Eric A. Williams was a

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 ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

until November 2007 and was

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...

for Port of Spain South. Until his resignation from the Cabinet in January 2006, he served as the Minister of Energy and Energy Industries in the then

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 ...

government, a post he had held since December 2001. A

geologist A geologist is a scientist who studies the solid, liquid, and gaseous matter that constitutes Earth and other terrestrial planets, as well as the processes that shape them. Geologists usually study geology, earth science, or geophysics, althoug ...

and geophysicist by training, Williams entered

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

in 1995 when he won the Port of Spain South seat formerly held by PNM founder Dr.

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 Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October ...

(no relative). In a now discredited February 2004 letter to then Prime Minister and Political Leader of the PNM Patrick Manning, PNM Councillor Dansam Dhansook alleged that he had paid a TT$75,000 (approx. US$12,000) bribe to Williams in seven separate payments over the period January to July 2003; one of TT$15,000 and six of TT$10,000. The letter was made public on 27 April 2005, when it was read in the

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

by Prime Minister (as of May 2010)

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, politic ...

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 politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a ...

MP for

Siparia Siparia is a town in southern Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago, south of San Fernando, southwest of Penal and Debe and southeast of Fyzabad. Also called "The Sand City", it was originally a non- Mission Amerindian settlement. Siparia grew to be ...

. Dhansook has since publicly apologised to Mr Williams, his colleague Mr Franklin Khan, and the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago for his role in this entire matter. On 7 January 2006 seven warrants for Williams arrest were issued on a charge of misconduct in public office for corruptly receiving $75,000 in 2003."Energy Minister due in court tomorrow"
, Wendy Campbell, ''

Trinidad Guardian The ''Trinidad and Tobago Guardian'' (together with the ''Sunday Guardian'') is the oldest daily newspaper in Trinidad and Tobago. The paper is considered the newspaper of record for Trinidad and Tobago. History Its first edition was published ...

'' Williams who maintained his innocence,Juhel Browne
"Williams cries false charges"
, ''

'' but "senior government members" predicted correctly that he would resign his ministerial portfolio on 9 January 2006."Energy Minister to resign"
, ''

'' On January 9 the seven chargesThe seven charges
- ''

Trinidad Express The ''Trinidad and Tobago Express'', better known as ''Daily Express'' (and the weekend editions ''Saturday Express'' and ''Sunday Express''), is one of three daily newspapers in Trinidad and Tobago. The ''Daily Express'' as per its masthead is p ...

'' were laid indictably against Williams. He was granted bail of TT$600,000.Williams’ bail increased to $.6m
Jada Loutoo, ''

''Hayden Mills
"$.6M Bail: Former minister on 7 counts of corruptly receiving $75,000"
, ''

''. No PNM officials appeared at his hearings over the two-year duration of the Preliminary Inquiry, other than then Mayor of San Fernando Ian Atherly and former Councillor Cynthia Pipier of the Port-of-Spain City Corporation. However, three then Ministers,

Fitzgerald Hinds The FitzGerald/FitzMaurice Dynasty is a noble and aristocratic dynasty of Cambro-Norman, Anglo-Norman and later Hiberno-Norman origin. They have been peers of Ireland since at least the 13th century, and are described in the Annals of the ...

, then a Minister of State and now a Senator in the Opposition, Dr.

Keith Rowley Keith Christopher Rowley (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician serving as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, first elected into office on 9 September 2015 and again following the 2020 general elect ...

(who was being investigated by the Integrity Commission but has since been exhonerated while a member of the Cabinet and is now the Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the PNM) and Diane Seukeran, former MP for

San Fernando West San Fernando West is a parliamentary electoral district in comprising the western part of the city of San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago. It came into effect in time for the 1956 Trinidad and Tobago general election. Members of Parliament This c ...

and then a Minister of State, spoke to the press in his defence.Irene Medina
"Three Ministers in support of Williams"
''

''. On December 31, 2007, all charges against Mr. Williams were dismissed. His accuser Dansam Dhansook was declared to be 'manifestly unreliable as a witness' by Senior Magistrate L. Cardinez-Ragoonanan who presided over the Preliminary Inquiry into the charges.Onika James
"Eric Williams walks free"
Tuesday, 1 January 2008.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Eric A. Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago) Government ministers of Trinidad and Tobago People's National Movement politicians Alumni of Queen's Royal College, Trinidad Trinidad and Tobago geologists

See also

References