Born in Mindelo, on the island of São Vicente, when Cape Verde was still a Portuguese colony, Fonseca went on to study at the University of Lisbon, where he achieved a degree in Law and a Master’s in Legal Sciences. On his return to the country in 1975, he served as Director General of Emigration and then Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During the 1980s, Fonseca lectured at various institutions such as the University of Lisbon, the Institute of Forensic Medicine of Lisbon, and the University of Asia Oriental in Macau, before returning to Cape Verde and truly begin his political career in 1991. From 1991 to 1993 he served as the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, and later ran for the presidency as the leader of the Movement for Democracy party in 2001, losing to African Party for the Independence of Cape Verde (PAICV) candidate Pedro Pires. After a decade of PAICV rule, Fonseca ran again in 2011, winning the presidency in the second round of voting and becoming the country’s 4th president.

Father Velázquez was confirmed by the Vatican as the new Rector of the Catholic University in February of 2015. A Doctor of Canonical Law from the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome, he has been Pastor of the Sanctuary of Perpetual Succour and Vicar of Economic Affairs of the Archdiocese of the Holy Assumption since 2013. He had previously been assistant professor of Canon Law, held the Chair of Personal and Fundamental Ethics in the Faculty of Accounting, Administration and Economics, and in the Faculty of Juridical and Diplomatic Services. His term as Rector will end in 2020.

Darbasie has served as Group CEO of First Citizens since April 2015, having previously worked as Managing Director of the Merchant Bank and Country Treasurer and Markets Head at a local subsidiary of a large multinational bank. She has also sat on the Board of the American Chamber of Commerce of Trinidad and Tobago. With a background in engineering, and degrees in this field from the University of the West Indies and the universities of Essex and Warwick in the United Kingdom, her journey to being CEO of a banking group has not been a traditional one, but her twenty-one years of experience stand her in good stead to continue growing the First Citizens brand throughout Trinidad and the Caribbean.

Gopee-Scoon was appointed Minister of Trade and Industry in September of 2015. She had previously served as Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2007. A graduate of the University of the West Indies, she obtained a B.Sc. in Public Administration and Law. She went on to study in the United Kingdom, earning an LLB (Hons.) in Labour and Public International Law from the University of London and an MBA in Leadership, Entrepreneurship and Innovation from Anglia Ruskin University. Gopee-Scoon has experience working in the financial sector, holding various managerial positions in banks in Trinidad from 1982 to 1996.

As of this year, Imbert has served for 25 consecutive years as an elected PNM Member of Parliament, and as a Cabinet Minister in five PNM Governments for a total of almost 14 years. On top of this, Imbert has served the community of Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean in engineering.

After graduating with honours from the University of the West Indies in 1979, he worked on a number of projects in the region as a civil engineer. He then pursued a master’s degree in Maritime Civil Engineering at the University of Manchester before transitioning into the academic world in 1985, lecturing at his alma mater until 1991. He entered politics in 1991, and has since been a faithful public servant.