James Isaac Alexander Manswell (2 June 1927 – 18 September 2006), was born in Brighton La Brea, Trinidad and Tobago.
He briefly entered the teaching profession in 1945 before joining the Civil Service on 14 July 1946 as a 2nd Class Clerk at the Port of Spain Magistracy.
In addition to his work for the CSA, he was also General Secretary of the Trinidad and Tobago Labour Congress and later its President.
On being given a leave of absence from the Union in 1968, he successfully gained a Diploma of Social Studies at Oxford University and went on to complete the first year examination of the LLB Law Degree.
He was instrumental in the formation of the Caribbean Public Services Association, of which he became the General Secretary in August 1970 – a position he held until his retirement from the Union in 1981.