In an interview which was published two days after he demitted office as President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago in March 1987, Sir Ellis Emmanuel Innocent Clarke was asked to offer some thoughts on what would be an appropriate epitaph for him. After some bemused thought, Sir Ellis' reported response was: "Upon him was greatness thrust, he bore it well." Coming from many other people, that might have sounded like arrogance; conceit even. But there is little doubt that Sir Ellis is one of the greatest sons of the T&T soil. And if the measure of a person's greatness is their contribution to the well-being and orderly development of his society, there are few who would argue that he belongs in the very top drawer-at the pinnacle of the pyramid, as it were-along with Eric Eustace Williams and Arthur Napoleon Raymond Robinson.
And what a distinguished, meritorious contribution it was. Sir Ellis served as Solicitor-General from 1954 to 1956, Deputy Colonial Secretary 1956-1957 and Attorney General 1957-1962-and that would have been before independence. Around the time of independence, he provided crucial intellectual and jurisprudential input into the framing of the country's Independence Constitution and he is credited with crafting the language in that document which gave assurances to the Opposition forces that the Prime Minister would not have unfettered power. This is one of his lasting contributions to T&T. After independence, he served as ambassador to the United States, Canada and Mexico and as this country's permanent representative to the United Nations.
Sir Ellis served as T&T's head of state for 15 years: first in succeeding Sir Solomon Hochoy as Governor General in 1972 and then as the country's first President in 1976, after the decision was taken for T&T to end its constitutional relationship with Britain and become a republic. As President between 1976 and 1987, he was required to consult with Prime Ministers Eric Williams and George Chambers. Given the sharpness of his intellect and the breadth of his knowledge of public law and constitutional nuances, it is quite likely that many crises were forestalled as a result of the sagacity of his advice. He was also called upon, as President, to preside over the choice of a Prime Minister following the death of Eric Williams, the Father of the Nation. He was one of the few people in the leadership of T&T in the post-independence period who was respected and admired by people from both sides of the political spectrum.
Sir Ellis' service to the nation continued long after he ended his term as President. As the nation's undoubted constitutional expert, his calm, tactful and thoughtful advice was often sought by journalists and politicians, both in and out of government. The miracle of his life is that he continued to contribute to T&T's development by consulting on the further constitutional development of the country or by serving the com- munity in other ways such as the chairman of the board of the inaugural Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards for Excellence. He served selflessly and tirelessly well into his nineties.
We live in a time when people choose to retire outside of T&T. Sir Ellis honoured the country by continuing to live here and contribute to its development. He lived an extraordinary life and his contribution to T&T's development is probably immeasurable. He will be missed. Guardian Media Ltd joins with the rest of the country in extending our sympathies to his family and to his closest friends and we support the Prime Minister's call for a state ceremony to mark his passing.