Basdeo Panday, Trinidad and Tobago’s first prime minister of Indian descent, dies

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (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.

“He passed with his boots on, keeping everybody around him on their toes with his wit and humor,” 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% East Indian and 34% of African descent.

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.