Christine Kangaloo

Christine Carla Kangaloo ORTT (born 1 December 1961) is a Trinidadian lawyer and politician who has served as the 7th President of Trinidad and Tobago since 2023. Kangaloo holds the distinction of being the first and only person to have served as Vice President of the Senate, President of the Senate, and President of the Republic in separate and distinct appointments. During her tenure as President of the Senate (2015–2023), she acted as President of the Republic on 33 separate occasions before being formally elected to the office by the Electoral College on 20 January 2023. Upon succeeding Paula-Mae Weekes on 20 March 2023, she became the first woman in the Americas to succeed another woman as Head of State. Globally, she is the second woman to achieve this feat in a parliamentary republic, following Ireland's Mary McAleese, who succeeded Mary Robinson in 1997. Additionally, she is the first woman of Indian ancestry to serve as a president of a country in the Americas.

Prior to her presidency, Kangaloo had an extensive career in public service and the legal profession. She served as an Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court (1992–1996) before entering Parliament as an Opposition Senator in 2001. She subsequently held multiple ministerial portfolios, including Minister of Legal Affairs (2005–2007) and Minister of Science, Technology and Tertiary Education (2007–2010), and served as the Member of Parliament for Pointe-à-Pierre.