World News | Basdeo Panday, Trinidad and Tobago's First Prime Minister of Indian Descent, Dies

San Juan (Puerto Rico), Jan 2 (AP) Basdeo Panday, a former prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago who was the first person of Indian descent to hold that position, has died. He was 90.

Panday died on Monday surrounded by his family, according to a statement that his daughter, Mickela Panday, posted on social media.

Also Read | Russia-Ukraine War: Russian Missiles Hit Ukrainian Cities, Killing Five and Injuring Almost 100, Kyiv Officials Say.

“He passed with his boots on, keeping everybody around him on their toes with his wit and humour,” she wrote.

Panday served twice as prime minister from 1995 to 2001 following key elections that marked a turning point for the Indo-Trinidadians who lived on the twin-island nation, whose population is currently 35 per cent East Indian and 34 per cent of African descent.

Also Read | Cyber Kidnapping: Missing 17-Year-Old Teen Kai Zhuang Found Alive and Safe Inside Tent on Utah Mountainside in US After Falling Victim to ‘Cyber-Kidnapping’.

Panday was a lawyer, economist and union leader who also co-founded three political parties, including United National Congress. He temporarily stepped down as opposition leader of that party after being convicted in 2006 of failing to disclose a bank account in London.

In 2005, Panday and others were charged with corruption and arrested in a case related to an airport construction contract. The charges were later dropped, with supporters claiming the allegations were political persecution. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)