Arthur Napoleon Raymond RobinsonSCOCCTC (16 December 1926 – 9 April 2014; known as A. N. R. or "Ray" Robinson), was a Trinidadian politician who was the third president of the country, serving from 19 March 1997 to 17 March 2003. He was also Trinidad and Tobago's third prime minister, serving in that capacity from 18 December 1986 to 17 December 1991. He is recognized for his proposal that eventually led to the founding of the International Criminal Court.
Robinson was the first active politician to be elected to the presidency, and was the first presidential candidate who was not elected unopposed (the Opposition People's National Movement nominated Justice Anthony Lucky as its candidate for president). President Robinson sparked controversy in his term in office when he refused to appoint certain senators recommended by Prime Minister Basdeo Panday following the elections in 2000 and in 2001 when he appointed the Leader of the OppositionPatrick Manning to the position of prime minister after a tied election.
After the 1971 election, the Action Committee of Dedicated Citizens became the Democratic Action Congress which won both Tobago seats in the 1976 General Elections. As leader as the DAC, Robinson worked for internal self-government for Tobago, culminating in the passage of the Tobago House of Assembly Act in 1980. Robinson resigned from Parliament to contest the Tobago House of Assembly elections, and became the Chairman of the Assembly following victory by the DLP.[5] He had also proposed the idea of the International Court.
ANR Robinson went on to become prime minister through the National Alliance For Reconstruction. Shortly after assuming the position, he dismissed Basdeo Panday, Kelvin Ramnath, Trevor Sudama and John Humphrey from the Cabinet. However, Robinson subsequently lost the 1991 elections. He rejoined the UNC Administration as a coalition member representing the NAR. Panday later offered to nominate him to become the next President of Trinidad and Tobago.
Robinson was instrumental in the creation of the International Criminal Court. In 1989, he asked Benjamin Ferencz and Robert Kurt Woetzel to assist in drafting a proposal for the UN General Assembly to ask the UN's International Law Commission to study the possibility of creating the International Criminal Court. The resolution was presented on behalf of Trinidad and Tobago at the UN General Assembly in June 1989, leading to the adoption of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in July 1998 and creation of the International Criminal Court on 1 July 2002.
Jamaat al Muslimeen coup attempt
During the 1990 coup d'état attempt by the Jamaat al Muslimeen, Robinson and much of his cabinet were held hostage for six days by gunmen under the leadership of Yasin Abu Bakr. When instructed to order the army to stop firing on the Red House, where they were held hostage, Robinson instead instructed them to "attack with full force," an action which led to him getting beaten by his captors. He was also shot in his leg.[7]
Illness and death
Robinson suffered from a number of ailments including a stroke and prostate complications and was hospitalised at St. Clair Medical Hospital after he complained of feeling ill.[8] Following an illness of several months, he died at St. Clair Medical Centre at about 6:00 am on 9 April 2014.[6] In reaction, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar said that he was "one of our nation's outstanding sons...but the legacy he leaves behind shall surely live on to inspire today's and tomorrow's generations."
Honours
In 1997 Robinson was awarded the Trinity Cross, at that time the highest order of Trinidad and Tobago.[9]
During the investiture of President Thomas Boni Yayi of Benin as a titled Yorubachieftain on 20 December 2008, the reigning Ooni of Ile-Ife, Nigeria, Olubuse II, referred to President Robinson and his wife as previous recipients of the same royal honour.[10]
^ ab"Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson". Biographies. Nalis: Trinidad and Tobago National Library and Information System Authority. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 10 April 2014.
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