Keith Rowley

Rowley was born in Mason Hall, Tobago,^[5] raised by his Afro-Tobagonian grandparents, who were prominent Tobago farmers.^[6] 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).^[7] 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.^[8][9] 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.^[6]

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#edit

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.^[10] 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.^[5]

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.^[11] 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 2020 Trinidad and Tobago 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.^[12]

In April 2018, 82 Venezuelan asylum seekers were deported from Trinidad and Tobago, which violated international laws on the matter. Given the criticism issued by UNHCR, he says would not allow the UN or any other agency to "turn his country into a refugee camp". Venezuelan migrants in Trinidad and Tobago are victims of widespread discrimination, since unlike other countries, no refugee reception plan has been implemented on the islands so it is hard to find legal work without being sent back.^[13]

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".^[14] Rowley deemed the action "legal and appropriate"; the Trinidadian police and coast guard opened an investigation of the event.^[15]

At the PNM convention in August 2024, Rowley announced his support for the Caribbean Court of Justice to replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as Trinidad and Tobago's final court of appeals. He also announced his government would legislate to remove Christopher Columbus's ships from the national coat of arms and replace them with the steelpan drum, which had been declared the official national music instrument a few months earlier. He stated that the changes would "signal that we are on our way to removing the colonial vestiges that we have in our country".^[16]

He appointed the following people as his cabinet:

He is married to attorney-at-law Sharon Rowley and has four children.^[18] He is a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.^[19]

1. ^ "2021 must be the Year of Caricom — Dr Keith Rowley". Jamaica Observer. 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
2. ^ "Rotation Schedule for the Chairmanship of the Conference" (PDF). CARICOM. Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 July 2021. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
3. ^ "Current Members of the House of Representatives > The Honorable Dr. Keith Rowley, MP". Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. Archived from the original on 1 October 2015. Retrieved 25 June 2010.
4. ^ "Political Leader - Dr. Keith Rowley" Archived 26 July 2019 at the Wayback Machine, PNM.
5. ^ a b "Dr. Keith Rowley | PNM: Diego Martin West". Trinidad Express. 16 July 2020. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
6. ^ a b "Office of The Prime Minister". Office Of The Prime Minister. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
7. ^ "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.
8. ^ 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.
9. ^ 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.
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ "Rowley sworn in as T&T PM" Deprecated link archived 10 September 2015 at archive.today, Stabroek News, 9 September 2015.
12. ^ "Trinidad's PM Keith Rowley tests positive for COVID-19". 6 April 2021.
13. ^ Ebus, Bram (13 November 2018). "Venezuelan migrants live in shadows on Caribbean's sunshine islands". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
14. ^ "Un bebé venezolano muere por disparos de la guardia costera de Trinidad y Tobago". La Vanguardia. 7 February 2022. Archived from the original on 9 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
15. ^ "Trinidad califica de "legal y apropiada" acción de guardacostas que asesinaron al bebé venezolano". El Estimulo. 11 February 2022. Retrieved 12 February 2022.
16. ^ Mc Burnie, Gregory (18 August 2024). "PM: Steelpan to replace Columbus's ships, new coat of arms in 6 weeks". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
17. ^ 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.
18. ^ "PM on sons: I had a life long before public life". Trinidad Express. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 20 September 2026.
19. ^ Williams, Elizabeth (16 October 2022). "Hold fast to your principles". Daily Express. Retrieved 29 April 2025.