KAMLA PERSAD BISSESSAR

FIRST WOMAN TO ACT AS PRIME MINISTER OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Kamla Persad- Bissessar, an Attorney-At-Law, is currently the Member of Parliament for Siparia, a position she has held for the past twelve years after having won the seat in four consecutive general elections, with one of the highest number of votes on each occasion.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree (Hons.), a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) from the University of the West Indies and a Diploma in Education and pursued studies in the Master of Education. She has been a high school teacher, both in Trinidad and Tobago and Jamaica, and at age 25, she became one of the youngest university lecturers at UWI, Mona Campus.

Spurred on by a love for the world of academia, Persad-Bissessar later pursued a career in law and was named the top student at her graduation from the Hugh Wooding Law School, winning prizes for the Most Outstanding Student and the Best Overall Performance.

In her political career, Persad-Bissessar has a number of firsts. She was the first woman to act as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. She was also the first woman to be appointed Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs. She is the first woman deputy political leader of the UNC and the first woman Leader of the Opposition.

During her two-year occupation of the office of the Minister of Education, Persad-Bissessar was successful in establishing Universal Secondary Education, removing the dreaded Common Entrance Examination, replacing it with the more modern Secondary Entrance Assessment SEA, and establishing some 32 new secondary schools in the country, among other major achievements.

Her life goal and mission today still remains working towards building a more just and equitable society for all persons in Trinidad and Tobago.