Editing Patrick Manning (section)

== Life ==

=== Early career ===
After graduating from the University of the West Indies, Manning worked as a geologist with Texaco Trinidad Ltd., until he ran for Parliament in 1971. Between 1971 and 1978 he served as Parliamentary Secretary in various Ministries before being appointed junior Minister in the Ministry of Finance in the government of [[Eric Williams]].<ref>Associated Press, [https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/world/americas/patrick-manning-former-prime-minister-of-trinidad-and-tobago-dies-at-69.html "Patrick Manning, Former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dies at 69"], ''[[The New York Times]]'', 3 July 2016.</ref> In 1979 he was given the additional position of junior Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister. In 1981 he was given a full Cabinet position of Minister of Information and Minister of Industry and Commerce. Between 1981 and 1986 he served as Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.<ref name="nalis"/>

The 1986 [[Elections in Trinidad and Tobago#1986 general elections|general elections]] saw the ruling PNM suffer an almost total defeat. Only three candidates won their seats; the prime minister, [[George Chambers]], was among the losing candidates. As one of the three successful PNM candidates, Manning was appointed Leader of the Opposition. In 1987, he was elected political leader of the PNM, the youngest the party has seen at only 40 years old. A split in the ruling [[National Alliance for Reconstruction]] in 1988 left the PNM as the minority [[Parliamentary Opposition|Opposition]] party, and, in 1990, [[Basdeo Panday]] requested that he be appointed Leader of the Opposition.<ref name="Meighoo">{{cite book | author=Meighoo, Kirk | author-link=Kirk Meighoo | title=Politics in a Half Made Society: Trinidad and Tobago, 1925–2002 | publisher=Ian Randle Publishers, Kingston, Jamaica | year=2003 |isbn=976-637-079-6}}</ref>

=== First term as prime minister ===
{{main|Manning Administration (1991–1995)}}
Manning led the PNM to victory in the [[1991 Trinidad and Tobago general election|1991 general elections]], and became prime minister.<ref name="N1">[[Dieter Nohlen]] (2005) ''Elections in the Americas: A data handbook, Volume I'', p635 {{ISBN|978-0-19-928357-6}}</ref>

In 1995, Manning called a [[Elections in Trinidad and Tobago#1995 General Elections|general election]] one full year before it was constitutionally due. In this election both the PNM and the UNC won 17 seats each and the NAR won 2 seats. The UNC and the NAR united in a coalition and formed the government; Basdeo Panday replaced Manning as prime minister.

=== Opposition leader ===
Manning served as Leader of the Opposition once again, also losing the [[Elections in Trinidad and Tobago#2000 General Elections|2000 elections]]. The [[Elections in Trinidad and Tobago#2001 General Elections|2001 elections]] ended in a tie, with both the Opposition PNM and the governing [[United National Congress]] winning 18 seats. President [[A. N. R. Robinson]] appointed Manning as prime minister. In addition to prime ministership, Manning was also [[Ministry of Finance (Trinidad and Tobago)|Minister of Finance]] from 2001 to 2007.<ref name="ministers-of-finance">{{Cite web |date=21 February 2014 |title=Former Ministers of Finance – Ministry of Finance, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago |url=http://www.finance.gov.tt/about_us.php?mid=31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221094134/http://www.finance.gov.tt/about_us.php?mid=31 |archive-date=21 February 2014}}</ref>

=== Second term as prime minister ===
{{main|Manning Administration (2001–2010)}}
Unable to elect a Speaker of the House of Representatives, Manning proceeded to rule without Parliament until the need to pass a Budget forced him to call elections in October 2002. His party won this election with 20 seats to 16 for the UNC and formed the new government.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-07-03/four-decades-service-tt |title=Four decades of service to T&T |website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper |access-date=2018-02-28}}</ref>

[[Image:Patrick Manning and Gordon England.jpg|200px|left|thumb|[[United States Deputy Secretary of Defense]] [[Gordon R. England]], left, talks with Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago Patrick Manning during a closed-door meeting inside [[The Pentagon]] 23 June 2008.]]
Under the PNM administration, [[income tax]]es were substantially reduced and the Corporation Tax was  reduced from 35% to 25% of profits for most companies. The Government also instituted free university education. The economy grew a pace, primarily due to high natural gas and oil prices and to significant increases in natural gas production.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/business/feedarticle/8036242 Guardian.co.uk]</ref> In September 2007, Manning received an honorary doctorate from [[Medgar Evers College]], [[CUNY]].{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

In 2007, Manning called for a [[2007 Trinidad and Tobago general election|general election]] to be held on 4 November. The PNM won this election with 26 of the 41 seats and Manning began his third term as prime minister.<ref>{{Cite web|title=IFES Election Guide {{!}} Elections: Trinidad and Tobago Parl Nov 2007|url=https://www.electionguide.org/elections/id/411/|access-date=2022-01-22|website=electionguide.org}}</ref>

Subsequently, the country experienced a slow down in the economy. Despite this the economic ratings of the country came in for high praises mainly from the Standards and Poor report on 15 August 2008 which raised Trinidad and Tobago from an "A−" to an "A". The Government of Trinidad and Tobago also hosted King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia of Spain on 30 November to 2 December 2008. The purpose of the visit was to strengthen the economic ties between Spain, Latin America and the Caribbean and also to open new markets and possibility for increase trading and the opening of new markets. The country also hosted two world summits in 2009: the 5th Summit of the Americas on 17 to 19 April 2009<ref>{{Cite web|title=Fifth Summit of the Americas, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 2009: Background, Expectations, and Results|url=https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R40074.html|access-date=2022-01-22|website=everycrsreport.com|language=en}}</ref> as well as The Commonwealth Heads of Government on 27 to 29 November 2009.<ref>{{Cite web|title=WHO {{!}} MEETING: Commonwealth Heads of Government|url=https://www.who.int/pmnch/media/events/2009/20091127_chogm/en/|access-date=2022-01-22|website=WHO}}</ref>

The Chilean president [[Michelle Bachelet]] paid Prime Minister Manning and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago a visit in 2010. The purpose was to strengthen bilateral ties between the two countries and as a result a formal agreement was signed in an effort to unite the two countries.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

Despite economic growth, crime was considered a serious problem. The number of murders increased sharply from 93 in 1999 to 509 in 2009. Additionally, 2008 saw the country's highest number of murders with 550. The Prime Minister's explanation was that the crime problem was a result of the illegal drug and arms trade. His speech at the 5th summit of the Americas points to the fact that the Caribbean is situated between the narcotic producing South American continent and the narcotic consuming North American continent. Some of his crime detection and prevention methods included the introduction of the Special Anti-Crime Unit of Trinidad and Tobago (SAUTT), two surveillance airships (commonly referred to as blimps), and the inclusion of six high speed off-shore patrol vessels for better control of the country's maritime borders and coastlines on 15 February 2010. Manning was quoted as saying that the country could expect to see a 50% decrease in crime because of this effort.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

===2010 elections===
On 9 April 2010 Prime Minister Manning advised President [[George Maxwell Richards]] to dissolve Parliament resulting in a general election to be held two years sooner than was constitutionally mandated. Manning later announced 24 May 2010 as the date for general elections. Manning and the PNM lost the election to The People's Partnership (UNC, COP, TOP, NJAC, MSJ). Following the defeat, Manning officially resigned as Political Leader of the Party on 27 May 2010 but remained as the Parliamentary Representative for San Fernando East.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

Manning was sent to the Privileges Committee following statements he made in Parliament on 19 November 2010, during a debate on the Interception of Communications Bill. Manning had made certain allegations about the private residence of Prime Minister [[Kamla Persad-Bissessar]] on the San Fernando/Siparia/Erin Road. On 24 November 2010, Speaker of the House Wade Mark ruled that a ''prima facie'' case of contempt or breach of privilege had been made out against Manning and referred the matter to the committee for consideration. Manning was accordingly suspended from the service of the House of Representatives with immediate effect on 16 May 2011, as declared by House Speaker Wade Mark. During this period, Manning wouldn't be able to represent his San Fernando East constituency in Parliament. Manning is the second Prime Minister to be suspended from the House of Representatives in Trinidad and Tobago.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}}

===Illness and death===
On 24 September 2007, Manning went to Cuba for a routine medical evaluation. For many years, he had engaged in a regular exercise program. On 23 January 2012, Manning suffered a stroke. Diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/04/world/americas/patrick-manning-former-prime-minister-of-trinidad-and-tobago-dies-at-69.html|title=Patrick Manning, Former Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Dies at 69|agency=Associated Press|date=2016-07-03|work=The New York Times|access-date=2018-02-28|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> was confirmed on 30 June 2016 and he died at 8:15 AM on 2 July 2016 at the [[San Fernando General Hospital]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.guardian.co.tt/news/2016-07-03/patrick-manning-dies-69|title=Patrick Manning dies at 69|website=The Trinidad Guardian Newspaper|access-date=2018-02-28}}</ref> at age 69.<ref>{{cite news|title=Former Trinidad Prime Minister Patrick Manning dies|url=http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Former-Trinidad-Prime-Minister-Patrick-Manning-dies|access-date=2 July 2016|work=Jamaica Observer|date=2 July 2016|archive-date=3 July 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160703111445/http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/Former-Trinidad-Prime-Minister-Patrick-Manning-dies|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.trinidadexpress.com/20160702/news/patrick-manning-has-died "Patrick Manning has died"], ''[[Trinidad and Tobago Express|Daily Express]]'' (Trinidad and Tobago), 2 July 2016.</ref>