Ronald Jay Williams (January 28, 1928 – May 16, 2000), son of Louis Jay Williams and brother of Michael Jay Williams, was a

Trinidadian Trinidadians and Tobagonians, colloquially known as Trinis or Trinbagonians, are the people who are identified with the country of Trinidad and Tobago. The country is home to people of many different national, ethnic and religious origins. As a ...

businessman and politician. He was a Member of Parliament for the

West Indies Federation The West Indies Federation, also known as the West Indies, the Federation of the West Indies or the West Indian Federation, was a short-lived political union that existed from 3 January 1958 to 31 May 1962. Various islands in the Caribbean that ...

, Senator of Trinidad and Tobago, and Member of Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. From 1981 to 1986, he served as Minister of State Enterprises. During his tenure in government, his drive to reduce waste and seek cost efficiencies earned him the nickname "Chinese Chopper", a reference to his ethnicity and his willingness to cut expenditures. After graduating from the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

, Williams returned to his native Trinidad and Tobago, where he is known for his contributions to the country's economic and cultural development as both a public figure and a private citizen. He served in a number of different roles on various boards and committees, including as Chairman of the Carnival Development Committee. He is credited with naming Trinidad and Tobago's annual steelband festival, "

Panorama A panorama (formed from Greek πᾶν "all" + ὅραμα "view") is any wide-angle view or representation of a physical space, whether in painting, drawing, photography, film, seismic images, or 3D modeling. The word was originally coined in ...

". In recognition of his contributions to the nation's cultural development, he was awarded the Hummingbird Medal Gold in 1971 by the Government of Trinidad and Tobago.

Early life

Ronald Jay Williams was born in 1928 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 ...

, then a colony of the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

. His mother was Ellen Lai Fook, the sister of Father Arthur Lai Fook, and his father was Trinidadian businessman Louis Jay Williams (1897 – 1968). Williams's parents were descended from Chinese labourers who came to the Caribbean in the early to mid 1800s. His father was born in Trinidad and would become well known for his business acumen. Louis Jay Williams played a pivotal leadership role in the nation's business development in the 20th century; his many accomplishments included being the first Trinidadian businessman to use local broadcasting stations for advertising purposes and pioneering Trinidad and Tobago's international trade relations, notably establishing the

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

Shipping Service. In 1925, Louis Jay Williams founded L.J Williams Ltd., the company Ronald Jay Williams would eventually lead as

Managing Director A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. Williams spent his early life being educated in his native country, attending Western Boys' Roman Catholic School, Belmont Boys' Intermediate School, and St. Mary's College. He then pursued his undergraduate studies in Canada at the

, where he would meet his wife, Winifred Lownie.

Career

After completing his studies in Canada, Williams returned to Trinidad where he began his career working for his father at L.J Williams Ltd. From 1952 to 1966, he was the Manager of American Life Insurance Company and a director at L.J Williams Ltd. In 1966, he assumed full control of the family company and became Managing Director of L.J Williams Ltd. During this time, Williams also became deeply involved in politics at a crucial point in Trinidad and Tobago's transition from

colony In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the ''metropole, metropolit ...

independent nation Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or Sovereign state, state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independ ...

. In 1958, several islands of the English-speaking

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

attempted to seek autonomous governance through the creation of the West Indies Federation. Based on the

Canadian Confederation Canadian Confederation (french: Confédération canadienne, link=no) was the process by which three British North American provinces, the Province of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick, were united into one federation called the Canada, Dom ...

model, each nation formed its own provincial government while also electing representatives to a unified federal parliament. When the newly formed West Indies Federation held its first election in 1958, Williams represented 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) party and was elected to the

Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation The Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation was the bicameral legislature in West Indies Federation from 1958 to 1962. It was established as the legislative body in the intended federation of British Caribbean. One election was held, in 1 ...

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 of ...

for Port of Spain West. Although the local PNM party did not win the majority of federal constituencies in Trinidad and Tobago, it helped form the federal government as part of the larger

West Indies Federal Labour Party The West Indies Federal Labour Party (WIFLP) or ''Federalists'' was one of two main Federal parties in the short-lived West Indies Federation, the other being the West Indies Democratic Labour Party (DLP) or ''Democrats''. The party was the f ...

lead by Sir Grantley Herbert Adams. Meanwhile, the PNM also controlled the local Legislative Council with Williams's party leader, Eric Williams (no relation), serving as

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Ronald Jay 1928 births 2000 deaths Trinidad and Tobago politicians University of Toronto alumni Recipients of the Hummingbird Medal Members of the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation