Kamla Persad-Bissessar

The Honourable
Kamla Persad-Bissessar
SC MP
The Honourable Kamla Persad-Bissessar SC MP
	Persad-Bissessar in 2013
6th Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 1 May 2025
President	Christine Kangaloo
Preceded by	Stuart Young
	In office; 26 May 2010 – 9 September 2015
President	George Maxwell Richards; Anthony Carmona;
Preceded by	Patrick Manning
Succeeded by	Keith Rowley
7th Leader of the Opposition
	In office; 9 September 2015 – 1 May 2025
Prime Minister	Keith Rowley; Stuart Young
Preceded by	Keith Rowley
Succeeded by	Pennelope Beckles-Robinson
	In office; 25 February 2010 – 26 May 2010
Prime Minister	Patrick Manning
Preceded by	Basdeo Panday
Succeeded by	Keith Rowley
	In office; 26 April 2006 – 8 November 2007
Prime Minister	Patrick Manning
Preceded by	Basdeo Panday
Succeeded by	Basdeo Panday
3rd Political Leader of the United National Congress
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 24 January 2010
Preceded by	Basdeo Panday
Prime Minister	In office; 5 October 2001 – 24 December 2001
Ministerial offices
Attorney General of Trinidad and Tobago
	In office; 5 October 2001 – 24 December 2001
Prime Minister	Basdeo Panday
Preceded by	Ramesh Maharaj
Succeeded by	Glenda Morean
	In office; 27 November 1995 – 2 February 1996
Prime Minister	Basdeo Panday
Preceded by	Keith Sobion
Succeeded by	Ramesh Maharaj
Minister of Education
	In office; 22 October 1999 – 4 October 2001
Prime Minister	Basdeo Panday
Preceded by	Adesh Nanan
Succeeded by	Ganga Singh
Preceded by	Incumbent
Parliamentary offices
Member of Parliament; for Siparia
	Incumbent
	Assumed office ; 6 November 1995
Preceded by	Sahid Hosein
Member of the Senate of Trinidad and Tobago
	In office; 1 November 1994 – 6 October 1995
Secretary-General	In office; 26 May 2010 – 28 October 2011
International offices held
7th Commonwealth Chair-in-Office
	In office; 26 May 2010 – 28 October 2011
Secretary-General	Kamalesh Sharma
Preceded by	Patrick Manning
Succeeded by	Julia Gillard
Chairwoman of the Caribbean Community
	In office; 1 July 2013 – 31 December 2013
Preceded by	Michel Martelly
Succeeded by	Ralph Gonsalves
Alderwoman for the Saint Patrick County Council
Other offices held
Alderwoman for the Saint Patrick County Council
	In office; 1987–1991
Personal details
Born	Kamla Susheila Persad; 22 April 1952; Siparia, Trinidad and Tobago
Political party	United National Congress (since 1994)
Other political; affiliations	National Alliance for Reconstruction (1987–1994)
Spouse	Gregory Bissessar (m. 1971)
Children	1
Residence(s)	Phillipine, Penal-Debe, Trinidad and Tobago
Education	Iere High School; Norwood Technical College;
Alma mater	University of the West Indies (BA, DipEd, LL.B., EMBA); Hugh Wooding Law School (LEC);
Occupation	Lawyer; Politician; Educator;
Awards	Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (2012)

Kamla Susheila Persad-Bissessar SC MP (née Persad, born 22 April 1952), often referred to by her initials KPB is a Trinidadian lawyer, politician and educator who has twice served as the sixth prime minister of Trinidad and Tobago, from 2010 to 2015 and again since May 2025. She has also been the Political Leader of the United National Congress since 2010, and was the Leader of the Opposition for three times from 2006 to 2007, January to May 2010, and again from 2015 to 2025. Persad-Bissessar is the second prime minister to have served non-consecutive terms, after Patrick Manning.

Persad-Bissessar was the country's first female prime minister, attorney general, and opposition leader, the first woman to chair the Commonwealth of Nations and the first woman of Indian descent to be a prime minister of a country outside of India and the wider subcontinent.

Persad-Bissessar became the Political Leader of the United National Congress in 2010. After her party lost the 2015 general elections, she served as Leader of the Opposition. After leading the UNC to victory in the 2025 general elections, she was again sworn in as prime minister on 1 May 2025.

In 2011, Persad-Bissessar was named the thirteenth most influential female leader around the world by Time magazine.