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Basdeo Panday

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The Honourable
Basdeo Panday
SC, MP
Sampson Nanton interviews Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Basdeo Panday in 1997.
5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
In office
9 November 1995 – 24 December 2001
PresidentNoor Mohamed Hassanali
A. N. R. Robinson
Preceded byPatrick Manning
Succeeded byPatrick Manning
Leader of United National Congress
In office
10 September 2006 – 24 January 2010
Preceded byWinston Dookeran
Succeeded byKamla Persad-Bissessar
In office
16 October 1988 – 2 October 2005
Preceded byInaugural holder
Succeeded byWinston Dookeran
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
12 January 1987 – 8 February 1988
Preceded byErrol Mahabir
Succeeded bySahadeo Basdeo
Leader of the Opposition
In office
17 December 2007 – 24 February 2010
Preceded byKamla Persad-Bissessar
Succeeded byKamla Persad-Bissessar
In office
17 October 2002 – 23 April 2006
Preceded byPatrick Manning
Succeeded byKamla Persad-Bissessar
In office
10 September 1990 – 8 November 1995
Preceded byPatrick Manning
Succeeded byPatrick Manning
In office
1976 – 29 October 1986
Preceded byRaffique Shah
Succeeded byPatrick Manning
Minister of National Security
In office
25 January 2001 – 24 December 2001
Member of Parliament
for Couva North
In office
25 February 2010 – 8 April 2010
In office
5 April 2002 – 28 August 2002
In office
24 September 1976 – 18 September 1981
In office
9 February 1988 – 9 September 1990
Personal details
Born (1933-05-25) 25 May 1933 (age 91)
St. Julien Village, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago[1]
Political partyUnited National Congress (1989-present)
Other political
affiliations		Workers and Farmers Party
United Labour Front
National Alliance for Reconstruction
Spouse(s)Norma Mohammed (died 1981)
Oma Ramkisson
ChildrenMickela Panday
Nicola Panday
Vastala Panday
Niala Panday
Parent(s)Harry "Chote" Sookchand
Kissondaye Panday
RelativesJoseph Hardath Dube (grand uncle)
Rabindranath Panday (brother)
Subhas Panday (brother)
Leela Panday (sister)
Residence(s)San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago
EducationUniversity of London
OccupationLawyer
Politician
Actor

The Hon. Basdeo Panday SC, MP (born 25 May 1933) was the fifth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001; he also served as Leader of the Opposition from 1976–1977, 1978–1986, 1989–1995, 2001–2006 and 2007–2010. He was first elected to Parliament in 1976 as the Member for Couva North. He is the former Chairman and party leader of the United National Congress. In 2006, Panday was convicted of failing to declare a bank account in London and imprisoned; however, on March 20, 2007, that conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal. On May 1 he decided to resign as Chairman of the United National Congress, but the party's executive refused to accept his resignation. He lost the party's internal elections on January 24, 2010 to Deputy Leader and now former Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

Basdeo Panday is married to Oma Panday (née Ramkissoon). He has four daughters: Niala, Mickela, Nicola, and Vastala. Niala was born to his first wife Norma Panday (née Mohammed), who died in 1981[2].

In 2006, he was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.

Early life

Panday was born in St. Julien Village, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago[3] His grandparents were from British India, and came under the Indian indenture system.[4][5]. He attended university in London, obtaining degrees in law, economics, and drama[3]. He also appeared in several acting roles, including Nine Hours to Rama (1963), Man in the Middle (1964), and The Brigand of Kandahar (1965)[6]. He returned to Trinidad in 1965[7].

Political career

Panday's political career began in 1966, when he joined the Workers' and Farmers' Party and made an unsuccessful run for parliament[3][7]. In 1972, he was appointed as an opposition senator[7]. The following year he was recruited to the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union (then the All Trinidad Sugar Estates and Factory Workers Union). He staged an internal coup, becoming the union's President General[8].

On February 8, 1975, amidst the backdrop of labour struggles, Panday met with fellow union leaders George Weekes and Raffique Shah. Together, they founded the United Labour Front[9]. All three were arrested on March 18th during an attempted march from San Fernando to Port-of-Spain, but were found not guilty on April 22nd "on the charge of leading a public march without permission"[10].

Panday won the Couva north seat in the 1976 general election, becoming an MP and official opposition leader[7][11]. The next year the party split into two factions and Panday was ousted as party leader in favour of Shah[9][8]. He was reinstated in 1978 after Winston Nanan, who previously supported Shah, defected to Panday and Shah resigned[9][12].

Following a poor performance in the 1980 local elections, Panday co-founded the Trinidad and Tobago National Alliance with A. N. R. Robinson of the Democratic Action Congress and Lloyd Best of the Tapia House Group[13][8]. He retained his seat in the 1981 general election[14].

In 1984 the National Alliance became the National Alliance for Reconstruction and in 1985 merged with the Organisation for National Reconstruction[15]. The new NAR, led by Robinson, achieved a decisive victory in 1986[16][17]. Panday was named Minister of External Affairs and International Trade[3]. The party soon fractured along racial lines; Panday accused Robinson and the government of discrimination against Indians and autocratic rule. Robinson reshuffled his cabinet in response, and Panday found himself with reduced ministerial responsibilities. The infighting continued, culminating with Panday, Kelvin Ramnath, and Trevor Sudama being expelled from the party on February 8, 1988[7][18][19] .

Panday and the other expelled ministers founded the Caucus for Love, Unity and Brotherhood (CLUB '88), which he revealed in October would become the United National Congress on April 30,1989[15][19][20]. Economic decline, austerity, and racial tensions led to the NAR being swept out of power in the 1991 general election and the UNC, lead by Panday, becoming official opposition[18][21].

The 1995 general election was a defining moment in Panday's career. The ruling PNM party called an early vote, expecting a victory. However, the election ended with the PNM and UNC holding 17 seats each, and the NAR holding 2. The UNC and NAR entered a coalition, thereby bringing the UNC into power and making Panday the first Indian Prime Minister in Trinidad's history[22][23].


Panday once again led the UNC to victory in the 2000 election, being sworn in as Prime Minister for a second time[24]. In 2001, UNC MPs Ramesh Maharaj, Trevor Sudama, and Ralph Maraj alleged government corruption, pressuring Panday to appoint a Commission of Inquiry; Panday responded by firing Maharaj. Sudama and Maraj then resigned, leaving the UNC with a minority. Panday was thus forced to call a new election. The 2001 general election resulted in an unprecedented 18-18 tie between the UNC and PNM, sparking a constitutional crisis over who should form government[25][26][27][12][28]. Both parties agreed to abide by the decision of the president, A.N.R. Robinson, as to who would lead the government, as well as to form a unity government. However, Panday reneged on the agreement when Robinson appointed PNM leader Patrick Manning, finding his explanation for doing so (he described them as "moral and spiritual values") unsatisfactory[25][29].

On May 31, 2005, Panday, his wife, Oma, former UNC MP Carlos John, and businessman Ishwar Galbaransingh (chairman of Northern Construction Limited) were arrested on corruption charges. The State alleged that the Panday's had received TT$250,000 on December 30, 1998 from John and Galbaransingh in exchange for giving Northern Construction a construction contract for the Piarco Airport Development Project (PADP) [30].

Panday, Mrs. Panday and John were placed on TT$750,000 bail, while Galbaransingh's bail was placed at TT$1,000,000. Panday refused bail and chose to remain in prison [30]. This was called a punitive bail both by supporters of the UNC and by former Attorney General Ramesh Maharaj, a sometimes political opponent of Panday[citation needed]. On June 7, 2005, bail was reduced to TT$650,000. A day later, Panday accepted bail after being jailed for over a week.

On March 20, 2007, the Court of Appeal overturned the conviction against Panday for failing to declare a London bank account, based on the possibility that he may not have received a fair trial.[31]

The three Court of Appeal judges agreed that there was, in fact, a real possibility of bias by Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls in his April 24, 2006 ruling, which found Panday guilty on three counts of failing to declare a London bank account to the Integrity Commission for the years 1997, 1998 and 1999, respectively, contrary to Section 27 (1)(b) of the Integrity in Public Life Act 1987.[32] Information that surfaced later on, linked Chief Magistrate McNicolls to a multimillion-dollar land deal and a company associated with one of the main witnesses in the Basdeo Panday trial.[33] This information, along with the fact that Chief Magistrate McNicolls refused to give evidence for the criminal prosecution of the Chief Justice, which caused that prosecution to fail, were the main arguments used by Panday's lawyers in his Appeal Court hearing.

2005–2010

Basdeo Panday and the Ambassador of Finland

In September 2005, Panday nominated Winston Dookeran (current leader of the Congress of the People) as his successor as political leader. Panday himself was nominated for the party Chairmanship. On October 2, 2005, both Panday and Dookeran won their posts unopposed. Since appointing Dookeran to succeed him, the UNC has been divided, with many members calling for Panday to hand over power absolutely to Dookeran in the form of the Leader of the Opposition. Panday failed to do so, and with the Opposition MPs split 8-8 on the issue, Panday has remained as the leader of the Opposition.

In February 2006, Panday invited estranged former Attorney General, Ramesh Lawerence Maharaj back into the UNC. This led to divided opinion inside and outside the UNC and saw the revocation, by Panday, of the appointment of Senator Robin Montano, a vocal opponent to the return of Maharaj. Following this came the resignation from the Senate of Roy Augustus. Panday replaced Montano with Dr. Tim Gopeesingh, a loyalist and CEO of the UNC and Augustus with former Trinidad and Tobago sprint star Ato Boldon. Boldon stated that he was first invited to become a senator by FIFA Vice-President and Deputy Political Leader of the UNC, Austin "Jack" Warner.

Now in the twilight of his political career, he was re-called as co- leader of the United National Congress (Then United National Congress-Alliance)with Austin "Jack" Warner after unsuccessfully contesting the elections.

In 2007, the UNC Alliance lost in the general elections. Many critics blamed the newly formed party Congress of the People of 'splitting the vote'.

In a move that sparked controversy, Basdeo Panday was suspended from parliament in April because he was not sure if he was going to use his laptop computer during a debate. When asked by speaker of the house if he intended on using the laptop for the debate, Mr Panday replied "I do not know." Panday argued that in a debate, one is never sure if they will speak and if they would need the use of a laptop. The speaker created more controversy when he announced the next day that Panday would be suspended till December.

Since early 2009 Basdeo Panday was challenged for the leadership of the party by a small coalition of Opposition MPs led by the party's deputy political leader, Austin "Jack" Warner and Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj[34] informally known as "RamJack G". Jack Warner is also taking Panday to court over Panday's allegations that Warner is a drug lord.[35]

2010–present

On January 24, 2010 Basdeo Panday lost in his bid to be elected Political Leader of the UNC once again. He suffered a defeat at the hands of new Political Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar. He did not contest the post of chairman hence he no longer sits on the executive of the United National Congress. On 25 February 2010 President George Maxwell Richards revoked the appointment of Panday as Leader of the Opposition and replaced him with Persad-Bissessar after the majority of Opposition MPs indicated their support for her. Panday did not participate in the general elections held on May 24, 2010 and hence his term as a Member of Parliament ended.

Today, Mr. Panday serves as the Chief Administrator of the Basdeo Panday Foundation, a charitable organization which is situated in the Reinzi Complex in the town of Couva.

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1963 Nine Hours to Rama Laudryman
1964 The Winston Affair Indian Correspondent
Television
Year Title Role Notes
1959 The Moonstone 2nd Brahmin Priest 1 Episode
1962 Saki Abrim 1 Episode
1963 ITV Playhouse Indian Guest 1 Episode

[36]

See also

References

  1. ^ https://books.google.com/books?id=ERR6DQAAQBAJ&pg=PT172&lpg=PT172&dq=st+julien+village+princes+town+basdeo+panday&source=bl&ots=e_v47Hltxj&sig=5a0vxAEjTrBbErcs5tB-7IZWISs&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi3luyvgOfVAhVK6yYKHdtOC34Q6AEITzAL#v=onepage&q=st%20julien%20village%20princes%20town%20basdeo%20panday&f=false
  2. ^ Chan Tack, Clint (2009-02-21). "Panday is a grandfather". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  3. ^ a b c d "Basdeo Panday". Members of Past Parliaments. Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  4. ^ "Tracing roots to India". The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper. 2012-05-27. Retrieved 2017-08-13.
  5. ^ Ali, Shereen (2016-09-15). "'Race our biggest issue'". The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  6. ^ Persad, Seeta (2006-06-08). "Panday among Indian actors on big screen". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  7. ^ a b c d e Gunson, Phil; Chamberlain, Greg; Thompson, Andrew (2015). The Dictionary of Contemporary Politics of Central America and the Caribbean. Routledge. ISBN 1317270533. OCLC 935252831.
  8. ^ a b c Kiely, Ray (1996). The politics of labour and development in Trinidad. Barbados: The University of the West Indies Press. pp. 135, 149. ISBN 9766400172. OCLC 34898626.
  9. ^ a b c MacDonald,, Scott B. (1986). Trinidad and Tobago : democracy and development in the Caribbean. New York: Praeger. ISBN 9780275920043. OCLC 13270347.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  10. ^ The legacy of Eric Williams : into the postcolonial moment. Shields, Tanya L., 1970-. Jackson. ISBN 162674694X. OCLC 899267544.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  11. ^ "Past Ministers: Basdeo Panday". Ministry of National Security. Retrieved 2017-08-17.
  12. ^ a b Sheppard, Suzanne (2005-04-17). "Panday's many political fallouts". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2017-09-03. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  13. ^ "TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Date of Elections: 9 November 1981" (PDF). PARLINE database on national parliaments. Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  14. ^ "AROUND THE WORLD; Trinidad's Ruling Party Gains in Election". The New York Times. 1981-11-10. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-18.
  15. ^ a b Lansford, Tom (2015). Political handbook of the world 2015. Los Angeles, California: CQ Press. ISBN 1483371557. OCLC 912321323.
  16. ^ Ameringer, Charles D (1992). Political parties of the Americas, 1980s to 1990s : Canada, Latin America, and the West Indies. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 578. ISBN 0313274185. OCLC 25202496.
  17. ^ "TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Date of Elections: 15 December 1986" (PDF). PARLINE database on national parliaments. Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2017-08-19.
  18. ^ a b Payne, Anthony; Sutton, Paul K. (1993). Modern Caribbean politics. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 108–112. ISBN 0801844355. OCLC 25711755.
  19. ^ a b Viranjini, Munasinghe (2001). Callaloo or tossed salad? : East Indians and the cultural politics of identity in Trinidad. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Press. p. 244. ISBN 080148619X. OCLC 46836925.
  20. ^ "UNC Founder". United National Congress. 2013-02-26. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  21. ^ Premdas, Ralph R. (April 1996). "Ethnicity and Elections in the Caribbean: A Radical Realignment of Power in Trinidad and the Threat of Communal Strife (Working Paper #224)" (PDF). Kellogg Institute Working Papers: 10 – via Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies.
  22. ^ Premdas, Ralph R. (2004-01-14). "Elections, Identity and Ethnic Conflict in the Caribbean". Pouvoirs dans la Caraïbe. Revue du CRPLC (14). Justin Daniel: 17–61. doi:10.4000/plc.246. ISSN 1279-8657.
  23. ^ Bissessar, Marie Ann (2017). Ethnic Conflict in Developing Societies: Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Fiji, and Suriname. Springer International Publishing. p. 103. ISBN 3319537091. OCLC 990477595.
  24. ^ "TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Parliamentary Chamber: House of Representatives ELECTIONS HELD IN 2000". PARLINE database on national parliaments. Inter-Parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2017-08-29. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  25. ^ a b Buckman, Robert T. (2014). Latin America (48th ed.). Lanham, Md.: Stryker Post Publications/Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 388. ISBN 1475812280. OCLC 890072334.
  26. ^ "TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO Parliamentary Chamber: House of Representatives ELECTIONS HELD IN 2001". PARLINE database on international parliaments. Inter-parliamentary Union. Retrieved 2017-09-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  27. ^ Joseph, Francis (2006-04-26). "18-18 election tie case". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2017-09-03. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |dead-url= (help)
  28. ^ Gregory, Tardi (2011-07-26). "CONSTITUTIONAL LIMBO IN TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO (THE UNCERTAINTY, NOT THE DANCE)*". Constitutional Forum / Forum constitutionnel. 14 (2 & 3): 2005–2: 1–6. doi:10.21991/C9CQ2C. ISSN 1927-4165.
  29. ^ Joseph, Francis (2002-08-07). "Panday tells London crowd: Ramesh, Ralph, Sudama crossed the floor to PNM". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2017-09-03.
  30. ^ a b Francis, Joseph (2005-06-01). "Panday goes to jail". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. Retrieved 2017-08-12.
  31. ^ Loutoo, Jada (2007-03-21). "Appeal Court quashes Panday's conviction". Trinidad Publishing Company Limited. Archived from the original on September 26, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-27. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  32. ^ Cummings, Stephen (2006-01-16). "Trinidad's opposition leader set to go on trial". Caribbean Net News. Archived from the original on 2007-02-03. Retrieved 2007-02-19. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  33. ^ Bahaw, Darren (2007-03-14). "Panday seeks bias ruling against McNicolls". Trinidad & Tobago Express. Archived from the original on October 19, 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-15. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  34. ^ Ramdass, Anna (2009-03-26). "Ramesh gets a chance:UNC MPs vote to fire Chief Whip, but Bas wants him to explain behaviour". One Caribbean Media Limited. Archived from the original on March 27, 2009. Retrieved 2009-03-26. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  35. ^ com, ttgapers (2009-08-16). "Jack Warner taking Basdeo Panday to court". ttgapers.com. Archived from the original on 2009-08-19. Retrieved 2009-08-16. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  36. ^ http://m.imdb.com/name/nm0659220/filmotype/actor?ref_=m_nmfm_1
Preceded by Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
1995–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
1976–1977 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
1978–1986 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
1991–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
2001–2006 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
2007–2010 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Non-existent
 Political Leader of the United National Congress
1989–2005 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Political Leader of the United National Congress
2006–2010 		Succeeded by
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