Basdeo Panday

The Honourable Basdeo Panday
बसदेव पाण्डे
Panday in 2008
5th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
In office 9 November 1995 – 24 December 2001
President	Noor Mohamed Hassanali A. N. R. Robinson
Preceded by	Patrick Manning
Succeeded by	Patrick Manning
Senior political offices 4th Leader of the Opposition of Trinidad and Tobago In office 17 December 2007 – 24 February 2010 Prime Minister Patrick Manning Preceded by Kamla Persad-Bissessar Succeeded by Kamla Persad-Bissessar In office 17 October 2002 – 23 April 2006 Prime Minister Patrick Manning Preceded by Patrick Manning Succeeded by Kamla Persad-Bissessar In office 10 September 1990 – 8 November 1995 Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson Patrick Manning Preceded by Patrick Manning Succeeded by Patrick Manning In office 24 September 1976 – 29 October 1986 Prime Minister George Chambers Eric Williams Preceded by Raffique Shah Succeeded by Patrick Manning 1st and 3rd Political Leader of the United National Congress In office 10 September 2006 – 24 January 2010 Preceded by Winston Dookeran Succeeded by Kamla Persad-Bissessar In office 16 October 1988 – 2 October 2005 Preceded by Inaugural holder Succeeded by Winston Dookeran
Ministerial offices 9th Minister of Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago In office 12 January 1987 – 8 February 1988 Prime Minister A. N. R. Robinson Preceded by Errol Mahabir Succeeded by Sahadeo Basdeo Minister of National Security of Trinidad and Tobago In office 25 January 2001 – 24 December 2001 Prime Minister Basdeo Panday Preceded by Joseph Theodore Succeeded by Howard Chin Lee
Parliamentary offices Member of Parliament for Couva North In office 13 September 1976 – 24 May 2010 Preceded by Constituency Created Succeeded by Ramona Ramdial Opposition Member of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago In office 15 Sep 1972 – 19 Jun 1976
Personal details
Born	(1933-05-25)25 May 1933 Coonook, St. Julien, Princes Town, Trinidad and Tobago
Died	1 January 2024(2024-01-01) (aged 90) Jacksonville, Florida, U.S.
Political party	United National Congress (from 1989; nominally) Patriotic Front (from 2020)
Other political affiliations	CLUB '88 (1988–1989) National Alliance for Reconstruction (1986–1988) United Labour Front (1975–1986) Workers and Farmers Party (1965–1966) Democratic Labour Party (1957–1965; 1966–1976)
Spouse(s)	Norma Mohammed (died 1981) Oma Ramkissoon
Relatives	Sam Boodram (brother-in-law)
Education	Presentation College, San Fernando
Alma mater	University of London (BS) Inns of Court School of Law Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Occupation	Politician lawyer actor economist
Awards	Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2005)
Nickname	The Silver Fox[1]

Basdeo Panday (pronounced [bɑːsəd̪eːoː pɑːⁿɖeː]; 25 May 1933 – 1 January 2024) was a Trinidadian and Tobagonian statesman, lawyer, politician, trade unionist, economist, and actor who served as the fifth Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago from 1995 to 2001. He was the first person of Indian descent along with being the first Hindu to hold the office of Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.^[2][3] He was first elected to Parliament in 1976 as the Member for Couva North, Panday served as Leader of the Opposition four times between 1976 and 2010 and was a founding member of the United Labour Front (ULF), the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR), and the United National Congress (UNC). He served as leader of the ULF and UNC, and was President General of the All Trinidad Sugar and General Workers' Trade Union from 1973 to 1995.

He was the chairman and party leader of the United National Congress. In 2006, Panday was convicted of failing to declare a bank account in London and imprisoned; however, on 20 March 2007, that conviction was quashed by the Court of Appeal. On 1 May he decided to resign as chairman of the United National Congress, but the party's executive refused to accept his resignation. He lost the party's internal elections on 24 January 2010, to deputy leader and future prime minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

In 2005, he was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs.