George Chambers

George Michael Chambers ( born October 4, 1928 in Port of Spain, Trinidad; † November 4, 1997 ) was a politician and from 1981 to 1986 Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

Political career and Minister

Chambers initially worked for several oil companies in the country. He began his political career in 1956 with the successful candidacy for the House of Representatives. In the following years he was Secretary General of the party People's National Movement ( PNM ). In 1966 he was appointed by the then Prime Minister Eric Eustace Williams as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance. Later he was Minister for Finance, Public Buildings and Housing, National Security, education, trade and industry and for agriculture, lands and fisheries. Even when Williams dismissed him as finance minister, he did not lose the support of the PNM. These elected him as Deputy Chairman of the PNM.

Prime Minister and election defeat

Tenure as Prime Minister

After the suicide of Williams on March 29, 1981 Chambers was appointed the following day by the then President Ellis Clarke as prime minister and elected Chairman of the PNM.

During his tenure, Chambers changed the orientation of the PNM. He himself was not involved in the racial policies of his predecessor, who had in the past led to divisive influences on Trinidad. His policy was also influenced nationalist than socialist. On the one hand he supported any settlement of private enterprises, while on the other hand, maintained the state social welfare programs and state economic sector. Unlike his predecessor, Williams he tried a conference of the Prime Ministers of the Caribbean convened at the overall regional problems of the region to solve. In the parliamentary elections on November 9, 1981 Chambers and the PNM were re-elected by a large majority.

Economic crisis and election defeat in 1986

With begun in the mid-1980s, the end of the oil boom, the Trinidad and Tobago had made in the 1970s to one of the richest countries in the Caribbean, the popularity of Chambers sank. Famous this was his statement, " The party is over, back to work " ( " Fete over back to work" ). After he had proposed during the election campaign to ask for financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF ) to change the economy, the PNM suffered in the parliamentary elections in 1986 a nationwide defeat at the PNM received only 3 of the 36 seats in the House of Representatives. On 18 December 1986 Chambers was replaced by Arthur NR Robinson as Prime Minister. At the same time he handed the post of chairman of the PNM to Patrick Manning. After the election defeat, Chambers withdrew from political life.

As the price of oil crashed within the next two years and the country was already deeply in debt, Robinson took the proposed Chambers of credit of 200 million U.S. dollars to the IMF.