Former President Robinson Resting Comfortably After Collapsing in Maraval

Former President Trinidad and Tobago Arthur NR Robinson is resting comfortably in St. Clair Medical Centre in Port of Spain. Robinson collapsed around 10 am Thursday morning during the funeral of Charles Alleyne in Maraval, Father Garfield Rochard told the Trinidad Express.

Robinson complained of chest pains upon arrival, and doctors are awaiting test results.

The former president, aged 83, has been ailing in past years. Robinson began his political career with the People's National Movement but following a break with them party formed his own Democratic Action Congress (DAC).

In 1986 he merged the DAC with Basdeo Panday's United Labour Front, Lloyd Best's Tapia House Movement and the Organization for National Reconstruction (ONR) lead by Karl Hudson Phillips in 1986 to form the National Alliance for Reconstruction (NAR).

The NAR made history by ousting the People's National Movement by winning 33 of the 36 seats in the House of Representatives in the 1986 elections.

The party suffered a divisive blow within months of winning office, when Panday and at least 6 MPs walked out on Robinson and subsequently formed the United National Congress in 1989.

Robinson was Prime Minister during the attempted coup by Jamaat al Musilmeen in 1990. When the coup leader instructed Robinson to tell the army to back down he instead ordered them to attack full force.

In the brutal exchange, he suffered a beating and was shot in his leg.

In the general election of 1991, NAR was reduced to 2 seats and the PNM regained power with Patrick Manning as Prime Minister.

In 1995 Robinson became kingmaker and formed a formal coalition with the UNC to unseat the Manning PNM and make Panday prime minister. Panday later elevated Robinson to the presidency.

Robinson was President from 1997 - 2003, during which time he was faced with the problem of appointing a government where the incumbent party and opposition party both won an equal number of seats with no third party holding any seats.

Robinson chose to appoint the Opposition leader, Patrick Manning, as Prime Minister.