{"id":11541,"date":"2018-01-18T08:20:53","date_gmt":"2018-01-18T12:20:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/?p=11541"},"modified":"2018-01-18T08:20:53","modified_gmt":"2018-01-18T12:20:53","slug":"trinidad-and-tobago-says-farewell-to-former-head-of-state","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/trinidad-and-tobago-says-farewell-to-former-head-of-state\/","title":{"rendered":"Trinidad and Tobago says farewell to former head of state"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Trinidad and Tobago Wednesday bade farewell to Professor George Maxwell Richards, the country\u2019s fourth Head of State, who died of a heart attack on January 8.<\/p>

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The two and a half hour funeral service for Richards, commonly known as \u201cMax\u2019, was held at the National Academy for Performing Arts (NAPA) in the hearty of the capital. A full military procession escorted the body of the 86-year-old academic and statesman into the auditorium where dignitaries and members of the public gathered to pay their final respects punctuated by performances by the Lydian Singers and the National Steel Orchestra.<\/p>\n

\"George<\/a>
Members of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment carrying the body of former president George Maxwell Richards<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Ministry of National Security said that Richards would be accorded a 21-gun salute in recognition of his service to the nation as President and Commander in Chief. The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force will execute the gun salute later on Wednesday at the Belgroves Funeral Home, where Richards will be cremated following a private service.<\/p>

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A chemical engineer by training, Richards was principal of the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies (UWI) and served as President from 2003-13.<\/p>

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UWI principal Professor Brian Copeland described Richards as an excellent educator and leader as well as being a mentor to many others.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Max Richards has served the UWI and the Caribbean well as pro vice chancellor and principal and he served our country well as president.<\/p>

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\u2018We have lost a faithful, fair and UWI leader,\u201d he said, quoting UWI Vice Chancellor Sir Hillary Beckles, who noted that \u201cProfessor Richards was a UWI man to the bone and never backed away from living within his regional community, his deep rooted Caribbeanness.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause of him and others like him UWI became a great community and university,\u201d he said.<\/p>

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In paying tribute to their father, Mark and Maxine Richards remembered him as a strict academic who had insisted that they dedicated most of their time to learning.<\/p>

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Mark said his father had also become \u201cmore of a friend than a parent, an advisor and we basically travelled with him a bit and he broaden our horizons\u2026<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will always be very grateful to his influence and for his long and productive life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley said Richards, a carnival lover, was also a true statesman and as head of state, led without fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn paying the tribute to him we must acknowledge that it was not always easy going, it was sometimes very difficult and being the man that he was and the mettle that he carried he made difficult situations and difficult things easy,\u201d Rowley said, adding \u201che refused to accept failure and always refused to accept that this country could not make it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Professor Richards is survived by his wife, Dr Jean Ramjohn-Richards, and his two children.<\/p>\n

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Trinidad and Tobago Wednesday bade farewell to Professor George Maxwell Richards, the country\u2019s fourth Head of State, who died of a heart attack on January 8. The two and a half hour funeral service for Richards, commonly known as \u201cMax\u2019, was held at the National Academy for Performing Arts (NAPA) in the hearty of the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11542,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regional"],"yoast_head":"\nTrinidad and Tobago says farewell to former head of state - Antigua News Room<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/antiguanewsroom.com\/trinidad-and-tobago-says-farewell-to-former-head-of-state\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trinidad and Tobago says farewell to former head of state\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Trinidad and Tobago Wednesday bade farewell to Professor George Maxwell Richards, the country\u2019s fourth Head of State, who died of a heart attack on January 8. 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