The prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of the executive branch of government in Trinidad and Tobago. Following a general election, which takes place every five years, the president appoints as prime minister the person who has the support of a majority in the House of Representatives; this has generally been the leader of the party which won the most seats in the election (except in the case of the 2001 general election).

The incumbent prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago is Kamla Persad-Bissessar who was sworn in on 1 May 2025 by President Christine Kangaloo.

This is a list of the prime ministers of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, from the establishment of the office of Chief Minister in 1950 to the present day:

List of officeholders

Chief minister (1950–1959)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan=2 scope="col"|

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Portrait

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Name<br />

! colspan=3 scope="col"| Term of office

! colspan=2 rowspan=2 scope="col"| Political party

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Elected

! rowspan=2 scope="col"|

|-

! scope="col"| Took office

! scope="col"| Left office

! scope="col"| Time in office

|-

| 1

| 80px

| Albert Gomes<br />

| 18 September 1950

| 28 October 1956

|

! style="background:" |

| Party of Political Progress Groups

| 1950

|

|-

| 2

| 80px

| Eric Williams<br />

| 28 October 1956

| 9 July 1959

|

! style="background:" |

| People's National Movement

| 1956

|

|}

Premier (1959–1962)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan=2 scope="col"|

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Portrait

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Name<br />

! colspan=3 scope="col"| Term of office

! colspan=2 rowspan=2 scope="col"| Political party

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Elected

! rowspan=2 scope="col"|

|-

! scope="col"| Took office

! scope="col"| Left office

! scope="col"| Time in office

|-

| rowspan="2" | 1

| rowspan="2" | 80px

| rowspan="2" | Eric Williams<br />

| rowspan="2" | 9 July 1959

| rowspan="2" | 31 August 1962

| rowspan="2" |

! rowspan="2" style="background:" |

| rowspan="2" | People's National Movement

| —

| rowspan="2" |

|-

| 1961

|}

Prime minister (1962–present)

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

! rowspan=2 scope="col"|

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Portrait

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Name<br />

! colspan=3 scope="col"| Term of office

! colspan=2 rowspan=2 scope="col"| Political party

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Elected

! rowspan=2 scope="col"| Government

! rowspan=2 scope="col"|

|-

! scope="col"| Took office

! scope="col"| Left office

! scope="col"| Time in office

|-

| rowspan="4" | 1

| rowspan="4" | 80px

| rowspan="4" | Eric Williams<br />

| rowspan="4" | 31 August 1962

| rowspan="4" | 29 March 1981

| rowspan="4" |

! rowspan="4" style="background:|

| rowspan="4" | People's National Movement

| —

| rowspan="2" | Williams I

| rowspan="4" |

|-

| 1966

|-

| 1971

| Williams II

|-

| 1976

| Williams III

|-

| 2

| 80px

| George Chambers<br />

| 30 March 1981

| 18 December 1986

|

! style="background:" |

| People's National Movement

| 1981

| Chambers

|

|-

| 3

| 80px

| A. N. R. Robinson<br />

| 19 December 1986

| 17 December 1991

|

! style="background:; color:black" |

| National Alliance for Reconstruction

| 1986

| Robinson

|

|-

| 4

| 80px

| Patrick Manning<br />

| 17 December 1991

| 9 November 1995

|

! style="background:; color:black" |

| People's National Movement

| 1991

| Manning I

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | 5

| rowspan="2" | 80px

| rowspan="2" | Basdeo Panday<br />

| rowspan="2" | 9 November 1995

| rowspan="2" | 24 December 2001

| rowspan="2" |

! rowspan="2" style="background:; color:black" |

| rowspan="2" | United National Congress

| 1995

| Panday–Robinson

| rowspan="2" |

|-

| 2000

| Panday II

|-

| rowspan="3" | (4)

| rowspan="3" | 80px

| rowspan="3" | Patrick Manning<br />

| rowspan="3" | 24 December 2001

| rowspan="3" | 26 May 2010

| rowspan="3" |

! rowspan="3" style="background:; color:black" |

| rowspan="3" | People's National Movement

| 2001

| Manning II

| rowspan="3" |

|-

| 2002

| Manning III

|-

| 2007

| Manning IV

|-

| 6

| 80px

| Kamla Persad-Bissessar<br />

| 26 May 2010

| 9 September 2015

|

! style="background:; color:black" |

| United National Congress

| 2010

| Persad-Bissessar

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | 7

| rowspan="2" | 80px

| rowspan="2" | Keith Rowley<br />

| rowspan="2" | 9 September 2015

| rowspan="2" | 17 March 2025

| rowspan="2" |

! rowspan="2" style="background:; color:black" |

| rowspan="2" | People's National Movement

| 2015

| Rowley

| rowspan="2" |

|-

| 2020

| Rowley II

|-

| 8

| 80px

| Stuart Young<br />

| 17 March 2025

| 1 May 2025

|

! style="background:; color:black" |

| People's National Movement

| —

| Young

|

|-

| (6)

| 80px

| Kamla Persad-Bissessar<br />

| 1 May 2025

| Incumbent

|

! style="background:; color:black" |

| United National Congress

| 2025

| Persad-Bissessar II

|

|}

Graphical timeline

See also

  • Politics of Trinidad and Tobago
  • List of governors of Trinidad and Tobago
  • President of Trinidad and Tobago
  • List of heads of state of Trinidad and Tobago
  • Leader of the Opposition (Trinidad and Tobago)
  • Lists of office-holders

Notes

References

  • World Statesmen – Trinidad and Tobago
  • Rulers.org – Trinidad and Tobago