TT President

 Christine Carla Kangaloo-Seventh President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago

 

My Fellow Citizens…

 

It is March 20th 2023, and Trinidad and Tobago has just installed its Seventh President.

 

The ceremony by which we have done so is the result of the hard work and dedication of a large number of persons, to whom the country owes a tremendous debt this morning. And, the very first thing I should like to do, as I begin this term of the country’s Seventh Presidency, is to say thank you to all the hands that have pulled together to make today’s ceremony happen.

 

I would like to thank, especially, Her Excellency President Paula-Mae Weekes. As new Head of State, I am sure that I am constitutionally authorized to act on behalf of the entire country in thanking President Weekes for her noble and selfless service over the last five years, and I do so unreservedly.

 

But, outside of constitutional entitlements, and simply as a human being, I want to thank President Weekes for the kindness and the empathy that she has shown to me, especially over the past few weeks, in helping me to prepare, not just for today’s ceremony, but also for the term of office that lies before me. Madam President, you have my deepest and my sincere gratitude.

 

Permit me, as well, to express my gratitude to the Electoral College for having elected me to serve as the country’s Seventh Head of State. The feelings which have overwhelmed me since my election, are simply too much to put into words. All that I can do in return is to undertake to strain every muscle to vindicate the College’s confidence in me, and I promise to do so.