Keith Christopher Rowley (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician serving as the seventh

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 ...

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 ...

, first elected into office on 9 September 2015 and again following the 2020 general election. He has led the

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 ...

(PNM) since May 2010 and was Leader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2015. He has also served as the Member of the House of Representatives for Diego Martin West since 1991. He is a volcanologist by profession, holding a doctorate in geology, specializing in geochemistry.

Early life

Rowley was born in Mason Hall,

Tobago Tobago () is an island and ward within the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It is located northeast of the larger island of Trinidad and about off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. It also lies to the southeast of Grenada. The offic ...

, raised by his grandparents, who were Tobago farmers. He was a pupil of Bishop's High School in Tobago, and graduated from the University of the West Indies (Mona). He then went on to earn an MSc (1974) and a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * '' Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. al ...

(1978) from the

University of the West Indies at St. Augustine The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine is a public research university in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of 5 general campuses in the University of the West Indies system, which are ranked 1st in the Caribbean. It is ra ...

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 th ...

. At the university, as researcher, he held the positions of research fellow and later as head 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. 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 (8th Parliament) and Minister of Trade and Industry (9th Parliament).

Leader of the Opposition

Following the

's defeat in the 2010 general election, Rowley was appointed as Leader of the Opposition. He was then elected political leader of the People's National Movement. 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 President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Anthony Carmona."Rowley sworn in as T&T PM"
''Stabroek News'', 9 September 2015. Rowley again led the People's National Movement to victory in the 10 August 2020 general election for another term in government. 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.

Cabinet

He appointed the following people as his cabinet:

Personal life

He is married to attorney Sharon Rowley and has three children. In April 2021 he tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quick ...

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