Surujrattan Rambachan (born April 14, 1949) is a

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 ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, academic and cultural activist. He was the Works and Infrastructure Minister of Trinidad and Tobago and deputy political leader of the United National Congress Party (UNC) and member of parliament for Tabaquite.

Political career

He previously served as

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilitie ...

Chaguanas The Borough of Chaguanas is the largest municipality (83,489 at the 2011 census) and fastest-growing
– Afr ...

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 ...

and Minister in the Ministry of Industry and Tourism and Ambassador to

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. In 1980 he was a founding member of the

Organisation for National Reconstruction The Organisation for National Reconstruction (ONR) was a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. The party received the second-highest number of votes in the 1981 general elections, but failed to win a seat. Prior to the 1986 elections it merged ...

and served as Deputy Political Leader of that party. He played a key role in the establishment of

Indian Arrival Day Indian Arrival Day is a holiday celebrated on various days in the nations of the Caribbean, Fiji, South Africa and Mauritius, commemorating the arrival of people from India and the wider subcontinent to their respective nations as indentured l ...

as a national celebration in Trinidad and Tobago. He was the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and a Member of Parliament for the constituency of Tabaquite. Rambachan received his instrument of appointment from

George Maxwell Richards George Maxwell Richards (1 December 1931 – 8 January 2018) was a Trinidadian politician who served as the fourth president of Trinidad and Tobago, in office from 2003 to 2013. He was the first president of Trinidad and Tobago and ...

, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on Friday 28 May 2010 after taking the oath of office. Minister Rambachan is an experienced diplomat who served as Ambassador to Brazil during the period 1987 to 1990. He has had a long-standing career in public life and became a founding member of the

in 1980 where he served as Deputy Political Leader of the party. In April 1990 he was appointed as Senator and Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Enterprise and Tourism. He also held the position of Mayor of Chaguanas for six years during the period 2003 to 2009. Rambachan has served as a lecturer with 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 ...

, St Augustine Campus. Rambachan sued Jack Warner for defamation as a result of remarks the latter made at a July 2013 meeting of the Independent Liberal Party. The suit was settled in favor of Rambachan for TT$375,000 in July 2016.

2015 accusations against Inshan Ishmael

In August 2015, Suruj Rambachan publicly accused the owner of the IBN,

Inshan Ishmael Inshan Ishmael came into the public eye with his launching of an Islamic television station in Trinidad and Tobago, the Islamic Broadcast Network, where he hosted a popular talk show, "Breaking Barriers" and for his historic court action against th ...

of targeting him and his family.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rambachan, Surujrattan Living people Members of the Senate (Trinidad and Tobago) Rambachan, Sujurattan Rambachan, Sujurattan Mayors of places in Trinidad and Tobago Ministers of foreign affairs of Trinidad and Tobago Government ministers of Trinidad and Tobago Ambassadors of Trinidad and Tobago to Brazil Organisation for National Reconstruction politicians United National Congress politicians 1949 births Members of the House of Representatives (Trinidad and Tobago)