Albert Gomes
1st Chief Minister of Trinidad and Tobago | |
---|---|
In office 18 September 1950 – 28 October 1956 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor | Hubert Rance Edward Beetham |
Opposition Leader | Ashford Sastri Sinanan |
Preceded by | Chief Minister established |
Succeeded by | Eric Williams |
Personal details | |
Born | Alberto Maria Gomes 25 March 1911 Belmont, Port of Spain, Saint George County, Trinidad and Tobago |
Died | 13 January 1978 London, England, United Kingdom | (aged 66)
Political party | Independent (from 1963) |
Other political affiliations | Democratic Labour Party (1957-1963) West Indies Democratic Labour Party (1957-1962) Party of Political Progress Groups (1950-1957) United Front (1946) |
Albert Maria Gomes (25 March 1911 – 13 January 1978) was a
Biography
Albert Gomes was born in
Gomes published The Beacon for three years until his father (who had financed the magazine) forced him to stop. He was installed in a
During the 1940s, Gomes was the President of the Federated Workers Trade Union (FWTU), with Quintin O'Connor as the Secretary. Their success building up the FWTU was critical to the establishment of unionism in Trinidad and Tobago.[1][2]
In 1958, Gomes was elected to the House of Representatives of the short-lived West Indies Federation, representing the district of St. George East.[3]
After independence in 1962 Gomes was subject to heavy criticism by Eric Williams and the PNM. He left Trinidad and Tobago and settled in the United Kingdom. There he worked in local government until he retired in 1976.[4] He died in England two years later, at the age of 66. His achievements are largely unrecognised and he has faded from the popular consciousness of Trinidad and Tobago.
Publications
- 1973: "I Am an Immigrant", in Andrew Salkey (ed.), Caribbean Essays: An Anthology, London: Evans Brothers, pp. 53–59.
- 1974: Through a Maze of Colour (autobiography), Port of Spain: Key Caribbean Publications.
- 1978: All Papa's Children (novel), Surrey: Cairi Publishing House.
- 1978: "Back to 'Banana Bottom'" (from The Beacon, III, 3, October 1933), and "Black Man" (from The Beacon, I, 4, July 1931), in Reinhard W. Sander (ed.), From Trinidad: An Anthology of Early West Indian Writing, Hodder & Stoughton, 1978, pp. 33–35 and 223–26.
References
- ^ Ramdin, Ron (1982). From Chattel Slave to Wage Earner: A History of Trade Unionism in Trinidad and Tobago. London: Martin Brian & O'Keefe. p. 159.
- ^ Brereton, Bridget (1981). A History of Modern Trinidad 1783–1962. Kingston: Heinemann. pp. 185–90.
- ^ West Indies Federal Archives: FWI-PM-GA-115, Issue of Writs By Governor-General for First Federal Elections 1958.
- ^ Reinhard W. Sander (ed.), From Trinidad: An Anthology of Early West Indian Writing, Hodder & Stoughton, 1978, p. 305.
External links
- "Missing in Action", an essay by Jeremy Taylor in Caribbean Beat, Issue 68 (July/August 2004).