His Excellency Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson SC OCC TC |
|
---|---|
A. N. R. Robinson with Sampson Nanton (r.)
|
|
3rd President of Trinidad and Tobago | |
In office 19 March 1997 – 17 March 2003 |
|
Prime Minister |
Basdeo Panday Patrick Manning |
Preceded by | Noor Hassanali |
Succeeded by | George Maxwell Richards |
3rd Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago | |
In office 18 December 1986 – 17 December 1991 |
|
President |
Ellis Clarke Noor Hassanali |
Preceded by | George Chambers |
Succeeded by | Patrick Manning |
Personal details | |
Born |
Calder Hall, Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago |
16 December 1926
Died | 9 April 2014 Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago |
(aged 87)
Nationality | Trinidadian and Tobagonian |
Political party |
People's National Movement Democratic Action Congress National Alliance for Reconstruction |
Spouse(s) | Patricia Robinson |
Alma mater |
University of London Oxford University |
Religion | Methodist |
Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson SC, OCC, TC (16 December 1926 – 9 April 2014; known as A. N. R. or "Ray" Robinson) 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.
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 (PNM) 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.
Robinson was born in Tobago in 1926 to James and Isabella Robinson. He was educated at Castara Methodist School (where his father served as head master) and Bishop's High School where he obtained a Higher School Certificate with distinction in Latin and competed for an Island Scholarship. He obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from London University as an external student. In 1951 he left for the United Kingdom where he was called to the bar at Inner Temple and obtained a degree in philosophy, politics and economics from St. John's College, Oxford. Robinson returned to Trinidad and Tobago where he practised as a Barrister-at-Law.