Sir Ellis Emmanuel Innocent Clarke (28 December 191730 December 2010) was the first

President of Trinidad and Tobago The president of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is the head of state of Trinidad and Tobago and the commander-in-chief of the Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force. The office was established when the country became a republic in 1976, before ...

and the second and last

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

. He was one of the main architects of

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

's 1962 Independence constitution.

Early life

Clarke attended Saint Mary's College, winning an Island Scholarship in Mathematics in 1938. Ellis Clarke attended

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

of the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degr ...

, where he received a

Bachelor of Law Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

degree and was called to the bar at

Gray's Inn The Honourable Society of Gray's Inn, commonly known as Gray's Inn, is one of the four Inns of Court (professional associations for barristers and judges) in London. To be called to the bar in order to practise as a barrister in England and W ...

. He returned to

Port of Spain Port of Spain ( Spanish: ''Puerto España''), officially the City of Port of Spain (also stylized Port-of-Spain), is the capital of Trinidad and Tobago and the third largest municipality, after Chaguanas and San Fernando. The city has a muni ...

in 1941, taking up private practice there.

Political career

He served as Solicitor-General from 1954 to 1956, Deputy Colonial Secretary 1956–57, and

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

1957–62. After Independence in 1962 he served as

Ambassador to the United States The following table lists ambassadors to the United States, sorted by the representative country or organization. See also *Ambassadors of the United States Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve ...

, Canada and

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

, and Permanent Representative to the United Nations. In 1972 he succeeded Sir Solomon Hochoy as

Governor General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy ...

. When

became a republic in 1976, Clarke was unanimously elected the country's first

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

by the electoral college, which comprised the elected members of both Houses of Parliament. He was re-elected by the

People's National Movement The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections sinc ...

-controlled electoral college and completed his second term in 1987. Disagreements with the new National Alliance for Reconstruction government resulted in Clarke's decision not to seek a third term. He was succeeded by

Noor Hassanali Noor Mohamed Hassanali (; 13 August 1918 – 25 August 2006) was the second president of Trinidad and Tobago (1987–1997). A retired high-court judge, Hassanali was the first person of Indian descent along with being the first Muslim to hold the ...

. Clarke was invested as a Companion of St Michael and St George by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

in 1960 and was awarded a

knighthood A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the ...

as a Knight Grand Cross of that order in 1972. Although he ceased to use the title ''Sir'' after the country became a republic, after retirement from the presidency he re-adopted his title and was generally referred to as "Former President, Sir Ellis Clarke" or Sir Ellis. He was married to Lady Ermyntrude Clarke (1921–2002) for almost fifty years. They had three children: Peter Ellis Clarke (married to Suzanne Traboulay, a former beauty queen), Margaret-Ann (married to Gordon Fisken) and Richard (who died as a young child). Ellis Clarke was one of six experts worldwide asked to submit reports to Australia's Republic Advisory Committee in 1993 detailing his country's experience in moving from a

constitutional monarchy A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...

to a republic.

Death and funerals

On 24 November 2010, Clarke suffered a massive

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

.Julian Neaves, "Sir Ellis Is Dead"
''Trinidad Express Newspapers'', 31 December 2010. He died on 30 December 2010, two days after his 93rd birthday. Clarke was laid to rest on 7 January 2011. A private funeral was held at the Church of the Assumption on Maraval Road in Port of Spain. Both his living children as well as his four grandsons gave tributes. Following the private funeral, a state funeral was held at the National Academy for the Performing Arts Building situated at the Queens Park Savannah. It was an inter-religious celebration at which the President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice paid tributes. In attendance were members of Parliament, senators, members of the diplomatic corps, and foreign heads of state and dignitaries. A procession through Port of Spain followed the service. Sir Ellis' coffin, draped in a Trinidad and Tobago flag, was set atop a cannon and pulled by a military vehicle. The procession concluded at Lapeyrouse Cemetery, where he was buried at the Clarke family plot, which burial was attended by family and friends.

References

External links