The Organisation for National Reconstruction (ONR) was a political party in

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 ...

. The party received the second-highest number of votes in the 1981 general elections, but failed to win a seat. Prior to the

1986 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1986. Africa * 1986 Angolan legislative election * 1986 Gabonese presidential election * 1986 Mozambican general election * 1986 Sierra Leonean parliamentary election * 1986 Somali presidential elec ...

it merged into the new

National Alliance for Reconstruction The National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) was the governing party in Trinidad and Tobago between 1986 and 1991. The party has been inactive since 2005. History The party was established in 1986, aiming to be a multi-racial party. Nohlen, D ...

History

The party was founded by

Karl Hudson-Phillips Karl Terrence Hudson-Phillips, ORTT, QC (20 April 1933 – 16 January 2014) was an Attorney-General of Trinidad and Tobago and a judge of the International Criminal Court. He was also lead counsel in the murder trial of Grenadian Prime Minis ...

, who had resigned from the ruling

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 ...

in 1973 when

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation", having led the then British Trinidad and Tobago, British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to m ...

reversed his decision to resign from politics. Hudson-Phillips had been the main contender to succeed Williams - once Williams returned there was no longer room for a person who had openly expressed an interest in leading the party. Hudson-Phillips went on to form the National Land Tenants and Ratepayers Association of Trinidad and Tobago'' in 1974, a right-of-centre body. After building a support base among the middle and upper classes, he launched the ONR in 1980. Despite receiving 22.2% of the vote, the party failed to win any seats, whilst the

United Labour Front The United Labour Front (ULF) was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago and the main opposition party between 1976 and 1986. It was a successor to the Democratic Labour Party and the Workers and Farmers Party. History The party was establishe ...

(which had received 15.2% of the vote) won ten seats. Nohlen, D (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', pp640-642 This setback led to the ONR forging a closer relationship with the other opposition parties, which had organised themselves as the National Alliance prior to the elections. In the 1983 local elections the ONR won 26 of the 120 local government seats, while the National Alliance won 40. This was the first time since 1959 that the PNM had not won the majority of seats contested in any election in Trinidad (the DAC had taken control of the

Tobago House of Assembly The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a unicameral devolved legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was re-established in 1980

in 1980). Following on this success, the three parties making up the National Alliance and the ONR merged to form a single party, the

. In the 1986 general elections the NAR won 33 of the 36 seats in Parliament and was able to form the new government. Hudson-Phillips did not take a major role in the NAR government (according to

Basdeo Panday Basdeo Panday (; born 25 May 1933) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian lawyer, politician, trade unionist, economist, actor, and former civil servant who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001. He was the first ...

this was because of animosity between Hudson-Phillips and

A. N. R. Robinson Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson (16 December 1926 – 9 April 2014; known as A. N. R. or "Ray" Robinson), was the third President of Trinidad and Tobago, serving from 19 March 1997 to 17 March 2003. He was also Trinidad and Tobago's third Prime ...

, the "compromise" leader of the NAR). However, several other ONR members held prominent posts in the NAR government. After the NAR folded, many former ONR members joined 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 ...

, while others returned to the PNM.

References

{{Trinidad and Tobago political parties Defunct political parties in Trinidad and Tobago Political parties established in 1980