The President of the Senate presides over the sittings of the Senate and acts as Chairman of Committees of the whole Senate. He interprets the Standing Orders and has the power to regulate the conduct of business in all matters not provided for in the Standing Orders. The President of the Senate also acts temporarily as President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago where the office is vacant or when the President is incapable of performing his functions of President by reason of his absence from Trinidad and Tobago or by reason of illness.
The President of the Senate is fourth in the Order of Precedence of Trinidad and Tobago.
Senator the Honourable Nigel de Freitas
In 2015, Mr. Nigel de Freitas was appointed a Government Senator and subsequently elected Vice-President of the Senate of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, making him the youngest person to ever hold the position of Vice-President, at age 36 years, in the Trinidad and Tobago Parliament.
Following the General Election in 2020, Senator de Freitas, was again appointed a Senator and elected Vice-President in the 12th Republican Parliament.
On March 16, 2022, Senator de Freitas was given a new assignment when he was appointed to the position of Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture Lands and Fisheries, where he served for ten (10) months. On January 18, 2023, at the 10th Sitting of the Senate, Senator Nigel de Freitas was elected President of the Senate, in the 12th Republican Parliament.
Senator the Honourable Nigel de Freitas, attended Bishops High School, in Tobago, the sister isle, and continued his education at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada, where he attained a B.Sc. in Marine and Freshwater Biology. In 2005, Senator de Freitas continued his tertiary level studies at the University of Guelph, and later attained a M.Sc. in Aquaculture. The President of the Senate is a Marine Biologist by profession and has worked for over a decade providing operational management and technical expertise to both public and private sector companies in the fisheries sector.