Kamla Persad-Bissessar

The Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC MP
Persad-Bissessar in 2013
7th Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 September 2015
President	Anthony Carmona Paula-Mae Weekes Christine Kangaloo
Prime Minister	Keith Rowley
Preceded by	Keith Rowley
Other terms In office 25 February 2010 – 25 May 2010 President George Maxwell Richards Prime Minister Patrick Manning Preceded by Basdeo Panday Succeeded by Keith Rowley In office 26 April 2006 – 8 November 2007 President George Maxwell Richards Prime Minister Patrick Manning Preceded by Basdeo Panday Succeeded by Basdeo Panday
6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
In office 26 May 2010 – 9 September 2015
President	George Maxwell Richards Anthony Carmona
Preceded by	Patrick Manning
Succeeded by	Keith Rowley
4th Political Leader of the United National Congress
Incumbent
Assumed office 24 January 2010
Preceded by	Basdeo Panday
Ministerial offices 9th & 11th Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago In office 5 October 2001 – 24 December 2001 Prime Minister Basdeo Panday Preceded by Ramesh Maharaj Succeeded by Glenda Morean In office 27 November 1995 – 2 February 1996 Prime Minister Basdeo Panday Preceded by Keith Sobion Succeeded by Ramesh Maharaj Minister of Education of Trinidad and Tobago In office 22 October 1999 – 4 October 2001 Prime Minister Basdeo Panday Preceded by Adesh Nanan Succeeded by Ganga Singh
Parliamentary offices Member of Parliament for Siparia Incumbent Assumed office 6 November 1995 Preceded by Sahid Hosein Majority 10,141 (51.6%) Opposition Member of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago In office 1 November 1994 – 6 October 1995
International offices Commonwealth Chair-in-Office In office 26 May 2010 – 28 October 2011 Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma Preceded by Patrick Manning Succeeded by Julia Gillard Chairwoman of the Caribbean Community In office 1 July 2013[1] – 31 December 2013[2] Preceded by Michel Martelly[3] Succeeded by Ralph Gonsalves[4]
Local government offices
Personal details
Born	Kamla Susheila Persad[5] (1952-04-22) 22 April 1952 (age 72) Siparia, Colony of Trinidad and Tobago, British Empire
Political party	United National Congress (1994–present)
Other political affiliations	National Alliance for Reconstruction (1987–1994)
Spouse	Gregory Bissessar ​ (m. 1971)​
Children	1
Education	Iere High School Norwood Technical College
Alma mater	University of the West Indies (BA, DipEd, LL.B., EMBA) Hugh Wooding Law School (LEC)
Occupation	Lawyer Politician Educator
Awards	Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2012)

The Hon. Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC MP (pronounced [kəmlɑː prəsɑːd̪-biseːsər] (listen^ⓘ); born Kamla Susheila Persad,^[5] 22 April 1952),^[6] often referred to by her initials KPB, is a Trinidadian lawyer, politician and educator who is the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago, political leader of the United National Congress (UNC) political party, and was the prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 26 May 2010 until 9 September 2015. She was the country's first female prime minister, attorney general, and Leader of the Opposition,^[7][8] the first woman to chair the Commonwealth of Nations^[9] and the first woman of Indian origin to be a prime minister of a country outside of India and the wider subcontinent.

Persad-Bissessar became political leader of the UNC in 2010.^[10] In 2011, Persad-Bissessar was named the thirteenth most influential female leader around the world by Time magazine.^[11]

Persad-Bissessar held the premiership from May 2010 to September 2015, where she was also the leader of the People's Partnership - a political coalition of centre and center-left wing parties that governed the country. Since September 2015, she has been the Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago. After the coalition disbanded in September 2015, following their electoral defeat, Persad-Bissessar attempted to regain power in the August 2020 elections; however, the UNC only managed to increase their seat count by 2 and the popular vote by 20,000. Nonetheless, the PNM under the leadership of Keith Rowley (who later became Trinidad and Tobago's seventh Prime Minister) maintained power and was re-elected, however, with a smaller majority.