Leader of the Opposition (Trinidad and Tobago) explained

Post:	Leader of the Opposition
Body:	the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago
Insignia:	Coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago.svg
Insigniacaption:	Coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago
Flag:	File:Flag of Trinidad and Tobago.svg
Flagcaption:	Flag of Trinidad and Tobago
Incumbent:	Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Appointer:	President of Trinidad and Tobago
Nominator:	House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago
Department:	Official Opposition Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago Leader of the Opposition's Office
Reports To:	Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
Style:	The Honorable (formal) Leader of the Opposition (spoken)
Seat:	Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Chloe Building, 11 Charles Street, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago^[1]
Termlength:	While leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives that is not in government
Inaugural:	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)
Constituting Instrument:	Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago
Salary:	per annum (2019)^[2]

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

(3) (2) (2) (2) (2) (1)
Opposition Leader^[3]			Term of office Duration in years and days		Parliament	Party	Election	Head of Government		Head of State
	Portrait	Opposition Leader 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 as Chief Minister	George VI	Hubert Rance
										Elizabeth II	Edward Beetham
		Bhadase Sagan Maraj Member for Caroni North	26 October 1956	21 September 1961	9th Legislative Council	People's Democratic Party (1956-1957)	1956		Eric Williams as Chief Minister as Premier as Prime Minister
2						Democratic Labour Party (1957-1961)					Solomon Hochoy
1		Rudranath Capildeo(1920-1970) MP for Saint Augustine(1961-1966) MP for Chaguanas (1966-1967)	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 MP for Oropouche	July 1967	1971	2nd Independent Parliament (1967-1971)	Democratic Labour Party	—
3		John R.F. Richardson^[4] MP for Point Fortin	21 July 1972	19 June 1976	3rd Independent Parliament(1972-1976)	Independent	1971				Ellis Clarke
4		Basdeo Panday MP for Couva North	1976	1977	1st Republican Parliament (1976-1977)	United Labour Front	1976			Ellis Clarke
5		Raffique Shah MP for Siparia	9 August 1977	31 March 1978	1st Republican Parliament (1977-1978)	United Labour Front	—
(4)		Basdeo Panday MP for Couva North	1978	1986	1st Republican Parliament (1978-1981)	United Labour Front	—
					2nd Republican Parliament(1981-1986)		1981		George Chambers
6		Patrick Manning MP for San Fernando East	1986	1990	2nd Republican Parliament(1986)	People's National Movement	1986		A. N. R. Robinson
					3rd Republican Parliament (1987-1990)					Noor Mohamed Hassanali
(4)		Basdeo Panday MP for Couva North	1990	6 November 1995	3rd Republican Parliament (1990-1991)	United National Congress	1991
					4th Republican Parliament (1992-1995)
(6)		Patrick Manning MP for San Fernando East	6 November 1995	24 December 2001	5th Republican Parliament(1995-2000)	People's National Movement		1995				Basdeo Panday
					6th Republican Parliament (2001)		2000	A. N. R. Robinson
(4)		Basdeo Panday MP for Couva North	24 December 2001	26 April 2006	7th Republican Parliament(2002)	United National Congress	2001				Patrick Manning
					8th Republican Parliament (2002-2006)		2002
								George Maxwell Richards
7		Kamla Persad-Bissessar MP for Siparia	26 April 2006	8 November 2007	9th Republican Parliament (2007-2010)	United National Congress	2007
(4)		Basdeo Panday MP for Couva North	8 November 2007	25 February 2010	9th Republican Parliament (2007-2010)	United National Congress	—
(7)		Kamla Persad-Bissessar MP for Siparia	25 February 2010	26 May 2010	9th Republican Parliament (2007-2010)	United National Congress	—
8		Keith Rowley 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
								Anthony Carmona
(7)		Kamla Persad-Bissessar MP for Siparia	9 September 2015	Incumbent	11th Republican Parliament (2015-2020)	United National Congress				2015		Keith Rowley
					12th Republican Parliament (2020-present)		2020
								Paula-Mae Weekes

See also

• Politics of Trinidad and Tobago
• President of Trinidad and Tobago
• List of prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago

External links

• Trinidad and Tobago Parliament - Leaders of the Opposition

Notes and References

1. Web site: Trinidad and Tobago Parliament.
2. Web site: DRAFT ESTIMATES OF THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 2019 . Republic of Trinidad and Tobago . 7 January 2020.
3. Web site: Trinidad and Tobago Parliament. www.ttparliament.org. 2020-01-09.
4. Web site: Caribbean Elections Biography John R.F. Richardson. www.caribbeanelections.com. 2020-01-09.
5. Web site: Rowley sworn in as T&T PM. 9 September 2015.