Faris Al-Rawi is a Trinidadian and Tobagonian politician. He was the former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago from 2015 to 2022. He was the Member 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 ...

for the constituency of San Fernando West from 2015 to 2025.

Early life

Faris Al-Rawi, was born in San Fernando. He is the son of Husam Al-Rawi and Diane Seukeran. His father is a

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Iraqi

Arab Arabs (, , ; , , ) are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in West Asia and North Africa. A significant Arab diaspora is present in various parts of the world. Arabs have been in the Fertile Crescent for thousands of years ...

, while his mother, a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

Indo-Trinidadian, also represented the San Fernando West constituency in Parliament. His maternal grandfather, Lionel Frank Seukeran, served in Parliament as a member of the Democratic Labour Party, a former opposing party of 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 ...

and predecessor 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 ...

. His maternal great-grandfather was

Pundit A pundit is a person who offers opinion in an authoritative manner on a particular subject area (typically politics, the social sciences, technology or sport), usually through the mass media. The term pundit describes both women and men, altho ...

Seukeran Sharma, a

Hindu priest A Hindu priest may refer to either of the following * A Pujari or an Archaka is a Hindu temple priest. * A Purohita or Pandit officiates and performs rituals and ceremonies, and is usually linked to a specific family or, historically, a dyna ...

, from Tableland,

Princes Town Princes Town (originally founded as Savana Grande) is a town within an eponymous region, located on south-Central Trinidad island in Trinidad and Tobago. The population of the town is 28,335. History Founded as the Amerindian '' Mission of S ...

, Trinidad and Tobago. Al-Rawi was educated at Presentation College, San Fernando, the

University of the West Indies The University of the West Indies (UWI), originally University College of the West Indies, is a public university system established to serve the higher education needs of the residents of 18 English-speaking countries and territories in t ...

and completed a master's degree in law at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

. Al-Rawi claims descent from the Islamic Prophet

Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...

through his Iraqi father, but he is noted for his relaxed religious views and mixed religious background. He has described himself as "the son of an Iraqi

man and a Trinidadian

woman and a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

aternalgrandfather". He is married to Mona Nahous who is a

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

descent. He has also said he has fasted for Divali,

Ramadan Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...

, and

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

and calls himself a "child of God" when asked what his religion was. He has said he has never eaten pork and that alcohol is not for him.

Political career

Al-Rawi entered politics in 1995 as a legal advisor to the Tunapuna – Piarco Regional Corporation. He served as an

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

in the Port of Spain City Corporation between 2003 and 2006 and was appointed an Opposition

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...

in 2010. Al-Rawi contested San Fernando West constituency in the 2015 General Election, beating Raziah Ahmed of the United National Congress. Newly elected Prime Minister

Keith Rowley Keith Christopher Rowley (born 24 October 1949) is a Trinidadian politician who served as the seventh prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 2015 to 2025. He was the leader the People's National Movement (PNM) from 2010 to 2025 and was ...

appointed Al-Rawi as Attorney-General and he served from 2015 to 2022. In the

2025 Trinidad and Tobago general election General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on 28 April 2025 to elect all 41 members of the House of Representatives. President Christine Kangaloo, on the advice of Prime Minister Stuart Young, dissolved parliament and issued the writs ...

, he was unseated by Michael Dowlath from the

(UNC).

Controversy

In October 2016 Al-Rawi's children were photographed in possession of high powered military grade assault rifles. He responded that they were receiving training from the

Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It consists of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, the T ...

in response to unreported death threats. The fact of their training was confirmed by the Defence Force.

Electoral record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawi, Faris Living people University of the West Indies alumni Alumni of King's College London Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago) People's National Movement politicians Attorneys general of Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago people of Iraqi descent Trinidad and Tobago politicians of Indian descent Hashemite people 1971 births People from San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago People educated at Presentation College, San Fernando