Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (born August 17, 1946) is the current Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Trinidad and Tobago and Political Leader of the People's National Movement (PNM). He served as Prime Minister between 17 December 1991 to 9 November 1995 and since 24 December 2001, as Leader of the Opposition from 1986 to 1990 and from 1995 to 2001. He has been the Political Leader of the PNM since 1987. A geologist by training, Manning has served as Member of Parliament for the San Fernando East constituency since 1971 and is currently the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives.
Manning received his secondary education at Presentation College, San Fernando Bachelor's Degree from the University of the West Indies in Mona, Jamaica in 1969. After graduation he returned to Trinidad where he worked as a geologist for Texaco. He entered Parliament in 1971 representing the San Fernando East constituency.
After graduating from the University of the West Indies, Manning worked as a geologist with Texaco Trinidad Ltd., until he ran for Parliament in 1971. Between 1971 and 1978 he served as Parliamentary Secretary in various Ministries before being appointed junior Minister in the Ministry of Finance. In 1979 he was given the additional position of junior Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister. In 1981 he was given a full Cabinet position of Minister of Information and Minister of Industry and Commerce. Between 1981 and 1986 he served as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
The 1986 General Elections the ruling PNM suffered an almost total defeat. Only three candidates won their seats; the Prime Minister, George Chambers was among the losing candidates. As one of the three successful PNM candidates, Manning was appointed Leader of the Opposition. In 1987 he was elected Political Leader of the PNM. A split in the ruling National Alliance for Reconstruction in 1988 left the PNM as the minority Opposition party, and in 1990 Basdeo Panday requested that he be appointed Leader of the Opposition.
Second term as Prime Minister
In 1995 Mr. Manning called a General Election one full year before it was constitutionally due. The PNM was defeated in this election, and Basdeo Panday replaced Manning as Prime Minister. Mr. Manning served as Leader of the Opposition once again, also losing the 2000 elections. The 2001 elections ended in a tie, with both the Opposition PNM and the governing United National Congress winning 18 seats. A. N. R. Robinson appointed Manning Prime Minister. Unable to elect a Speaker of the House of Representatives, Manning proceeded to rule without Parliament until the need to pass a Budget forced him to call elections in October 2002. His party won this election with 20 seats to 16 for the UNC and formed the new government.
Under the current PNM administration income taxes have been substantially reduced and Corporation Tax has been reduced from 35% to 25% of profits for most companies. The Government has also re-instituted free university education and founded a new University of Trinidad & Tobago. The economy is currently booming, primarily due to high natural gas and oil prices and to significant increases in natural gas production. Unemployment is currently at historic low levels, with many jobs being created in the construction industry. However, violent crimes such as murders, rapes and kidnappings, rose sharply between 2002 and 2006, leading to widespread public dissatisfaction with the Government's ability to address crime. Over the past year the murder and reported kidnapping rates have declined, though are still at high-levels by international standards. There are also two members of his political party, that are sitting Members of Parliament, who are currently on corruption charges, and a senior member of his Cabinet who is being investigated by the Integrity Commission for alleged corruption. |
