Aspiring Minds Trinidad and Tobago

Edward Beetham

Sir Edward "Eddy" Betham Beetham

Sixteenth Governor of Trinidad and Tobago

Born on the 19th February 1905

Died on the 19th February 1979

He was a British colonial official who was Resident Commissioner of Swaziland from 1946 to 1950

The Bechuanaland Protectorate from 1950 to 1953.

He was educated at Charterhouse School and Lincoln College, Oxford.

He was Governor of the Windward Islands from 1953 to 1955.

He then served as Governor of Trinidad and Tobago from 1955 to 1960, where he presided over the transition to elected internal self-government.

Between June 1st 1955 and June 14th 1956, Eric Williams and the People's National Movement gave 154 lectures throughout the country on various topics such as, constitution reform, race relations, party politics, economic development and the federation. Eric Williams spoke regarding the problems of Trinidad and Tobago in an international perspective.

National elections were held in September 1956. The PNM won thirteen of the twenty-four seets contested receiving 106,000 votes. Having won the majority of seats Governor Edward Beetham asked Dr Williams to form the government and the British authorities allowed him to nominate two members to run the government. Cabinet government was introduced in 1959, Eric Williams was named premier and ruled over the government.

During the time of the Federation of the West Indies in 1958 to 1961, as Governor of Trinidad and Tobago, Sir Edward Beetham occupied Government House in Tobago. The Government House in Port-of-Spain, as it was called at that time, had been converted into a Federal Museum and Art Gallery.

Beetham was the last British colonial governor of Trinidad and Tobago of British descent. The Beetham Highway in Port of Spain is named after him.