Patricia Robinson
|
Her Excellency Patricia Robinson |
|
|---|---|
| First Lady of Trinidad and Tobago | |
|
In office March 19, 1997 – March 17, 2003 |
|
| Preceded by | Zalayhar Hassanali |
| Succeeded by | Jean Ramjohn-Richards |
| Personal details | |
| Born | March 31, 1930 Port of Spain, Trinidad |
| Died | September 10, 2009 Ellerslie Park, Trinidad and Tobago |
| Spouse(s) | A. N. R. Robinson |
| Children | 2 children |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
Patricia Rawlins Robinson (March 31, 1930 - September 10, 2009) was a Trinidadian economist and public servant. She was married to former President and Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson.
Robinson was born Patricia Rawlins in a building on the corner of Oxford and Observatory Streets in eastern Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, on March 31, 1930. She attended Tranquility Government Primary School. Following elementary school, Robinson was awarded an exhibition, a British form of a scholarship, to St Joseph’s Convent.
She worked in public service for a short time after leaving school. Robinson was accepted into Columbia University in New York City, where she studied economics. She received her master's degree in economics from Columbia University in 1957, and completed some courses towards a doctorate.
Robinson returned to Trinidad and Tobago after leaving Columbia University, where she re-entered the public sector in 1958. She became an economist within the People's National Movement administration of Eric Williams, the country's first Prime Minister. She next served as the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs from 1965 until 1967.
In a June 1990 interview, Robinson revealed that in 1973 she had been offered a permanent position as the Director of Research at the Central Bank of Trinidad and Tobago. However, the government refused to release her from her contract, so she was unable to accept the job with the Central Bank. The government soon transferred her to a job St Ann’s which she later referred to as "cold storage" because of how little there was to work on at the position. "I was allegedly on special assignment having to do with the Caribbean Investment Company or something like that. In fact, it was a nothing job and I spent from ‘73 to ‘80 there on a seven-year sabbatical." Robison believed that she had been moved to the "nothing job" because her husband, A. N. R. Robinson, had fallen out with the ruling party which led to his ministerial resignation in April 1970.
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