Robinson, Arthur Napoleon Raymond, 1926–2014, Trinidadian political leader, b. Tobago. A barrister before being elected (1961) to parliament, he was a founding member of the People's National Movement (PNM) party and served as finance minister (1961–67). He left the PNM in 1970 and later became leader of the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR). After the NAR won the 1986 elections, Robinson became prime minister. In 1989, he called for the establishment of an International Criminal Court, reviving an earlier proposal, and is probably best known as an architect of the ICC. He also was an advocate of a single Caribbean economic market. During a 1990 coup attempt by Muslim extremists, while he and members of his cabinet were held hostage, he called for the army to attack and was shot by his captors. Robinson and the NAR lost power in 1991, due largely to his stringent economic program. From 1997 to 2003 he served as president, a largely ceremonial position.
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
See more Encyclopedia articles on: West Indian History, British: Biographies
