HE George Maxwell Richards TC CM (1 December 1931 – 8 January 2018) was a Trinidadian politician who served as the fourth president of Trinidad and Tobago, in office from 2003 to 2013.

[1] A chemical engineer by training, Richards was Principal of the St. Augustine campus of the University of the West Indies in Trinidad from 1984 to 1996.

[2] He received his primary education there before winning an exhibition (scholarship) to attend Queen's Royal College in Port of Spain.

[2] Richards managed to keep the university afloat through this difficult period and retired as Principal in November 1996[4] although he continued to teach as professor emeritus until he was elected president.

[5] Although the position of president is a primarily ceremonial one, Richards had been outspoken in his criticism of the upsurge of crime in Trinidad and Tobago.

[7] Richards died at WestShore Medical Private Hospital in Port of Spain at around 7.43pm, on 8 January 2018 of heart failure at the age of 86.

[4][6] His ashes were scattered over the seas of the Gulf of Paria on the night of January 19th, 2018 and the Richards family said their final farewell to their husband, father, brother, and uncle as well as the nation's fourth president.