Wendell Adrian Mottley ORTT (born 2 July 1941) is a Trinidad and Tobago economist, politician and athlete. Mottley served as Senator and member of the House of Representatives with the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament and was

Minister of Finance A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", " ...

from 1991 to 1995. He was a Ivy League sprinter, winning two Olympic medals in 1964.

Early life and education

Mottley was born in Port of Spain,

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 ...

. He was the youngest of four brothers who were all runners. As a youngster, he began to run in competitions sponsored local oil companies. He attended

Queen's Royal College Queen's Royal College ( St.Clair, Trinidad), referred to for short as QRC, or "The College" by alumni, is a secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago. Originally a boarding school and grammar school, the secular college is selective and noted for it ...

, an elite public high school in Port of Spain. While competing in a high school track meet, the coach from Loughborough University suggested Mottley would be of interest to his friend who coached track at Yale University. Mottley attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, graduating in economics in 1964. While at Yale, he made the dean's list, was captain of the track team, and joined St. Anthony Hall. He was the first person of color to join St. Anthony Hall, nationwide. He earned a masters in economics from

the University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. While at Cambridge, Mottley was captain of the track team and became lifelong friends the Oxford team's captain, later the novelist

Jeffrey Archer Jeffrey Howard Archer, Baron Archer of Weston-super-Mare (born 15 April 1940) is an English novelist, life peer, convicted criminal, and former politician. Before becoming an author, Archer was a Member of Parliament (1969–1974), but did not ...

Athletics

Mottley was a sprinter for Yale University track team. His coach was Bob Giegengack, also the track coach for Team USA in the 1964 Summer Olympics. In addition to sprinting, Giegengack had Mottley run cross country, "which he hated." Mottley participated in three Heptagonal Games Championships between 1962–1964, winning the 440y each year. In the mid 1960s, Mottley was the fastest man in Yale University and Ivy League history. He still is the record holder in the 500m/600y at Yale. Mottley also set indoor world records for the 400-yard, 500-yard, and 600-yard distances in 1964. His personal best time of 45.2 stands as the Ivy League record for the 440y/400 meter event.. One writer notes, "In his time he was not only the best long sprinter in the Ivy League but also one of the best in the world." In 1964 he set indoor world records for the 400-yard, 500-yard, and 600-yard distances. At the 1964 Summer Olympics in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Mottley won a silver medal for the 400 meters and a bronze medal for the 4 x 400 meters relay, representing Trinidad and Tobago. After the race where he won the silver medal, Mottley says Giegengack gave him a salute. After the Olympics, he ran track for Cambridge University and competed in the European circuit. He also took two gold medals at the 1966 British Empire and Commonwealth Games in Jamaica, winning in the

440 yards 44 may refer to: * 44 (number) * one of the years 44 BC, AD 44, 1944, 2044 Military *44M Tas, a Hungarian medium/heavy tank design of World War II *44M Tas Rohamlöveg, a Hungarian tank destroyer design of World War II, derived from the 44M Tas ta ...

and the 4×440 yards relay events. The relay team set the Commonwealth Games record for the 4x440y.

Career

Politics

Mottley was elected as Senator to the Trinidad and Tobago 2nd Republican Parliament from 1981–1986, and was appointed Minister of Housing and Resettlement from 1981–1985. He was then appointed Minister of Industry and Commerce, serving from 1985–1986. As a member of the People's National Party, he was elected to the House of Representatives for the 4th Republication Parliament from 1992–1995. From 1992–1994, he was Minister of Finance. He was responsible for the flotation of the

Trinidad and Tobago dollar The Trinidad and Tobago dollar ( currency code TTD) is the currency of Trinidad and Tobago. It is normally abbreviated with the dollar sign $, or alternatively TT$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies. It is subdivided i ...

. He also founded the Civilian Conservation Corps in Trinidad and Tobago.He was Minister of Tourism from 1994–1995. In the early 2000s, Mottley was the leader of the Citizens' Alliance, a dissolved minor

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

in Trinidad and Tobago. His party received 5,955 votes (1%) and captured no seats in the 2002 general election.

Career

After Cambridge, Mottley worked in London, before returning to Trinidad and Tobago where he developed a career in housing development. In 1996, Mottley became an

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

at Credit Suisse in New York, serving as managing director and senior advisor over the course of fifteen years. Mottley was a visiting fellow at the Center for Global Development, a

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

-based think tank, where he contributed ''Trinidad and Tobago--industrial policy 1959–2008 : a Historical and Contemporary Analysis'' in 2008. Later, he was chairman of the board of the

Unit Trust Corporation The Trinidad and Tobago Unit Trust Corporation (UTC) is a mutual fund company based in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. Founded in 1981 through an Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts o ...

, the Caribbean's largest mutual fund company. He serves on the board of the Pan-American Life Insurance Group from 2013 to his retirement in 2021. He had reached the board's mandatory retirement ago of eighty.

Affiliations

Mottey served on the board of World Wildlife Fund and the Asa Wright Beard Foundation, a Caribbean environmentalist group. He is also a member of the Yale School of Forestry leadership council.

Honours

On November 1, 2018, Mottley received the

Order of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Order, ORDER or Orders may refer to: * Categorization, the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood * Heterarchy, a system of organization wherein the elements have the potential to be ranked a number of d ...

(ORTT) for his contribution to national development and public service.

References

External links