Ralph Maraj is a Trinidad and Tobago politician, playwright and teacher. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs under a People's National Movement (PNM) administration, Minister of Communication and Information Technology under a United National Congress (UNC) administration, and was a founding member of National Team Unity before returning to the PNM to work as a speech writer for Prime Minister Patrick Manning. Prior to entering politics in 1991, Maraj worked as a teacher at Naparima College in San Fernando. He also attended that school. He wrote several plays, the most successful being Cynthia Sweetness. Maraj also starred in the movie Bim, described by Bruce Paddington as "one of the most important films to be produced in Trinidad and Tobago". The Peoples National Movement is the ruling conservative political party in Trinidad and Tobago. ... The United National Congress is one of the major political organisations of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. ... National Team Unity is a political party in Trinidad and Tobago led by Human Rights lawyer and former Attorney General Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj. ... A prime minister may be either: the chief or leading member of the cabinet of the top-level government in a country having a parliamentary system of government; or the official, in countries with a semi-presidential system of government, appointed to manage the civil service and execute the directives... Patrick Augustus Mervyn Manning (born August 17, 1946) is the current Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Trinidad and Tobago. ... 1991 is a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Naparima College, San Fernando, founded 1894 is the oldest secondary school in Trinidad and Tobago. ... The City of San Fernando is one of the two cities which exist in the twin island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. ...

Maraj entered politics in 1991. He won the San Fernando West seat in the 1991 General Elections on a PNM ticket. Maraj served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from December 1991 until May 7, 1995 when Prime Minister Manning announced in a television address that he was demoting Maraj to Minister Without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister. Maraj claimed that this was the first he heard of this shift in his Ministerial duties. Later that year Maraj's sister, Occah Seapaul, Speaker of the House of Representatives, was removed from the position following a power struggle with Manning. After Seapaul's removal, Maraj defected from the PNM and joined the Opposition UNC. This reduced the PNM to an almost unworkable one-seat majority in Parliament. Manning was forced to call a General Election which he lost. Maraj contested the Naparima constituency on a UNC ticket and won. Maraj was re-elected to that seat in the 2000 General Election. In the subsequent UNC administration Maraj served as Minister of Communication and Information Technology until he resigned from the party together with Ramesh Maharaj and Trevor Sudama late in 2001. This defection cost the UNC its majority in Parliament. In the subsequent General Election, the UNC lost control of government, but Maraj lost his seat to newcomer Nizam Baksh. Elections in Trinidad and Tobago gives information on election and election results in Trinidad and Tobago. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The House of Representatives is the elected Lower House of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago. ... The Parliamentary Opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. ... Elections in Trinidad and Tobago gives information on election and election results in Trinidad and Tobago. ... Ramesh Lawrence Maharaj, a human rights lawyer, and former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago, is the leader of National Team Unity, a political party in Trinidad and Tobago. ... 2001 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Elections in Trinidad and Tobago gives information on election and election results in Trinidad and Tobago. ...

References

• Meighoo, Kirk. 2003. Politics in a Half Made Society: Trinidad and Tobago, 1925-2002 ISBN 1558763066
• Paddington, Bruce. 2004. Bim, Bim, Sink or Swim... (http://www.meppublishers.com/online/caribbean-beat/archive/article.php?issue=70&id=cb70-1-68) Caribbean Beat. 70 (November/December 2004)