Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj SC (; born 16 September 1945) 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 ...

politician.

Early life

Ramesh Maharaj was born to

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 ...

Indo-Trinidadians, Dolly and Nanan Maharaj, on 16 September 1945 in Diamond Village,

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 ...

. Maharaj (B/) has over 50 years experience in the legal profession having been admitted to practice at the

English Bar Barristers in England and Wales are one of the two main categories of lawyer in England and Wales, the other being solicitors. Barristers have traditionally had the role of handling cases for representation in court, both defence and prosecutio ...

in 1967. He has been in private practice as Senior Partner in the chambers of Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj and Company. He has also been admitted to practice as an attorney in

St Vincent and the Grenadines Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, sometimes known simply as Saint Vincent or SVG, is an island country in the eastern Caribbean. It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies, at the south ...

(1990) and

Grenada Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about north of Trinidad and Tobago, Trinidad and the So ...

(1993). He is the author of several publications including a booklet entitled "Rule of Law in Trinidad and Tobago."

Member of Parliament

Maharaj first entered the

Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is composed of the Speake ...

as a Temporary Opposition Senator in August 1991, towards the end of the 3rd Republican Parliament. Later that year, he was elected to 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 ...

in 1991 as the Member for

Couva South Couva South is a parliamentary electoral district in the town of Couva. Couva South consists of the southern part of Couva. It came into effect in time for the 1976 Trinidad and Tobago general election. Members of Parliament This constituency h ...

, where he served as Opposition Chief Whip. In 1995, he contested and won the Couva South seat, and shortly thereafter was appointed Attorney General, a position he held until October 2001, after facing the polls in 2000. He was sworn in as Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs on 19 December in 2000. As Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Mr Maharaj was assigned the responsibility for the Registrar General, Administrator General, Copyright, Patents, Trademarks, Public Trustee, Intellectual Property, Law Reform and Revision, Legislative Drafting and Rent Restriction as well as appointments to Quasi Judicial Bodies. He was also the Official and Provisional Receiver, Provisional Liquidator and Custodian of Enemy Property. In 2007, Maharaj contested and won the

Tabaquite Tabaquite is a town in central Trinidad, north of Rio Claro and west of the Navet Dam The Navet Dam is one of the major reservoirs supplying potable water in Trinidad and Tobago. It is located in Tabaquite, Trinidad and Tobago and is managed by ...

constituency for the UNC-A, and had reprised the role of Chief Whip in the 9th Republican Parliament.

Personal life

Maharaj is the son of Nanan Maharaj and Dolly Nanan Maharaj. Maharaj is married to Lynette Maharaj and is the father of one son and twin daughters. Maharaj is also the brother of incarcerated businessman

Krishna Maharaj Krishna Nanan Maharaj (; 26 January 1939 – 5 August 2024) was a British Trinidadian businessman. In 1987 he was convicted by a Florida, U.S., court of the double murders of Chinese Jamaican businessmen Derrick Moo Young and his adult son Du ...

, who died in a Florida prison in August 2024. He is also the brother of Indra Rambachan (''née'' Maharaj) who is the wife of

National Award winner lawyer Roopnarine Rambachan. Maharaj also leads the Trinidad and Tobago Civil Rights Association. Maharaj is married to Lynette Maharaj who is also a lawyer. Maharaj was raised in a

family, however he later converted to

Presbyterianism 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 ...

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References

External links

* * http://guardian.co.tt/news/politics/2009/01/19/ramesh-what-war {{DEFAULTSORT:Maharaj, Ramesh 20th-century Trinidad and Tobago lawyers Trinidad and Tobago people of Indian descent Trinidad and Tobago politicians of Indian descent Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago) Living people 1945 births Government ministers of Trinidad and Tobago United National Congress politicians Attorneys general of Trinidad and Tobago People from San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago 21st-century Trinidad and Tobago lawyers