The Honourable
Keith Rowley
MP
Rowley in 2018
7th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
Assumed office
9 September 2015
PresidentAnthony Carmona
Paula-Mae Weekes
Christine Kangaloo
Preceded byKamla Persad-Bissessar
Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
In office
4 June 2010 – 9 September 2015
Prime MinisterKamla Persad-Bissessar
Preceded byKamla Persad-Bissessar
Succeeded byKamla Persad-Bissessar
Leader of the People's National Movement
Assumed office
26 May 2010
Preceded byPatrick Manning
Chairman of the Caribbean Community
In office
1 January 2021[1] – 30 June 2021[2]
Secretary-GeneralIrwin LaRocque
Preceded byRalph Gonsalves
Succeeded byGaston Browne
Member of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
In office
1987–1990
Personal details
Born
Keith Christopher Rowley

(1949-10-24) 24 October 1949
Mason Hall, Saint George, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago[3]
NationalityTrinidadian and Tobagonian
Political partyPeople's National Movement
SpouseSharon Rowley
Residences
Alma materUniversity of the West Indies

Keith Christopher Rowley MP (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian 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.[6] 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.[7] He is a volcanologist by profession, holding a doctorate in geology, specializing in geochemistry.[8]

Early life

Rowley was born in Mason Hall, Tobago,[9] raised by his grandparents, who were prominent Tobago farmers.[10] He was a pupil of Bishop's High School in Tobago, and graduated from the University of the West Indies (Mona) from where he graduated with a BSc. Geology (First Class Honors).[11] He then went on to earn an MSc (1974) and a PhD (1978) from the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine in geology, specializing in geochemistry.[12][13] At the university, as researcher, he held the positions of research fellow and later as head of the Seismic Research Unit. Rowley was general manager of state-owned National Quarries Company Limited as well.[10]

Political career

Rowley entered politics in 1981, where he unsuccessfully contested the Tobago West seat in the general election of that year. To date he has the distinction of being the only People's National Movement candidate to have contested a seat in a General Election in both Tobago and Trinidad. He first served in Parliament as an Opposition Senator from 1987 to 1990 (3rd Parliament). Subsequently, he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources (4th Parliament), Minister of Planning and Development and Minister of Housing (as cabinet reshuffled) (8th Parliament) and Minister of Trade and Industry (9th Parliament) until he was fired by then Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

Leader of the Opposition

Following the People's National Movement's defeat in the 2010 general election, Rowley was appointed as Leader of the Opposition on the 1st June.[14] He was then elected political leader of the People's National Movement as he was seen as the most capable to lead the party. As political leader he advocated implementation of the one man, one vote system within the party. Rowley has served on several parliamentary committees. In 2004, he chaired the Joint Select Committee of Parliament which examined and made recommendations for the live broadcasting of parliamentary debates. He served as the representative governor of Trinidad and Tobago for the Inter-American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank.[9]

Prime Minister

Rowley led the People's National Movement in the September 2015 general election, in which his party secured 23 out of 41 seats in the House of Representatives to form the government, defeating the previous People's Partnership coalition government. On 9 September 2015, Rowley was sworn in as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago by President Anthony Carmona.[15] He becomes the seventh Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and the second Tobago-born Prime Minister. Rowley again led the People's National Movement to victory in the 10 August 2020 general election for a second term in government under his premiership. He was sworn in as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago on 19 August by President Paula-Mae Weekes at the President's House in St. Anns after the opposition party asked for recounts to be done in marginal constituencies.[16]

During his tenure, on 5 February 2022, the Trinidad and Tobago coast guard fired upon a vessel with Venezuelan migrants while attempting to stop it, killing a nine-month-old baby and injuring his mother. The coast guard claimed that the shots were fired "in self-defense".[17] Rowley deemed the action "legal and appropriate"; the Trinidadian police and coast guard opened an investigation of the event.[18]

Cabinet

He appointed the following people as his cabinet:

Official Position
Faris Al-Rawi Minister of Rural Development and Local Government
Kazim Hosein Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries
Nyan Gadsby Dolly Minister of Education
Stuart Young Minister of Energy and Energy Industries
Colm Imbert Minister of Finance
Amery Browne Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs
Terrence Deyalsingh Minister of Health
Camille Robinson-Regis Minister of Housing and Urban Development
Steve Mc Clashie Minister of Labour
Reginald Armour Attorney General
Fitzgerald Hinds Minister of National Security
Pennelope Beckles Minister of Planning and Development
Allyson West Minister of Public Administration
Marvin Gonzales Minister of Public Utilities
Donna Cox Minister of Social Development and Family Services
Shamfa Cudjoe Minister of Sport and Community Development
Randall Mitchell Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts
Paula Gopee-Scoon Minister of Trade and Industry Enterprise Development
Rohan Sinanan Minister of Works and Transport
Foster Cummings Minister of Youth Development and National Service
Avinash Singh Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries
Lisa Morris-Julian Minister in the Ministry of Education
Brian Manning Minister in the Ministry of Finance
Adrian Leonce Minister in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development
Renuka Sagramsingh-Sooklal Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs
Ayanna Webster-Roy Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister
Stuart Young Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister
Symon de Nobriga Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister
Hassel Bacchus Minister of Digital Transformation
Richie Sookhai Minister in the Ministry of Works and Transport
Ref:[19]

Personal life

He is married to attorney-at-law Sharon Rowley and has three children.[9]

References

  1. ↑ "2021 must be the Year of Caricom — Dr Keith Rowley". Jamaica Observer. 30 December 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  2. ↑ "Rotation Schedule for the Chairmanship of the Conference" (PDF). CARICOM. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  3. ↑ "Office of The Prime Minister - Republic of Trinidad and Tobago". www.opm.gov.tt. Retrieved 6 April 2021.
  4. ↑ "Office of The Prime Minister - Republic of Trinidad and Tobago". www.opm.gov.tt.
  5. ↑ "$18m for PM's official Tobago residence". www.guardian.co.tt.
  6. ↑ De Shong, Dillon (11 August 2020). "Rowley on course for another term as T&T Prime Minister". Loop News. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Current Members of the House of Representatives > The Honorable Dr. Keith Rowley, MP". Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
  8. ↑ "Political Leader - Dr. Keith Rowley" Archived 26 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine, PNM.
  9. 1 2 3 "Dr. Keith Rowley | PNM: Diego Martin West". Trinidad Express. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
  10. 1 2 "Office of The Prime Minister". Office Of The Prime Minister. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "People's National Movement Trinidad and Tobago - Political Leader - Dr. Keith Rowley". www.pnm.org.tt. Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2016.
  12. ↑ Rowley, Keith C. (1974). The late-pleistocene pyroclast fall deposits of Soufriere, St. Vincent (MSc Thesis). Seismic Research Unit, The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine. OCLC 861504744.
  13. ↑ Rowley, Keith C. (1978). Stratigraphy and geochemistry of the Soufrière Volcano, St. Vincent, West Indies (PhD Thesis). Seismic Research Unit, University of the West Indies at St. Augustine. OCLC 861505021.
  14. ↑ Julien, Joel (1 July 2010). "Manning skips Rowley swearing-in". Trinidad Express Newspaper. Archived from the original on 16 June 2011. Retrieved 5 July 2010.
  15. ↑ "Rowley sworn in as T&T PM", Stabroek News, 9 September 2015.
  16. ↑ "Trinidad's PM Keith Rowley tests positive for COVID-19". 6 April 2021.
  17. ↑ "Un bebé venezolano muere por disparos de la guardia costera de Trinidad y Tobago". La Vanguardia. 7 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "Trinidad califica de "legal y apropiada" acción de guardacostas que asesinaron al bebé venezolano". El Estimulo. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
  19. ↑ McLeod, Sheri-Kae (19 August 2020). "Prime Minister Of Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Keith Rowley Sworn into Office for Second Term". Caribbean News. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
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