Garvin Edward Timothy Nicholas (born 1967) is a Trinidad and Tobago politician and former diplomat. He served as a temporary Opposition Senator representing the

United National Congress The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago and the current parliamentary opposition. The UNC is a centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, e ...

(UNC) in the 8th Republican Parliament and the 10th Republican Parliament. He was the Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2010 until 2013 and the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Trinidad and Tobago to Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Germany. He served as the

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 ...

for Trinidad and Tobago from 3 February 2015 until 17 June 2015. He is the leader of the

Movement for National Development The Movement for National Development ( sq, Lëvizja për Zhvillim Kombëtar, or LZHK) is a centre-right political party in Albania. The Movement for National Development was founded in 2004 as a five party coalition under the spiritual leadership ...

(MND), a political party which contested the

2020 general election The following elections were scheduled to occur in 2020. The International Foundation for Electoral Systems maintains a comprehensive list of upcoming elections on its E-Guide Platform. The National Democratic Institute also maintains a calend ...

Early life

Nicholas was born in Maraval in 1967. He attended Trinity College, Moka, and received a bachelor of laws degree from

Oxford Brookes University Oxford Brookes University (formerly known as Oxford Polytechnic (United Kingdom), Polytechnic) is a public university, public university in Oxford, England. It is a new university, having received university status through the Further and High ...

in the United Kingdom, a post-graduate diploma in professional legal studies from the Inns of Court School of Law, and a masters of law in maritime law from the City, University of London. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in England and Wales in July 2001 as a member of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and Wal ...

and was admitted to practice in Trinidad and Tobago in June 2002. He worked as an attorney, including as a door tenant with 3PB Chambers in London.

Political career

Nicholas first became involved in politics when he was appointed to the Advisory Council in Local Government in 1991. He was elected to the first local council for the Diego Martin Regional Corporation the following year, where he served as the councillor for Moka/Boissiere #2 until deciding not to run for re-election in 1996. He was first appointed as a temporary Opposition Senator on 26 November 2002 as a member of the 8th Republican Parliament, a position that he held until 6 May 2003. He served as leader of the

(MND) from 2007 to 2010 and as counsel to the

Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...

. In the 2010 general election, he ran for a position as a member of parliament in the House of Representatives for the constituency of Diego Martin North/East, on behalf of the

(UNC). He received 8,076 votes and was within 400 votes of winning, although he lost to the People National Movement (PNM)'s Colm Imbert. He worked as the press secretary for Prime Minister

Kamla Persad-Bissessar Kamla Persad-Bissessar ( ; born Kamla Susheila Persad, 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer, politician and educator who is the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, politica ...

from June to November of the same year. He worked for the construction of Paramin R.C.

Diplomatic career

Nicholas served as the Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 5 December 2010 until 2013. He was also the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary for Trinidad and Tobago to Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. He presented his letters of credence to the King of Sweden on 28 March 2012. He conducted official trips to Finland, Norway and Denmark. He also served as the ambassador to Germany. He assisted on negotiation of a visa waiver for citizens of Trinidad and Tobago who were travelling to the

Schengen Area The Schengen Area ( , ) is an area comprising 27 European countries that have officially abolished all passport and all other types of border control at their mutual borders. Being an element within the wider area of freedom, security and j ...

, with a team headed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs. In 2012, he became the only Trinidad and Tobago High Commissioner to win the Ambassador of the Year Award from the Americas. He was a member of the board of governors for the

Commonwealth Secretariat The Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating co-operation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads o ...

and the Commonwealth Foundation. He was chairman of the grants committee and the sub-committee of the CARICOM High Commissions for trade and development. He was a member of the

Commonwealth Education Trust The Commonwealth Education Trust is a Charitable organization, registered charity established in 2007 as the successor trust to the Commonwealth Institute. The trust focuses on primary and secondary education and the training of teachers and i ...

, the Commonwealth advisory panel for the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and a member of the sub-committee to rationalise the strategic plan for the Commonwealth Secretariat. In this last position, he assisted with development of the new commonwealth charter.

Return to Trinidad and Tobago

He returned to Trinidad and Tobago in April 2014, where he served as the UNC's caretaker for the constituency of

St. Joseph Joseph (; el, Ἰωσήφ, translit=Ioséph) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who, according to the canonical Gospels, was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. The Gospels also name some brothers ...

. On 6 November 2014, he was appointed to be the caretaker for UNC of the constituency of Diego Martin North/East. He was re-appointed to the position of temporary Opposition Senator during the 10th Republican Parliament, serving from 26 August 2014 to 27 August 2014. Following the resignation of

Anand Ramlogan Anand Ramlogan is a member of the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago, England & Wales and the British Virgin Islands. He is the founder and head of Freedom Law Chambers which is based in the city of San Fernando, Trinidad. He served as junior counsel to ...

, he was appointed as the

on 3 February 2015 for the People's Partnership administration. He was appointed to the parliamentary subcommittee on campaign finance reform. He served as the Attorney General until 17 June 2015. Nicholas re-launched the MND in 2019, although it had been founded fifteen years prior. It contested the 2019 local elections but only received a combined 404 votes. In the

, he contested the Diego Martin Central constituency as the candidate for the MND, whereas Dexter Nicholls contested Diego Martin West and Myron Bruce contested Diego Martin North/East. The party promised to focus on food security, procuring government products from small and medium-sized enterprises and diversifying tourism.

Personal life

Nicholas is married to Dr Nicola Alcalá and they have one son.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nicholas, Garvin Living people 1967 births Alumni of Oxford Brookes University Alumni of City, University of London Members of the Senate (Trinidad and Tobago) High Commissioners of Trinidad and Tobago to the United Kingdom Attorneys General of Trinidad and Tobago United National Congress politicians 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago politicians