Christine Carla Kangaloo, O.R.T.T. became the seventh President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on March 20, 2023.
Born on December 1, 1961, in San Fernando, Her Excellency is the fifth of seven children of Carlyle and Barbara Kangaloo. Her Excellency attended Grant Memorial Presbyterian Primary School and St. Joseph’s Convent, San Fernando. She graduated with Honours in Law from the University of the West Indies in 1983 and obtained her Legal Education Certificate from the Hugh Wooding Law School in 1985, the same year she was admitted to practice law.
Having qualified as a practicing attorney, Her Excellency worked in her father’s law practice from 1985 to 1992, and briefly again between 1996 to 1998. Her Excellency also worked at an established law firm in San Fernando between 1988 to 2005. With the exception of those two (2) experiences in the private sector, Her Excellency’s working life has been all about public service.
Her Excellency’s public service career began in 1992, when she entered the Judiciary as an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court. It continued in the way of Parliamentary service, which began in 2001 when Her Excellency was appointed an Opposition Senator. Her Excellency subsequently served as Vice President of the Senate (2002), Government Senator and Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister (2002–2005), Minister of Legal Affairs (2005–2007), and Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education (2007–2010). From 2007 to 2010, Her Excellency also served as the Member of Parliament for Pointe-a-Pierre. In 2015, Her Excellency was elected President of the Senate and, during this time, acted as President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago on thirty-three occasions. Her Excellency is the first person to have held the posts of Vice President and President of the Senate before becoming President.
Her Excellency’s long and varied career in public life has given her a unique and a comprehensive appreciation of the system and the mechanics of government, of public service, and of the needs of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago.
Her Excellency’s Presidency is built on her formidable foundation of public service and her unique and varied experiences in that sphere. With the benefit of Her Excellency’s singular experiences and exposure, Her Excellency, in her address to the nation on the occasion of her inauguration as President, pledged to demystify and increase public awareness —especially among the youth— about the role of the President, and to make the Office of the President more accessible. To this end, Her Excellency has visited over 40 schools across Trinidad and Tobago to educate students about the Presidency, a mission which Her Excellency is still actively carrying out. Her Excellency envisions President’s House as a space for cultural, intellectual, and artistic exploration, and has successfully advocated for the recognition of the steel pan as the national instrument of Trinidad and Tobago. Her Excellency also pledged during her inaugural address to advocate for the widespread adoption of the ‘Panyard Model’ as a means of introducing discipline and the structure into the lives of our nation’s youth. True to that pledge, each year since 2024, Her Excellency has put on a ‘Pan Camp’, based on the ‘Panyard Model’, for young persons who have never previously played the instrument, and who come together for a week at President’s House to learn how to do so, and to learn life skills in general. In keeping with her pledge to make the Office of the President more accessible, Her Excellency also regularly hosts concerts in the Band Stand adjacent to President’s House, which are open to members of the public and which showcase not only the steelband, but all aspects of the country’s culture. In addition, Her Excellency has launched ‘Storytime’ at President’s House to promote literacy and confidence among children; and Her Excellency hosts numerous school tours and cultural and religious events at President’s House.
Her Excellency is committed to advocating for better arrangements for all of our citizens. To this end, Her Excellency, during her address at her inauguration, pledged to be our country’s ‘Diplomat-In-Chief’, and to make her case for a better Trinidad and Tobago firmly, but without acrimony or bitterness. Her Excellency does not subscribe to the view that her words need to be shouted in the public square; Her Excellency believes that there is already too much shouting going on in our country today. Her Excellency believes instead that we all need to be calmer and more reflective. In this regard, Her Excellency is committed to leading by example.
Nevertheless, Her Excellency guards jealously the independence of the office of President and is fiercely committed to protecting the office and to ensuring that it is shown the respect that is required to be accorded to it, as the highest office in the land.
Her Excellency is a cancer survivor and is married to Mr. Kerwyn Garcia S.C., First Gentleman of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.
