Note: On Monday September 9, 2013 the Speaker of the House declared the St. Joseph seat vacant under Section 49 of the Constitution.

Mr. Herbert Philip Volney was first elected to the House of Representatives on Monday May 24, 2010 as a Member of the People's Partnership coalition. He was appointed Minister of Justice on May 28, 2010.

Mr. Volney was born to the late Cyril and Rosalind Volney on June 8, 1953 at Plymouth on the Caribbean isle of Montserrat. He was born without roots in Montserrat as his father was St Lucian and his mother Dominican. He is the third of eight children.

Mr. Volney was educated at catholic primary schools in Antigua, Barbados, St. Kitts and Dominica. He attended St Mary’s Academy in Dominica and qualified for admission to the Cave Hill Campus of the University of the West Indies.

After graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor of Law degree, Mr. Volney was admitted to the Hugh Wooding Law School and was called to the Bar of Trinidad and Tobago as a barrister in 1978. In 1979, he was recruited by then Attorney General Selwyn Richardson to work in the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions where he served for ten years. He retired as Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions. He worked in the law chambers of Karl Hudson-Phillips QC, a former Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago until opening his own private law office in 1991. In 1994 he was recruited by Chief Justice Clinton Bernard and appointed a judge of the Supreme Court. By the time of his retirement to stand for the constituency of St Joseph in the General Elections of 2010, he had presided in over 400 trials at the higher level and had worked extensively in the Port of Spain, San Fernando and Scarborough sittings of the Criminal Assizes.

Herbert Volney’s passion is for justice and public affairs. His concerns are for poverty alleviation and the plight of retirees. He is a sporting man who has actively played cricket, basketball, football, and tennis.

Mr. Volney was the Head boy of his alma mater and President of the Guild of Undergraduates at Cave Hill Campus. He is married and a father of five.

Adapted from www.herbertvolney.com

Maiden Contribution

The House of Representatives - Thursday September 16, 2010 - link
The Appropriation (Financial Year 2011) Bill, 2010 - link