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16 Facts About Albert Gomes

1.

Albert Maria Gomes was a Trinidadian unionist, politician, and writer of Portuguese descent, was the first Chief Minister of Trinidad and Tobago.

2.

Albert Gomes was the founder of the Political Progress Groups and later led the Party of Political Progress Groups.

3.

Albert Gomes was active in the formation of the Democratic Labour Party in Trinidad and Tobago and played a role in forcing Sir Alexander Bustamante out of the Federal Democratic Labour Party.

4.

However, the rank and file of the party stood behind Capildeo, and Albert Gomes left the party.

5.

Albert Gomes was born in Belmont, Port of Spain, Trinidad.

6.

Albert Gomes's father had immigrated from Madeira in 1892; his mother's family had arrived in Trinidad in 1878 via Nevis and Antigua.

7.

Albert Gomes published The Beacon for three years until his father forced him to stop.

8.

Albert Gomes was installed in a pharmacy owned by his father, and for the next six years Gomes developed his connection with the working class.

9.

Albert Gomes established a reputation as a writer for the Trinidad Guardian and through public lectures and work with the labour movement.

10.

Albert Gomes was re-elected to the revamped Legislative Council in 1946 as a member of the West Indian National Party for Port of Spain North.

11.

Albert Gomes retained that position until the 1956 General Elections when Eric Williams and the People's National Movement swept to power.

12.

In 1958, Albert Gomes was elected to the House of Representatives of the short-lived West Indies Federation, representing the district of St George East.

13.

Albert Gomes left Trinidad and Tobago and settled in the United Kingdom.

14.

Albert Gomes wrote four more novels that were never published and are considered lost.

15.

Albert Gomes died in England on 13 January 1978, at the age of 66.

16.

Albert Gomes's achievements are largely unrecognised and he has faded from the popular consciousness of Trinidad and Tobago.