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The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active
political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...
in
Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago, officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean, comprising the main islands of Trinidad and Tobago, along with several List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, smaller i ...
. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's history, contesting all elections since
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
serving as the nation's governing party or on four occasions, the main opposition. It is one out of the country's two main political parties. There have been five PNM
Prime Ministers A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but rat ...
and multiple ministries. The party espouses the principles of
liberalism Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality, the right to private property, and equality before the law. ...
and generally sits at the centre to
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
of the political spectrum. The party was founded in 1956 by
Eric Williams Eric Eustace Williams (25 September 1911 – 29 March 1981) was a Trinidad and Tobago politician. He has been dubbed as the " Father of the Nation", having led the then-British Colony of Trinidad and Tobago to majority rule on 28 October 1956, ...
, who took inspiration from Norman Manley's
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
centre-left Centre-left politics is the range of left-wing political ideologies that lean closer to the political centre. Ideologies commonly associated with it include social democracy, social liberalism, progressivism, and green politics. Ideas commo ...
People's National Party The People's National Party (PNP) (PNP; ) is a Social democracy, social democratic List of political parties in Jamaica, political party in Jamaica, founded in 1938 by Norman Manley, Norman Washington Manley who served as party president unti ...
in
Jamaica Jamaica is an island country in the Caribbean Sea and the West Indies. At , it is the third-largest island—after Cuba and Hispaniola—of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean. Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, west of Hispaniola (the is ...
. It won the 1956 General Elections and went on to hold power for an unbroken 30 years. After the death of Williams in 1981,
George Chambers The Hon. George Michael Chambers ORTT (4 October 1928 – 4 November 1997)
led the party. The party was defeated in the 1986 General Elections, losing 33–3 to the
National Alliance for Reconstruction The National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) was the governing political party, 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 ...
(NAR). Under the leadership of
Patrick Manning Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (17 August 1946 – 2 July 2016) was a Trinidadian politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago twice from 1991 to 1995, and again from 2001 to 2010. A geologist by training, Mannin ...
, the party returned to power in 1991 following the 1990 attempted coup by the Jamaat al-Muslimeen, but lost power in 1995 to the
United National Congress The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago. The UNC is a Centre-left politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unio ...
(UNC). The PNM lost again to the UNC in the 2000 General Elections, but a split in the UNC forced new elections in 2001. These elections resulted in an 18–18 tie between the PNM and the UNC, and President Arthur N. R. Robinson appointed Manning as Prime Minister. Manning was unable to elect a Speaker of the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, but won an outright majority in new elections held in 2002 and again in 2007, before losing power in 2010. It returned to power in the 2015 general election under Keith Rowley where it had its best result since the 1981 general election, winning 51.7 percent of the popular vote and 23 of the 41 seats. In the 2020 general election, they won the popular vote and a majority in the House of Representatives, winning 22 seats. The party symbol is the balisier flower ('' Heliconia bihai'') and the Party's political headquarters is known as the "Balisier House" located in
Port of Spain Port of Spain ( ; Trinidadian and Tobagonian English, Trinidadian English: ''Port ah Spain'' ) is the capital and chief port of Trinidad and Tobago. With a municipal population of 49,867 (2017), an urban population of 81,142 and a transient dail ...
. Historically, the PNM has been supported by a majority of Afro-Trinidadians and Tobagonians and the Creole-
Mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...
population, thus it is colloquially called the ''Black Party'', the ''African Party'', or the ''Creole Party''. The PNM has its strongest support in cities and urban areas. It was also historically supported by different minorities such as the Chinese, Christian Indians (other than Presbyterian Indians), and Muslims of any ethnicity of the country. The PNM's signature policies and legislative decisions include independence, writing the Constitution of Trinidad and Tobago, republicanism, the establishment of the
Tobago House of Assembly The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a unicameralism, unicameral autonomous administrative division, devolved legislature, legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was re-es ...
, the Public Transport Service Corporation, the Water Taxi Service,
universal preschool Universal preschool is an international movement supporting the use of public funding to provide preschool education to all families. This movement is focused on promoting a global, rather than local, preschool program. The goal is to provide equ ...
,
primary Primary or primaries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Primary (band), from Australia * Primary (musician), hip hop musician and record producer from South Korea * Primary Music, Israeli record label Work ...
and
secondary education Secondary education is the education level following primary education and preceding tertiary education. Level 2 or ''lower secondary education'' (less commonly ''junior secondary education'') is considered the second and final phase of basic e ...
,
universal health care Universal health care (also called universal health coverage, universal coverage, or universal care) is a health care system in which all residents of a particular country or region are assured access to health care. It is generally organized a ...
, criminalizing
child marriage Child marriage is a practice involving a marriage or domestic partnership, formal or informal, that includes an individual under 18 and an adult or other child.* * * * Research has found that child marriages have many long-term negative co ...
and decriminalizing
cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae that is widely accepted as being indigenous to and originating from the continent of Asia. However, the number of species is disputed, with as many as three species be ...
. The PNM has been in opposition since the 2025 general election. They had previously been in government since the 2015 general election, when the party held an overall majority of 22 out of 41 Members of Parliament in the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
and 16 out of 31 members of the
Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
. The party has 72 out of the 139 local councillors and is in control of seven of the 14 regional corporations since the 2019 Trinidadian local elections. The party also has one out of 12 assembly members in the
Tobago House of Assembly The Tobago House of Assembly (THA) is a unicameralism, unicameral autonomous administrative division, devolved legislature, legislative body responsible for the island of Tobago within the unitary state of Trinidad and Tobago. The THA was re-es ...
since the December 2021 Tobago House of Assembly elections. Despite not being a socialist party, the PNM was a member of the
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing economic and political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-mana ...
West Indies Federal Labour Party in the Federal Parliament of the West Indies Federation from 1957 to 1962. The party includes a semi-autonomous Tobagonian branch known as the Tobago Council of the People's National Movement. As of September 2018, the PNM has 100,000+ registered members.


Rise to power

When Eric Williams returned to Trinidad in 1948 he set about developing a political base. Between 1948 and 1955 he delivered a series of political lectures, under the auspices of the Political Education Movement (PEM) a branch of the Teachers Education and Cultural Association. Naparima College is one of the locations at which such lectures were delivered. On 15 January 1956 Williams launched the PNM. In the 1956 General Elections the PNM captured 13 of the 24 elected seats in the
Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...
with 38.7% of the votes cast. In order to secure an outright majority in the Legislative Council Williams managed to convince the Secretary of State for the Colonies to allow him to name the five appointed members of the council (despite the opposition of the
Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Sir Edward Betham Beetham). This gave him a clear majority in the Legislative Council. Williams was thus elected Chief Minister and was also able to get all seven of his ministers elected. In the 1958 Federal Elections (which the PNM contested as part of the West Indies Federal Labour Party), it won four of the 10 Trinidad and Tobago seats with 47.4% of the vote. The Opposition, Democratic Labour Party won the other six seats.


Independence era

In the 1961 General Elections the PNM won 20 of 30 seats with 58% of the vote. With the collapse of the West Indian Federation, the PNM led Trinidad and Tobago to independence on 31 August 1962. In the 1966 General Elections the PNM won 24 of 36 seats, with 52% of the vote. However, economic and social discontent grew under PNM rule. This came to a climax in April 1970 with the Black Power Revolution. On 13 April, PNM Deputy Leader and Minister of External Affairs A. N. R. Robinson resigned from the party and government. On 20 April, facing a revolt by a portion of the Army in collusion with the growing
Black Power Black power is a list of political slogans, political slogan and a name which is given to various associated ideologies which aim to achieve self-determination for black people. It is primarily, but not exclusively, used in the United States b ...
movement, Williams declared a
State of Emergency A state of emergency is a situation in which a government is empowered to put through policies that it would normally not be permitted to do, for the safety and protection of its citizens. A government can declare such a state before, during, o ...
. By 22 April, the mutineers had begun negotiations for surrender. Following this certain ministers were forced to resign including John O'Halloran, Minister of Industry and Gerard Montano, Minister of Home Affairs. In the 1971 General Elections the PNM faced only limited opposition as the major opposition parties boycotted the election citing the use of voting machines. The PNM captured all 36 seats in the election, including eight that they carried unopposed. Additionally, Williams split the post of Deputy Leader into three and appointed Kamaluddin Mohammed, Errol Mahabir and
George Chambers The Hon. George Michael Chambers ORTT (4 October 1928 – 4 November 1997)
to the position. In 1972, J. R. F. Richardson crossed the floor and declared himself an Independent. He was subsequently appointed
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...
. He was soon joined by another MP, Dr. Horace Charles. In 1973, the PNM faced a major crisis. On 28 September Williams announced that he would not stand for re-election. This led to a race to succeed him as Political Leader of the party. By 18 November 250 of 476 registered party groups had submitted nominations, 224 of them for
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
Karl Hudson-Phillips and 26 for Minister of Health, Kamaluddin Mohammed. Williams announced on 2 December that he would return as Political Leader and Hudson-Phillips was forced out of the party.


Decline and fall

In 1976 the PNM won 24 of 36 seats with 54% of the vote. In March 1978, Hector McClean, Minister of Works, resigned from the party and government and declared himself an independent MP. On 29 March 1981, Eric Williams died. Williams had maintained an iron grip over the party and forced all potential rivals out of the party. In the absence of a clear successor, President Ellis Clarke was left to choose the new Prime Minister from among the three Deputy Political Leaders of the party. Clarke appointed
George Chambers The Hon. George Michael Chambers ORTT (4 October 1928 – 4 November 1997)
Prime Minister in preference to Kamaluddin Mohammed and Errol Mahabir. Chambers was subsequently elected as Political Leader of the PNM and led the party to victory in the 1981 General Elections. The PNM won 26 of 36 seats and 52% of the vote. It subsequently held on to power until 1986 when it was defeated by the
National Alliance for Reconstruction The National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR) was the governing political party, 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 ...
(NAR) under the leadership of A. N. R. Robinson. The PNM won three of 36 seats, with 32% of the vote. Chambers resigned and was succeeded by
Patrick Manning Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (17 August 1946 – 2 July 2016) was a Trinidadian politician who served as the fourth prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago twice from 1991 to 1995, and again from 2001 to 2010. A geologist by training, Mannin ...
as Political Leader.


Manning and the PNM re-invented

When Manning became leader he promised a "new PNM" and purposely ignored the discredited old guard. He appointed Wendell Mottley, Keith Rowley and Augustus Ramrekersingh as his deputy leaders. The PNM was returned to power in the 1991 elections after the NAR self-destructed. In the 1991 election it won 21 of 36 seats with 45% of the vote. However, in the latter half of that term the party became unstable. It lost one seat in a by-election and another when Ralph Maraj defected to the
United National Congress The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago. The UNC is a Centre-left politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unio ...
. The issue that led Maraj to defect was the declaration of a limited State of Emergency which sole purpose was to remove Occah Seepaul (Maraj's sister) as Speaker of the House of Representatives. The party also suffered a loss of support with the death Minister of Public Utilities, Morris Marshall, a favourite of the party grassroots. Attempting to halt the decline in party support Manning called an early "snap election" in 1995 . Many party front-benchers did not seek reelection including Finance Minister Wendell Mottley. The party lost the 1995 General Elections winning 17 of 36 seats with 48% of the vote. The
United National Congress The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago. The UNC is a Centre-left politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unio ...
(UNC) under the leadership of
Basdeo Panday Basdeo Panday (; 25 May 1933 – 1 January 2024) was a Trinidadian statesman, lawyer, politician, trade unionist, economist, and actor who served as the fifth List of Prime Ministers of Trinidad and Tobago, prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago ...
also won 17 seats and formed a coalition government with the National Alliance for Reconstruction which had won the remaining two seats. The PNM was further weakened when two MPs resigned from the party and threw their support behind the UNC government. This led to numerous calls for Manning to resign the party leadership, and for calls for Mottley to replace him. Manning declined to resign and Mottley appeared to have taken a sabbatical from politics. When leadership elections were held in 1997 Manning was challenged by Keith Rowley. Manning was returned as Political Leader. In 2000 the PNM suffered another defeat, winning 16 of 36 seats with 46% of the vote. Another election was held in 2001 which resulted in a tie with both the PNM and UNC winning 18 seats, the PNM with 46% of the electoral vote and the UNC with 50%. However President Arthur N.R. Robinson appointed Manning as Prime Minister on the basis of "moral and spiritual grounds". (In Trinidad and Tobago's elections, the number of seats needed to occupy the lower house is really the best indicator of whether or not a party would win elections). Unable to elect a Speaker, Manning advised the President to prorogue Parliament. On 7 October 2002
General Elections A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. General elections ...
were held in which the PNM won 50.7% of popular votes and 20 out of 36 seats.


In government (2015-2025)

The PNM won a majority government in the 2015 Trinidad and Tobago general election. On 9 September 2015, Keith Rowley was sworn in as the new Prime Minister, following the
election An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold Public administration, public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative d ...
victory of the PNM. In August 2020, the governing PNM won the following
general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...
, leading to the incumbent Prime Minister Keith Rowley serving a second term. He resigned in March 2025 and was succeeded by Stuart Young. He led the party into the 2025 Trinidad and Tobago general election. In the election the party was defeated by the
United National Congress The United National Congress ( UNC or UNCTT) is one of two major political parties in Trinidad and Tobago. The UNC is a Centre-left politics, centre-left party. It was founded in 1989 by Basdeo Panday, a Trinidadian lawyer, economist, trade unio ...
.


Leaders of the People's National Movement

The political leaders of the People's National Movement have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics): Key:

''PM'':
Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

''LO'':
Leader of the Opposition The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the Opposition (parliamentary), largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the ...

†: Died in office


Deputy leaders of the People's National Movement

The deputy political leaders of the People's National Movement have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics):


Tobago Council leaders

The deputy political leaders who additionally served as the political leaders of the Tobago Council of the People's National Movement have been as follows (any acting leaders indicated in italics): Key:

''MaL'': Majority Leader
''MiL'': Minority Leader


PNM Leadership Executive Committee


Youth Arm


Women's Arm


Tobago Council of the People's National Movement

Tobago has its own PNM party with separate memberships, constituency associations, executives, offices and a political leader.


Election results


House of Representatives


West Indies


Corporations


Tobago House of Assembly


See also

* 2022 People's National Movement leadership election * 2020 Tobago Council of the People's National Movement leadership election


References


External links

*
PNM Website
(archived)
Vision PNM
(archived)
PNM Abroad
(archived) {{Authority control 1955 establishments in the British Empire Liberal parties in North America Political parties established in 1955 Political parties in Trinidad and Tobago Social liberal parties Non-interventionist parties