Trinidad and Tobago Government
What is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago?
| Country Name | Trinidad and Tobago |
| Full Country Name | Republic of Trinidad and Tobago |
| Etymology- history of name | explorer Christopher COLUMBUS named the larger island "La Isla de la Trinidad" (The Island of the Trinity) on 31 July 1498 on his third voyage; the tobacco grown and smoked by the natives of the smaller island or its elongated cigar shape may account for the "tobago" name, which is spelled "tobaco" in Spanish |
| Government Type | parliamentary republic |
| Capital Name | Port of Spain |
| Capital - geographic coordinate | 10 39 N, 61 31 W |
| Capital Time Difference | UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Independence | 31 August 1962 (from the UK) |
| National Holiday | Independence Day, 31 August (1962) |
| Constitution | previous 1962; latest 1976; amended many times, last in 2007 |
Trinidad and Tobago Capital City Map
Source: Google Maps
Trinidad and Tobago Government and Politics
Who is the president of Trinidad and Tobago?
| Executive Branch: |
chief of state: President Christine KANGALOO (since 20 March 2023) head of government: Prime Minister Keith ROWLEY (since 9 September 2015) cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among members of Parliament elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by an electoral college of selected Senate and House of Representatives members for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 20 January 2023 (next to be held by February 2028); the president usually appoints the leader of the majority party in the House of Representatives as prime minister election results: Christine KANGALOO (PNM) elected president by the electoral college on 20 January 2023; Christine KANGALOO received 48 votes against 22 votes for opposition candidate Israel KHAN (UNC) |
| Citizenship Criteria: |
citizenship by birth: yes citizenship by descent: yes dual citizenship recognized: yes residency requirement for naturalization: 8 years |
| Legal System: | English common law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court |
| Suffrage: | 18 years of age; universal |
| Legislative Branch: |
description: bicameral Parliament consists of: Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the president, and 6 by the opposition party; members serve 5-year terms;) House of Representatives (42 seats; 41 members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote and the house speaker - usually designated from outside Parliament; members serve 5-year terms) elections: Senate - last appointments on 28 August 2020 (next appointments in August 2025) House of Representatives - last held on 10 August 2020 (next to be held in 2025) election results: Senate - percent by party - NA; seats by party - NA; composition as of May 2020 - men 18, women 13, percent of women 41.9% House of Representatives - percent by party - NA; seats by party - PNM 22, UNC 19; composition - as of May 2022 - men 31, women 11, percent of women 26.2%; note - overall Parliament percent of women 32.9% note: Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly (19 seats; 15 assemblymen directly elected by simple majority vote and 4 appointed councilors - 3 on the advice of the chief secretary and 1 on the advice of the minority leader; members serve 4-year terms) |
| Judicial Branch: |
highest resident court(s): Supreme Court of the Judicature (consists of a chief justice for both the Court of Appeal with 12 judges and the High Court with 24 judges); note - Trinidad and Tobago can file appeals beyond its Supreme Court to the Caribbean Court of Justice, with final appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president after consultation with the prime minister and the parliamentary leader of the opposition; other judges appointed by the Judicial Legal Services Commission, headed by the chief justice and 5 members with judicial experience; all judges appointed for life with mandatory retirement normally at age 65 subordinate courts: Courts of Summary Criminal Jurisdiction; Petty Civil Courts; Family Court |
| Regions or States: |
9 regions, 3 boroughs, 2 cities, 1 ward regions: Couva/Tabaquite/Talparo, Diego Martin, Mayaro/Rio Claro, Penal/Debe, Princes Town, Sangre Grande, San Juan/Laventille, Siparia, Tunapuna/Piarco borough: Arima, Chaguanas, Point Fortin cities: Port of Spain, San Fernando ward: Tobago |
| Political Parties and Leaders: |
Congress of the People or COP [Prakash RAMADHAR] Democratic Action Congress or DAC [Hochoy CHARLES] (only active in Tobago) Democratic National Alliance or DNA [Charles CARSON] (coalition of NAR, DDPT, MND) Movement for National Development or MND [Garvin NICHOLAS] National Alliance for Reconstruction or NAR [Lennox SANKERSINGH] People's National Movement or PNM [Keith ROWLEY] Tobago Organization of the People or TOP [Ashworth JACK] United National Congress or UNC [Kamla PERSAD-BISSESSAR] |
| International Law Organization Participation: | has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
| International Organization Participation: | ACP, AOSIS, C, Caricom, CDB, CELAC, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-24, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (NGOs), ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, Pacific Alliance (observer), Paris Club (associate), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
| Diplomatic Representation in the US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Anthony Wayne Jerome PHILLIPS-SPENCER, Brig. Gen. (Ret.) (since 27 June 2016) chancery: 1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036-1975 telephone: [1] (202) 467-6490 FAX: [1] (202) 785-3130 email address and website: embdcinfo@foreign.gov.tt https://foreign.gov.tt/missions-consuls/tt-missions-abroad/diplomatic-missions/embassy-washington-dc-us/ consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
| Diplomatic Representation from US: |
chief of mission: Ambassador Candace A. BOND (since 8 December 2022) embassy: 15 Queen's Park West, Port of Spain mailing address: 3410 Port of Spain Place, Washington DC 20521-3410 telephone: (868) 622-6371 FAX: (868) 822-5905 email address and website: acspos@state.gov https://tt.usembassy.gov/ |
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