The year of his birth (1917) witnessed the carnage of the First World War, the near-collapse of trade and travel between the Caribbean and Europe and enormous suffering in urban centers of Trinidad such as Belmont where he grew up.
As a teenager, he witnessed the horrors of the Great Depression and the Second World War, which spared neither king nor commoner. The effect of these early experiences instilled into his personality a passion for serving his country and this was the beginning a career in the constitutional and political development of Trinidad and Tobago.
It was his dedication to study as a student of St.Mary’s College that won him an Island Scholarship in 1938. He went to London where he literally had to dodge Hitler’s bombs during the second World War to complete his Law studies. This commitment to unceasing toil elevated him to premier positions in a nation moving towards Independence.
He was Solicitor General (1954 – 56), Attorney General (1957 – 62) under the
Crown Colony system. He was appointed Trinidad and Tobago’s first Ambassador to the United States and Mexico and Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
He also served as a consultant to governments on constitutional reform. He was the second and last Governor-General of this nation and became the first President of the Republic in 1976, serving two terms.
His insistence, over the last few years, on the urgency of constitutional reform is all the more striking since he was the principal architect of the 1962 Independence constitution, and of the Republican constitution in 1976.
In his progressive view, those constitutions were applicable then, but he voiced the urgency for an update to satisfy the changing socio-political environment.
As we in the Congress of the People begin a new chapter in our Rich Heritage, our Common Future, which we call the Patriotic Series, it is fitting that as a nation we recognize and pay tribute to a true patriot.
At the funeral service, Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar announced the establishment of The Sir Ellis Clarke Chair in Commonwealth Parliamentary and Constitutional Studies at the University of the West Indies.
On a personal note I sought the private opinion of Sir Ellis on the formation of the Congress of the People and in his ever balanced and measured view he encouraged me to work towards a discovery for new politics in T&T.
Sir Ellis Clarke started the new phase in constitutional matters during the 1960’s, and some 50 years later, the Congress of the People engineered and espoused the concept of the new politics.
Sir Ellis will be remembered as one who could enliven any social engagement. He was an outstanding very approachable leader who could advise on many issues, a skillful negotiator for the state and a good parent and husband.
Above all, he stands out as an example of West Indian achievement against enormous odds turning adversity into advantage and converting misfortune into achievement.
May his soul rest in peace.
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