Camille Robinson-Regis is a

Trinidadian and Tobagonian 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 smaller islets. The capital city is Port of Spai ...

lawyer and politician, representing the

People's National Movement The People's National Movement (PNM) is the longest-serving and oldest active Politics of Trinidad and Tobago, political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party has dominated national and local politics for much of Trinidad and Tobago's hist ...

. She was first elected as a Member 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 ...

for Arouca South in 1992 and is the current Member of Parliament for Arouca/Maloney. She is the current Attorney General and Minister of legal affairs, appointed on 17 March 2025. She also held the portfolios of Minister of Housing and Urban Development (March 2022 - March 2025) and Minister of Planning and Development, the Lady Vice-Chairman of the People's National Movement, and the Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives.

Early life

Robinson-Regis attended Bishop Anstey High School before studying law at the

University of the West Indies at St. Augustine The University of the West Indies at St. Augustine is a public university, public research institute, research university in St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago. It is one of 5 general campuses in the University of the West Indies system, which a ...

. She holds a

Legal Education Certificate In the Commonwealth Caribbean, a Legal Education Certificate is a professional certification awarded to a person who has completed a course of study and training at a law school established by the Council of Legal Education. It was created by Art ...

from the Norman Manley Law School 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 ...

. She worked as corporate secretary at the National Flour Mills and was

admitted to the bar An admission to practice law is acquired when a lawyer receives a license to practice law. In jurisdictions with two types of lawyer, as with barristers and solicitors, barristers must gain admission to the bar whereas for solicitors there are dist ...

of Trinidad and Tobago in 1985.

Political career

Robinson-Regis is a member of the

(PNM) and was appointed to 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 ...

in 1992. She was appointed Minister of Information on 9 January that year, becoming the youngest senator to be appointed to the cabinet. She became Minister of Consumer Affairs on 25 January 1994, a position she held until 6 October 1995. Robinson-Regis was elected to the

for the constituency of Arouca South on 27 November 1995, a seat she held until 2007. The PNM was returned to government in December 2001 and Robinson-Regis was appointed Minister of Legal Affairs on 26 December. She became Minister of Planning and Development on 10 November 2003 and held that role until 7 November 2007. From 2007 to 2010, Robinson-Regis served as Trinidad and Tobago's High Commissioner to Canada. The PNM was in opposition after 2010 and was appointed a temporary senator for the party on 7 February 2012. She became a full senator on 10 December 2013 and remained in the senate until 17 June 2015. She was returned to the House of Representatives for the Arouca/Maloney constituency in the 7 September 2015 general election. Robinson-Regis was appointed Minister of Planning and Development on 11 September 2015. She has been governor of the

Caribbean Development Bank The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is a development bank that helps Caribbean countries finance social and economic programs in its member countries through loans, grants, and technical assistance. The CDB was established by an Agreement signed ...

since 1 January 2016. She was appointed Minister of Social Development and Family Services on 30 December 2019.

Controversy

Robinson-Regis was accused of using racist rhetoric against Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians. In response to accusations made by the opposition party of her party, the PNM, running a

pedophile ring A child sex ring is a group of adults who are simultaneously involved sexually with multiple minors during the same general time frame. The dynamics of these rings differ from those of more common one-on-one intrafamilial cases in that they are m ...

, Robinson-Regis at a meeting in June 2022 was accused of using the

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 ...

Kamla Persad-Bissessar Kamla Susheila Persad-Bissessar Senior Counsel, SC Member of parliament, MP (, born 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB is a Trinidadian lawyer, politician and educator who has twice served as the sixth List of prime ministers ...

's full name "Kamla Susheila Persad-Bissessar" as a way of mocking her ethnic name in an attempt to race-bait, and ridicule and mock Indo-Trinidadians and Tobagonians to take attention away from the accusations.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson-Regis, Camille Living people People's National Movement politicians Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago) Members of the Senate (Trinidad and Tobago) Government ministers of Trinidad and Tobago University of the West Indies alumni People associated with the Norman Manley Law School Women government ministers of Trinidad and Tobago High commissioners of Trinidad and Tobago to Canada 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago women politicians 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago politicians 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago women politicians 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago politicians Year of birth missing (living people)