Chief Secretary of Tobago
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Chief Secretary of Tobago of Tobago | |
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since 6 May 2020 | |
Style | Chief Secretary (informal) The Honourable (formal) |
Status | Head of Government |
Abbreviation | CS |
Member of |
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Reports to | Tobago House of Assembly |
Residence | Office of the Chief Secretary |
Seat | Scarborough, Tobago |
Nominator | Tobago House of Assembly |
Appointer | President of Trinidad and Tobago |
Term length | The Chief Secretary is nominated by the Assembly following quadrennial elections to the Assembly or resignation of the previous Chief Secretary |
Formation | 4 December 1980 |
First holder | ANR Robinson AM |
Salary | TT$492,360 per annum[1] |
Website | www |
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The Chief Secretary of Tobago is the leader of the Tobagonian Government.[2] The Chief Secretary chairs the Tobagonian Cabinet and is primarily responsible for the formulation, development and presentation of Tobagonian Government policy. Additional functions of the Chief Secretary include promoting and representing Tobago in an official capacity, at home and abroad, and responsibility for constitutional affairs, as they relate to devolution and the Tobagonian Government.
The Chief Secretary is a Member of the Assembly, and is nominated by the Tobago House of Assembly before bring officially appointed by the President. Members of the Tobagonian Cabinet as well as councilors of the Tobagonian Government are appointed by the Chief Secretary. As head of the Tobagonian Government, the Chief Secretary is directly accountable to the Tobago House of Assembly for their actions and the actions of the Tobagonian Government.
The official office of the Chief Secretary is in Calder Hall Road, Scarborough, Tobago as well as the Tobago House of Assembly on Jermingham Street.
The current Chief Secretary of Tobago is Ancil Dennis of the People's National Movement, in office since May 6, 2020.
Election and term
The Chief Secretary is almost always the leader of the largest party, or the leader of the senior partner in any majority coalition. There is no term of office for a Chief Secretary. In practice, they hold office as long as they retain the confidence of the chamber; indeed, they are required to either resign or seek a parliamentary dissolution (and with it, new elections) if his or her government "no longer enjoys the confidence of the Parliament." Whenever the office of Chief Secretary falls vacant, the President is responsible for appointing the new incumbent; the appointment is formalised at a meeting between the President and the Chief Secretary designate.
If an incumbent Chief Secretary is defeated in a general election, they do not immediately vacate office. The Chief Secretary only leaves office when the Tobago House of Assembly nominates a successor individual.
The period in office of a Chief Secretary is not linked to the term of members of the Tobago House of Assembly. A maximum four-year term is set for each session of Parliament.
Parliament can be dissolved and an extraordinary general election held, before the expiration of the four-year term.
The Chief Secretary, once appointed continues in office as the head of the devolved Tobago House of Assembly until either he or she resigns, is dismissed or dies in office. Resignation can be triggered off by the passage of a Motion of No Confidence in the Chief Secretary or the Tobagonian Government or by rejecting a Motion of Confidence in the Tobago House of Assembly. In those situations, the Chief Secretary must tender their resignation and the resignation of their government to the president. In such circumstances, the Presiding Officer appoints an interim Chief Secretary, until the Tobago House of Assembly determines on a new nominee to be presented to the President for formal appointment.
Nomination and appointment
Candidates for the position of Chief Secretary are nominated by the members of the Tobago House of Assembly from among its assembly members at the beginning of each term. The members elect the nominee for the Chief Secretary by majority vote. If no one is elected by a majority of votes cast with the first set of nominations, the process continues until a majority decide to cast their vote for one candidate. This process does not require an absolute majority of the Assembly (currently 7 out of 12 members).
Once this process has occurred the Presiding Officer shall formally send a letter to the incumbent President who must then appoint that nominee to the position of Chief Secretary.
List of Chief Secretaries of Tobago
Below is a list of office-holders: [3][4][5]
Template:Party name with color box (4) Template:Party name with color box (4) Template:Party name with color box (1) | |||||||||
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No. | Portrait | Title
Chief Secretary (Birth–Death) Office |
Term of office & mandate
Duration in years and days |
Party | Government | Deputy | |||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Action Congress/meta/color; color:black" |1 | ![]() |
A. N. R. Robinson
(1926–2014) AM for Roxborough/Delaford |
4 December 1980 | 16 December 1986 | 1980 | Democratic Action Congress | Robinson I | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Democratic Action Congress/meta/color; color:black" |1 | Jefferson Davidson
(DAC) 1980-1986 (NAR) 1986 |
1984 | Robinson II | ||||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:National Alliance for Reconstruction/meta/color" | | — | National Alliance for Reconstruction | Robinson III | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:National Alliance for Reconstruction/meta/color" | | |||||
6 years, 12 days | |||||||||
rowspan="3" style="background:Template:National Alliance for Reconstruction/meta/color; color:black" |2 | Jefferson Davidson
(c.1938–) AM for Belle Garden/Goodwood |
16 December 1986 | 31 October 1989 | — | National Alliance for Reconstruction | Davidson I | style="background:Template:National Alliance for Reconstruction/meta/color; color:black" |2 | Hochoy Charles
(NAR) | |
1988 | Davidson II | rowspan="4" style="background:Template:National Alliance for Reconstruction/meta/color; color:black" |3 | Benedict Armstrong
(NAR) | ||||||
3 years, 15 days[†] | |||||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:National Alliance for Reconstruction/meta/color; color:black" |3 | Lennox Denoon
(1930–2007) AM for Scarborough/Signal Hill |
1 November 1989 | December 1996 | 1992 | National Alliance for Reconstruction | Denoon | |||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:National Alliance for Reconstruction/meta/color; color:black" |4 | Hochoy Charles
(–) AM for Moriah/Parlatuvier |
December 1996 | 31 January 2001 | 1996 | National Alliance for Reconstruction | Charles | style="background:Template:National Alliance for Reconstruction/meta/color; color:black" rowspan="2" |4 | Cecil Caruth
(NAR) | |
rowspan="5" style="background:Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color; color:black" |5 | Orville London
(1945–) AM for Scarborough/Calder Hall |
1 February 2001 | 26 January 2017 | 2001 | People's National Movement | London I | style="background:Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color; color:black" rowspan="2" |5 | Cynthia Alfred
(PNM) | |
2005 | London II | ||||||||
2009 | London III | style="background:Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color; color:black" |6 | Hilton Sandy
(PNM) | ||||||
2013 | London IV | rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color; color:black" |7 | Tracy Davidson-Celestine
(PNM) | ||||||
15 years, 360 days | |||||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color; color:black" |6 | ![]() |
Kelvin Charles
(1957–) AM for Black Rock/Whim/Spring Garden |
26 January 2017 | 30 April 2020 | 2017 | People's National Movement | Charles | rowspan="6" style="background:Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color; color:black" |8 | Joel Jack
(PNM) |
3 years, 95 days | |||||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color; color:black" |— | Joel Jack (acting) | 30 April 2020 | 6 May 2020 | — | People's National Movement | ||||
6 days | |||||||||
rowspan="2" style="background:Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color; color:black" |7 | Ancil Dennis
(1987–) AM for Buccoo/Mount Pleasant |
6 May 2020 | Incumbent | — | People's National Movement | Dennis | |||
4 years, 114 days |
Timeline of Chief Secretaries
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/om4s2gd6dk32kvdz7n59z26axdumjxc.png)
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Previous nominating elections
Party key | style="background: Template:Tobago Council of the People's National Movement/meta/color" | | PNM |
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Chief Secretary nominative elections | ||||
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Parliamentary term | Date | Candidates | Votes received | |
Tenth Assembly | 6 May 2020 | Ancil Dennis | Nominated by | Sheldon Cunningham |
Seconded by | Hayden Spencer |
Living former Chief Secretaries
There are two living former Tobago Chief Secretaries:
Name | Term of Office | Office | Date of birth | |
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Jefferson Davidson | 1986–1989 | Chairperson of Tobago | c. 1938 | |
Hochoy Charles | 2013–2018 | Chief Secretary of Tobago | ||
Orville London | 1996-2001 | Chief Secretary of Tobago | November 1945 | |
Kelvin Charles | 2017-2020 | Chief Secretary of Tobago | 4 November 1957 | |
Joel Jack (acting) | 2020 | Chief Secretary of Tobago |
See also
References
- ^ "DRAFT ESTIMATES OF THE REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE 2019" (PDF). Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
- ^ "About The Assembly". March 24, 2015.
- ^ https://www.tha.gov.tt/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/update-issue-2.pdf. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
{{cite book}}
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(help) - ^ Pemberton, Rita; McCollin, Debbie; Matthews, Gelien; Toussaint, Michael. Historical dictionary of Trinidad and Tobago (Newition ed.). ISBN 978-1-5381-1146-8. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
- ^ "Trinidad and Tobago". www.worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 12 June 2020.