Senate (Trinidad and Tobago)

Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
11th Republican Parliament
	Flag Coat of Arms
Type
Type	Upper house of the Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago
Leadership
President of the Senate	Nigel de Freitas ; since 18 January 2023
Vice President of the Senate	Muhammad Yunus Ibrahim, PNM ; since 22 March 2022
Leader of Government Business in the Senate	Amery Browne, PNM ; since 22 March 2022
Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate	Wade Mark, UNC ; since 23 September 2015
Structure
Seats	31
Political groups	Government People's National Movement (16); Official Opposition United National; Congress (6); Other Independent (9);
Elections
Voting system	Appointment by the president on advice of the prime minister (16), at her discretion (9) and opposition leader (6)
Meeting place
	The Red House, Abercromby Street, Downtown, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
Website
	www.ttparliament.org
Constitution
	Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago

The Senate of Trinidad and Tobago is the appointed upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, along with the President and House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago. The Senate currently sits at the Red House. The Senate has 31 members all appointed by the President: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and 9 Independent Senators appointed on the discretion of the President from outstanding persons who represent other sectors of civil society. The presiding officer, the President of the Senate, is elected from among the Senators who are not Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries. A senator must be at least 25 years old and a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. The current President of the Senate is Senator Nigel de Freitas. As of 20 April 2021, there are only 13 female senators, or 41.9%^[2] and 6 Tobagonian senators or 19.4%.^[3]^[4] The Senate made history on 15 February 2022 by appointing Jowelle de Souza as an acting opposition senator, thus making her the Caribbean's first and only transgender parliamentarian.^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Party affiliation

Affiliation		Members
	People's National Movement	16
	Independent	9
	United National Congress	6
Total		31

Leadership

Presiding officers

Office	Officer		Since
President of the Senate		Nigel de Freitas	18 January 2023
Vice President of the Senate		Muhammad Yunus Ibrahim	22 March 2022

Majority leadership

Office	Officer	Since
Leader of Government Business in the Senate	Amery Browne	22 March 2022

Minority leadership

Office	Officer	Since
Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate	Wade Mark	23 September 2015

Senators

Member of Parliament		Date Appointed as a Senator	Office
Nigel de Freitas	PNM	23 September 2015	President of the Senate
Reginald Amour	PNM	16 March 2022	Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs
Hassell Bacchus	PNM	19 August 2020	Minister of Digital Transformation
Amery Browne	PNM	19 August 2020	Minister of Foreign and CARICOM Affairs Leader of Government Business in the Senate
Donna Cox	PNM	21 July 2019	Minister of Social Development and Family Services
Amrita Deonarine	Independent	20 November 2018
Varma Deyalsingh	Independent	19 October 2018
Maria Dillon-Remy	Independent	20 November 2018
Paula Gopee-Scoon	PNM	11 September 2015	Minister of Trade and Industry
Lawrence Hislop	PNM	22 March 2022
Kazim Hosein	PNM	31 October 2016	Minister of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries
Muhammad Yunus Ibrahim	PNM	11 June 2021	Vice President of the Senate
Jearlean John	UNC	28 August 2020
Laurel Lezama-Lee Sing	PNM	28 August 2020
Jayanti Lutchmedial	UNC	28 August 2020
Damian Lyder	UNC	28 August 2020
Wade Mark	UNC	23 September 2015	Leader of Opposition Business in the Senate
Randall Mitchell	PNM	19 August 2020	Minister of Tourism, Culture and the Arts
David Nakhid	UNC	28 August 2020
Paul Richards	Independent	23 September 2015
Anil Roberts	UNC	28 August 2020
Renuka Sagramsingh-Sooklal	PNM	19 August 2020	Minister in the Office of the Attorney General and Ministry of Legal Affairs
Charrise Seepersad	Independent	20 November 2018
Rohan Sinanan	PNM	24 November 2015	Minister of Works and Transport
Avinash Singh	PNM	10 December 2013	Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries
Richie Sookhai	PNM	18 January 2023	Minister in the Ministry of Works and Transport
Deoroop Teemal	Independent	20 November 2018
Hazel Thompson-Ahye	Independent	20 November 2018
Anthony Viera	Independent	2 August 2013
Evans Welch	Independent	28 August 2020
Allyson West	PNM	29 June 2017	Minister of Public Administration

References

^ "Trinidad and Tobago Parliament".
^ "Monthly ranking of women in national parliaments". Parline: the IPU’s Open Data Platform. Retrieved 2021-04-21.
^ "Log into Facebook". Facebook. Retrieved 2021-04-20. {{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help)
^ "Senate to debate THA Bill on March 2". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2021-04-20.
^ "De Souza makes history in Senate". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "Jowelle De Souza makes history as the first trans woman sworn into the Senate". IzzSo - News travels fast !!. 2022-02-15. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "History in Senate: Transgender De Souza Appointed Temporary UNC Senator". AZP News. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-18.
^ "Jowelle De Souza on Senate appointment: Trinidad and Tobago maturing to accept different people". Trinidad and Tobago Newsday. 2022-02-16. Retrieved 2022-02-18.

Notes

^ de Freitas was elected President of the Senate under the nomination of the PNM. However, the position of Senate President is officially one without political affiliation.^[1]