Winston Murray was a former politician and educator in Trinidad and Tobago.

Early life and education

Murray was born on 29 November 1933 in Charlotteville, Tobago to parents Melita Lewis Murray and Gouril Murray. He attended the Charlotteville Methodist School and Speyside Anglican Schools. Following elementary school he apprenticed for a time to a tailor, then attended Osmond High School and St. Mary's College in Port of Spain.

He entered Howard University in Washington D.C. in 1959, majoring in Spanish and Latin American history. He graduated in 1963 and entered Georgetown University in Washington DC for a Masters degree. He gained his doctorate in Latin American Studies at American University in Washington DC. 

Career

Upon returning to Trinidad and Tobago, Dr. Murray worked in the Foreign Service and he published the seminal book, “The Politics of the Dispossessed: Politics, Labour and Social Legislation in the Commonwealth Caribbean” which dissected the growth of the Caribbean labour and political economies. The book has been a textbook for the History Department of Morgan State University.

After leaving the Foreign Service, Murray joined the newly formed Democratic Action Congress.  While in the US, he founded the Carib-American Research Institute (CARI) in Baltimore, Maryland, to strengthen communication between the US and the Caribbean. 

In the early 1970's he had championed for Tobago's independence and was a key member of the Democratic Action Congress (DAC). He was Member of Parliament for Tobago West from 1976 to 1981, and was influential  in forming  the Tobago House of Assembly in 1980.

After his tenure as MP, Murray founded the “Tobago News” - a weekly newspaper dedicated solely to the Tobago community.  He was an educator, teaching at Morgan State University and Bowie State University. He also lectured at the U.S. Military Intelligence College at Fort Holibird in Maryland. In 1997, Murray and his wife, Professor Cynthia Harvey Murray, founded the Tobago Community College and pioneered open access to affordable, college level education in Tobago.

Personal life

He married his first wife, Dr. Alice Murray Jamison, and they had two daughters, Melita and Aisha. He met his second wife, Cynthia Camper Harvey-Murray, a professor in computer science and computer engineering, at Morgan State University.

Death

Murray passed away on New Year's Day 2017 in Hampton, Virginia. He was 83 and died as a result of stroke complications.