Keith Christopher Rowley (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 2015 to 2025. He was the leader the People's National Movement (PNM) from 2010 to 2025 and was

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

from 2010 to 2015. He also served as the Member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

for Diego Martin West from 1991 to 2025. He is a volcanologist by profession, holding a doctorate in geology, specializing in geochemistry.

Early life

Rowley was born in Mason Hall,

Tobago Tobago, officially the Ward of Tobago, is an List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, island and Regions and municipalities of Trinidad and Tobago, ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger islan ...

, raised by his grandparents, who were prominent Tobago farmers. He was a pupil of Bishop's High School in Tobago, and graduated from the University of the West Indies (Mona) from where he graduated with a BSc. Geology (First Class Honors). He then went on to earn an MSc (1974) and a PhD (1978) from the University of the West Indies at St. Augustine in geology, specializing in

geochemistry Geochemistry is the science that uses the tools and principles of chemistry to explain the mechanisms behind major geological systems such as the Earth's crust and its oceans. The realm of geochemistry extends beyond the Earth, encompassing the e ...

. At the university, as researcher, he held the positions of research fellow and later as head of the Seismic Research Unit. Rowley was general manager of state-owned National Quarries Company Limited as well.

Political career

Rowley entered politics in 1981, where he unsuccessfully contested the Tobago West seat in the general election of that year. To date he has the distinction of being the only People's National Movement candidate to have contested a seat in a General Election in both Tobago and Trinidad. He first served in Parliament as an Opposition Senator from 1987 to 1990 (3rd Parliament). Subsequently, he was appointed as Minister of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources (4th Parliament), Minister of Planning and Development and Minister of Housing (as cabinet reshuffled) (8th Parliament) and Minister of Trade and Industry (9th Parliament) until he was fired by then Prime Minister Patrick Manning.

Leader of the Opposition

Following the People's National Movement's defeat in the 2010 general election, Rowley was appointed as

on the 1st June. He was then elected political leader of the People's National Movement as he was seen as the most capable to lead the party. As political leader he advocated implementation of the one man, one vote system within the party. Rowley has served on several parliamentary committees. In 2004, he chaired the Joint Select Committee of Parliament which examined and made recommendations for the live broadcasting of parliamentary debates. He served as the representative governor of Trinidad and Tobago for the Inter-American Development Bank and the Caribbean Development Bank.

Prime minister

Rowley led the People's National Movement in the September 2015 general election, in which his party secured 23 out of 41 seats in the House of Representatives to form the government, defeating the previous People's Partnership coalition government. On 9 September 2015, Rowley was sworn in as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago by President Anthony Carmona. He becomes the seventh Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and the second Tobago-born Prime Minister. Rowley again led the People's National Movement to victory in the 2020 Trinidad and Tobago general election for a second term in government under his premiership. He was sworn in as Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago on 19 August by President Paula-Mae Weekes at the President's House in St. Anns after the opposition party asked for recounts to be done in marginal constituencies. During his tenure, on 5 February 2022, the Trinidad and Tobago coast guard fired upon a vessel with Venezuelan migrants while attempting to stop it, killing a nine-month-old baby and injuring his mother. The coast guard claimed that the shots were fired "in self-defense". Rowley deemed the action "legal and appropriate"; the Trinidadian police and coast guard opened an investigation of the event. At the PNM convention in August 2024, Rowley announced his support for the Caribbean Court of Justice to replace the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as Trinidad and Tobago's final court of appeals. He also announced his government would legislate to remove Christopher Columbus's ships from the national coat of arms and replace them with the steelpan drum, which had been declared the official national music instrument a few months earlier. He stated that the changes would "signal that we are on our way to removing the colonial vestiges that we have in our country".

Cabinet

He appointed the following people as his cabinet:

Personal life

He is married to attorney-at-law Sharon Rowley and has three children, and is a member of the

Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sa ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowley, Keith 1949 births Living people Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago) People's National Movement politicians Prime ministers of Trinidad and Tobago University of the West Indies alumni Trinidad and Tobago geologists Geochemists Volcanologists Trinidad and Tobago Seventh-day Adventists