The Premier of the Virgin IslandsWhile the territory is commonly known as the 'British Virgin Islands', her official name is simply 'Virgin Islands'. is the head of government for the British Virgin Islands. As a British Overseas Territory, the Premier is appointed by the Governor on behalf of the British monarch, currently .The Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007 (SI 2007/1678) Until 2007, the head of government was known as the Chief Minister of the Virgin Islands, but a constitutional change in 2007 renamed the position as Premier.The Virgin Islands (Constitution) Order 1976 (SI 1976/2145), as amended by 1979/1603, 1982/151, 1991/2871 and 1994/1638
The current Premier is Natalio Wheatley. He is serving since 5 May 2022.
History of the office Since the 1967 constitution was adopted, only seven different people (all men) have served as Premier or Chief Minister. Prior to 1967, executive power in the British Virgin Islands was held by the British appointed Commissioner of the Virgin Islands, advised by the partially-elected Legislative Council. In 1967, the Virgin Islands Constitution Order was passed in order to introduce ministerial governance to the colony. The office of Chief Minister of the Virgin Islands was created for the leader of the largest elected party in the new Legislative Assembly. The Chief Minister would be appointed by the Administrator (later Governor of the Virgin Islands). H. Lavity Stoutt has won the most general elections of any leader (he won five), followed by Orlando Smith (three).
During negotiations for the 2007 constitutional reforms, there were proposals that the Premier would chair the Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands with the Governor only being advised and provided information about meetings. However, due to internal disagreements within the BVI party, it was instead agreed that the Premier would be just an ordinary member of the Cabinet while the Governor would be the non-voting chairman.
List
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
PortraitNameTerm of officePolitical partyElectedNotesTook officeLeft officeTime in office Chief Ministers (1967–2007) 1 H. Lavity Stoutt 14 April 1967 2 June 1971 United Party 1967 2Willard Wheatley2 June 197112 November 1979 VI Democratic Party19711975 United Party H. Lavity Stoutt 12 November 1979 11 November 1983 Virgin Islands Party 1979 3 Cyril Romney 11 November 1983 17 November 1986 United Party 1983 H. Lavity Stoutt 17 November 1986 14 May 1995 Virgin Islands Party 198619901995 4 Ralph T. O'Neal 15 May 1995 17 June 2003 Virgin Islands Party 1999 5 D. Orlando Smith 17 June 2003 23 August 2007 National Democratic Party 2003 Premiers (2007–present) 1 Ralph T. O'Neal 23 August 2007 9 November 2011 Virgin Islands Party 2007 2 D. Orlando Smith 9 November 2011 25 February 2019 National Democratic Party 20112015 3 Andrew Fahie 26 February 2019 5 May 2022 Virgin Islands Party 2019 4 Natalio Wheatley 5 May 2022 Incumbent Virgin Islands Party 2023
All previous Chief Ministers or Premiers have served at least two terms except for Cyril Romney and Andrew Fahie.
№NameGeneral ElectionvictoriesTotal time in office1 Lavity Stoutt 5 6,1172 Ralph O'Neal 2 4,4943 Orlando Smith 3 4,1944 Willard Wheatley 2 3,0855 Andrew Fahie 1 1,1646 Cyril Romney 1 1,0557 Natalio Wheatley 1
See also List of current heads of government in the United Kingdom and dependencies Politics of the British Virgin Islands Governor of the Virgin Islands
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