Our Ministers

The Honourable Kenneth Cyril Valley

Minister of Trade and Industry / Minister in the Ministry of Finance

The Honourable Kenneth Cyril Valley is currently the Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister in the Ministry of Finance and the Leader of Government Business in the House of Representatives.

His more than 30 years senior management experience in Finance and Insurance prepared him for the exciting challenges he continues to face in Government.

Prior to his current ministerial tenure, he served as the Minister with responsibility for Trade, Industry and Investments in the Government of Trinidad & Tobago, during the 1991-1995 administration.

In that capacity, he held oversight for the following initiatives, among others:

•  The implementation of the State Enterprises Policy, which resulted in the reduction of the State’s direct involvement in commercial enterprises, from eighty-seven (87) in 1992, to fifty (50) at the end of 1995

• Positioning of Trinidad & Tobago as the Gateway to South America and the Business and Financial Capital of the Caribbean.

• The pursuit of Market Access Agreements with large markets around Trinidad & Tobago, namely Colombia and Venezuela.

• The liberalization of the economy through the removal of the Negative List and other quantitative restrictions on trade, and the reduction of Tariffs — all with a view to making the Trinidad & Tobago economy more competitive.

• The facilitation of investment growth in exports and industrial promotion through the forging of strategic trade alliances with major countries in Latin America, North America and Europe, and providing the appropriate financial legislative framework.

He is the Deputy Political leader (with responsibility for Legislative matters) of the Peoples’ National Movement (PNM).

Minister Valley graduated from the University of the West Indies (UWI) in 1971 with a BSc Economics Degree, with a major in Accounting, and is a Graduate of the M.B.A. (Masters in Business Administration) Programme at Mc Masters University in Canada.

He is married to Carol Anne (née Alexander), with whom he has three (3) children.  

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The Honourable Dianne Seukeran

Minister of  State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry 

The Honourable Dianne Seukeran has made a long and distinguished career in public life, and continues to do so.

Earlier in her professional life, she served the public as a lawyer, following a long-standing family tradition, which her two children - fraternal twins - have also kept up.

Her range of experience includes working as a land property developer, a business consultant, a publisher, a director of an energy service company, and her most famous job as the President of the South Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

It is during her tenure as the President of the South Chamber of Industry and Commerce that she truly came to national prominence, with her fiery advocacy for San Fernando and the southern business community. She is credited with laying the foundation for a more organized and progressive business community in South Trinidad, and can be considered one of the architects of the drive to develop the country's second city. 

Minister Seukeran is also a Founding Member of several charitable organizations in this country, including: the South Cancer Resource Centre; the Blood Bank; and the Battered Women's Halfway House. She currently serves as the President of the South Scout Association, is a Member of the Guardian's Neediest Fund, and is a Director of the Friends of the San Fernando Hospital. 

Desirous of serving the people of Trinidad and Tobago even further, Dianne Seukeran entered the political arena, and was the undisputed choice of voters in San Fernando West in the last General Elections. 

She is currently serving as Minister of State in the Ministry of Trade and Industry, with responsibility for trade negotiations with the European Union and the World Trade Organisation. 

Everyone who comes into contact with Minister Seukeran all say the same thing about her: she is an honest, down-to-earth person; a strong woman who is passionate about serving her country, and seeing Trinidad & Tobago develop into the First World Nation it could be.

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