposition People's National Movement nominated Justice Anthony Lucky as its candidate for president). President Robinson sparked controversy in his term in office when he refused to appoint certain senators recommended by Prime Minister Basdeo Panday following the elections in 2000 and in 2001 when he appointed the Leader of the Opposition Patrick Manning to the position of prime minister after a tied election.
4. Keith Rowley (1949 - )
With an HPI of 45.00, Keith Rowley is the 4th most famous Trinidadian Politician. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Keith Christopher Rowley , (born 24 October 1949) 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.
5. Anthony Carmona (1953 - )
With an HPI of 42.76, Anthony Carmona is the 5th most famous Trinidadian Politician. His biography has been translated into 31 different languages.
Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona (born 7 March 1953) is a Trinidadian politician who was the fifth President of Trinidad and Tobago from 2013 to 2018. Previously, he was a 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.
6. Eric Williams (1911 - 1981)
With an HPI of 42.67, Eric Williams is the 6th most famous Trinidadian Politician. Her biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) 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.
7. Patrick Manning (1946 - 2016)
With an HPI of 39.67, Patrick Manning is the 7th most famous Trinidadian Politician. His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (17 August 1946 – 2 July 2016) 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 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. Manning was born in San Fernando and received his secondary education at Presentation College, San Fernando, and his bachelor's degree from the University of the West Indies at Mona, in 1969. After graduation, he returned to Trinidad, where he worked as a geologist for Texaco.
8. Kamla Persad-Bissessar (1952 - )
With an HPI of 39.47, Kamla Persad-Bissessar is the 8th most famous Trinidadian Politician. Her biography has been translated into 36 different languages.
Kamla Persad-Bissessar (pronounced [kəmlɑː prəsɑːd̪-biseːsər] (); born Kamla Susheila Persad, 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian 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. Persad-Bissessar became political leader of the UNC in 2010. In 2011, Persad-Bissessar was named the thirteenth most influential female leader around the world by Time magazine. Persad-Bissessar held the premiership from May 2010 to September 2015, where she was also the leader of the People's Partnership - a political coalition of centre and center-left wing parties that governed the country. Since September 2015, she has been the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago. After the coalition disbanded in September 2015, following their electoral defeat, Persad-Bissessar attempted to regain power in the August 2020 elections; however, the UNC only managed to increase their seat count by 2 and the popular vote by 20,000. Nonetheless, the PNM under the leadership of Keith Rowley (who later became Trinidad and Tobago's seventh Prime Minister) maintained power and was re-elected, however, with a smaller majority.
9. Ellis Clarke (1917 - 2010)
With an HPI of 37.23, Ellis Clarke is the 9th most famous Trinidadian Politician. His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.
Sir Ellis Emmanuel Innocent Clarke (28 December 1917 – 30 December 2010) was the first President of Trinidad and Tobago and the second and last Governor-General. He was one of the main architects of Trinidad and Tobago's 1962 Independence constitution.
10. Noor Hassanali (1918 - 2006)
With an HPI of 36.44, Noor Hassanali is the 10th most famous Trinidadian Politician. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Noor Mohamed Hassanali TC (pronounced [nuːrə moːɦəmməd̪ə ɦəsənɑːliː]; 13 August 1918 – 25 August 2006) was a Trinidadian lawyer, judge and politician who served as the second president of Trinidad and Tobago from 1987 to 1997. A retired high-court judge, he was the first person of Indian descent along with being the first Muslim to hold the office of President of Trinidad and Tobago, and he was the first Muslim head of state in the Americas. Hassanali was president during the 1990 Jamaat al Muslimeen coup attempt when an Islamist group bombed the nation's police headquarters, stormed its Parliament and took the prime minister and his Cabinet hostage. Hassanali, who was visiting London at the time and remained there until the government regained control, aided in calming his fellow citizens and getting rule of law and democracy back on track on his return. His tenure, though largely ceremonial, was noted for its efforts to bridge the nation's racial divide and building consensus between various political parties.
Pantheon has 11 people classified as politicians born between 1911 and 1958. Of these 11, 4 (36.36%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living politicians include Paula-Mae Weekes, Keith Rowley, and Anthony Carmona. The most famous deceased politicians include George Maxwell Richards, A. N. R. Robinson, and Eric Williams.
Living Politicians
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Paula-Mae Weekes
1958 - Present
HPI: 49.01
Keith Rowley
1949 - Present
HPI: 45.00
Anthony Carmona
1953 - Present
HPI: 42.76
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
1952 - Present
HPI: 39.47
Deceased Politicians
Go to all RankingsGeorge Maxwell Richards
1931 - 2018
HPI: 48.51
A. N. R. Robinson
1926 - 2014
HPI: 47.09
Eric Williams
1911 - 1981
HPI: 42.67
Patrick Manning
1946 - 2016
HPI: 39.67
Ellis Clarke
1917 - 2010
HPI: 37.23
Noor Hassanali
1918 - 2006
HPI: 36.44
Basdeo Panday
1933 - 2024
HPI: 32.38
Which Politicians were alive at the same time? This visualization shows the lifespans of the 6 most globally memorable Politicians since 1700.
