George Maxwell Richards, former Trinidad and Tobago president, dies

The former president of Trinidad and Tobago George Maxwell Richards has died aged 86.

He passed away in hospital in Florida, with reports suggesting he had been taken to hospital after suffering a heart attack.

In a post on Facebook, his daughter Maxine wrote: “Rest in peace Daddy. I still can’t believe you are gone.”

Richards served as president of the dual-island state from 2003 to 2013, and was a former principal of the University of the West Indies St Augustine campus. He leaves behind a wife and two children.

Stuart Young, minister in the office of the prime minister, paid tribute to a man known for his love of carnival.

“Our prayers are with the family,” he said.

“We thank him and his family for his many years of service.”

Opposition chief whip David Lee extended his party’s condolences to Richards’ family.

Lee said it was “sad and ironic” that earlier in the day, government and the opposition co-signed the nomination paper for retired Court of Appeal judge Paula Mae Weekes to become this country’s next President.

Richards was born in San Fernando on 1 December 1931. From 1950 to 1951, he worked for the United British Oilfields of Trinidad (precursor to Shell Trinidad Ltd) at Point Fortin.

He received a scholarship from them to study chemical engineering, attending the University of Manchester, where he received bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He subsequently obtained a PhD degree in chemical engineering from the University of Cambridge.

As president, Richards was outspoken in his criticism of the upsurge of crime in Trinidad and Tobago.