On 15 February 2013, the Electoral College of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago elected Mr. Justice Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona S.C., as the Fifth President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. In 2002, he was conferred the status of Senior Counsel. In 2004, he was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of Trinidad and Tobago and subsequently, a Judge of the International Criminal Court.

Early life and education

Anthony Carmona is the eldest of six children to parents Dennis Stephen and Barbara Carmona. He was born on 7 March 1953, in Fyzabad, Trinidad and Tobago. He attended the Santa Flora Government Primary School and went on to Presentation College, San Fernando, where he received his secondary school education.

In 1977, Mr. Carmona obtained a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Degree, in English and Political Science, at Mona Jamaica and in 1981, a Bachelor of Laws (Hons), at Cave Hill, Barbados, both from the University of the West Indies (UWI). In 1983, Mr. Carmona was called to the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago.

Career

In 1989, he became a Senior State Attorney. From 1994 to 1999, he was first Assistant, then Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions and acted as Director of Public Prosecutions. From 2001 to 2004, he was an Appeals Counsel at the Office of the Prosecutor, at the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, and in The Hague and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, in Arusha. In this capacity, he successfully prosecuted appeals of persons convicted of crimes within the jurisdiction of the Tribunals, namely, generals, camp commanders, soldiers and politicians.

On 12 December 2011, he was elected a Judge of the International Criminal Court. He won the Office, in the first ballot, in the Assembly of States Parties election, gaining the required 2/3 majority. He was sworn in as a Judge of the International Criminal Court (ICC), on 9 March 2012.

In addition to his distinguished legal profession, President Carmona has a wealth of experience as an educator, both in Trinidad and Tobago and in Jamaica, where he was a teacher at the primary and secondary school levels, between 1972 and 1975, first at St. Hugh’s High School and Merle Grove High School, Kingston, Jamaica; then in Trinidad and Tobago, at Palo Seco Government Secondary and Fyzabad Anglican Secondary Schools. At the tertiary level, he was a Lecturer, (1983–1985), at San Fernando Technical Institute, in Business Law and a National Examiner in Business Law; a Lecturer in the Department of Language and Linguistics and a Senior Tutor in the Department of Government, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago, for approximately four (4) years.

On 18 March 2013, Mr. Justice Anthony Thomas Aquinas Carmona, S.C., took the oath as the Fifth President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, at an Inaugural Ceremony, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium, Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago.

Carmona demitted office on 19 March 2018.

Personal Life

His Excellency is married to First Lady Reema Carmona and they have a son, Christian and a daughter, Anura.