* The President

President George Maxwell Richards

The President is the Head of State and the country's Commander in chief of the armed forces. The office was established when the country became a Republic in 1976, replacing the Bristish Monarch. The last Governor-General, Sir Ellis Clarke, was sworn in as the first President on August 1st 1976, under a transitional arrangement. He was formally chosen as president by an electoral college consisting of members of both houses of Parliament on September 24th 1976, which is now celebrated as Republic Day.

Under the 1976 Constitution, the office of the President is a ceremonial post, with executive power remaining with the Cabinet, headed by a Prime Minister. The President appoints as Prime Minister the leader of the largest party in the House of Representatives, and also appoints Members of the Senate on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Opposition. The President must be at least 35 years old [although no President has been younger than 59], a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago, and at the time of nomination, must have been resident in the country for an unbroken period of 10 years