The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, also known as the legislature, is the arm of state entrusted with the responsibility of making laws for good governance, and providing oversight of the Government or Executive. Trinidad and Tobago follows the Westminster System of government, in that Members of the Executive are also members of Parliament and thus attend sittings of the legislature.
Speaker of the House Mrs. Bridgid Annisette-George first entered Parliament as a Senator and Attorney General on November 8, 2007 and thus became the third woman to hold this post in the history of Trinidad and Tobago, following Mrs. Kamla Persad-Bissessar and Mrs. Glenda Morean-Phillip. She was elected Speaker of the House of the 11th Parliament on September 23, 2015.
The term “Parliament” in the Trinidad and Tobago setting can mean several things. For most, the term “Parliament” means the building in which members assemble to conduct business. The term also refers to a specific period of time between general elections, so that in Trinidad and Tobago, the 4th Republican Parliament took place between 1991 and 1994, and the 5th Republican Parliament took place between 1995 and 2000. Parliaments between 1962 and 1976 are referred to as Independent Parliaments, since Trinidad and Tobago was Independent, but had not yet attained Republican status.
According to Section 39 of the Constitution of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Parliament consists of the President of the Republic, the Senate, and the House of Representatives.
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