The history of Grenada in the Caribbean, part of the Lesser Antilles group of islands, covers a period from the earliest human settlements to the establishment of the contemporary nationstate of Grenada. First settled by indigenous peoples, Grenada by the time of European contact was inhabited by the Caribs. French colonists killed most of the Caribs on the island and established plantations on the island, eventually importing African slaves to work on the sugar plantations.
The politics of Grenada takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democracy, whereby the prime minister is the head of government. Grenada is an independent Commonwealth realm. It is governed under a multi-party parliamentary system whose political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom; it has a prime minister and a cabinet, and a bicameral Parliament with an elected House of Representatives and an appointed Senate. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and parliament. Constitutional safeguards include freedom of speech, press, worship, motion, and association. Grenada is a member of the eastern Caribbean court system. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Jurisprudence is based on English common law.
Keith Claudius Mitchell is a Grenadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 1995 to 2008 and from 2013 to 2022. He is the longest-serving Prime Minister in Grenadian history, holding the office for more than 22 years. He is currently leader of the New National Party (NNP) and has been the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Representatives of Grenada from 2008 to 2013, and again since 2022.
The New National Party (NNP), also known as NNP Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, is a conservative political party in Grenada. It is led by former Prime Minister, Keith Mitchell.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC), also known as the National Democratic Congress of Grenada, Carriacou and Petite Martinique, is a social democratic and centre-left political party in Grenada. It is the governing party in Grenada, having won a majority in the 2022 general elections. The party is led by current prime minister Dickon Mitchell as of October 2021.
General elections were held in Grenada on 8 July 2008. Out of a total of fifteen seats, the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) won eleven seats and the governing New National Party (NNP) won four, bringing the NDC to power for the first time since 1995. The NNP was looking for a fourth consecutive term in power, which would have been a first in Grenadian history.
George Ignatius Brizan, CMG, CBE was a Grenadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Grenada for four months in 1995. He moved to the top post in February, upon the resignation of Nicholas Brathwaite, and remained in office until Keith Mitchell was inaugurated on 22 June.
Mia Amor Mottley, is a Barbadian politician and attorney who has served as the eighth prime minister of Barbados since 2018 and as Leader of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) since 2008. Mottley is the first woman to hold either position. She is also Barbados' first prime minister under its republican system, following constitutional changes she introduced that abolished the country's constitutional monarchy.
Grenada is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean Sea. The southernmost of the Windward Islands, Grenada is directly south of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and about 100 miles (160 km) north of Trinidad and the South American mainland.
Tillman Joseph Thomas, CBE is a Grenadian politician who served as Prime Minister of Grenada from 2008 to 2013. He was the leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) from 2000 to 2014.
Charles Peter David is a Grenadian politician. He is the Deputy General Secretary of the New National Party (NNP), (Grenada), a member of the House of Representatives from the Town of Saint George constituency, and served as Minister of Foreign Affairs from July 2008 to November 2010. He subsequently served as Minister of Tourism until he resigned from the Cabinet on April 30, 2012.
Nazim Burke is a politician & Opposition Leader from the island of Carriacou which is part of the tri island state of Grenada. He was born in Belair Carriacou as Victor Gordon Burke and changed his name to Victor Nazim Gordon Burke. He served as the nation's Minister of Finance, Planning, Economic Development, Energy and Foreign Trade during the reign of the NDC government, from 2008 to 2013, headed by Tillman Thomas. He was elected as the political leader of the NDC at a party convention in early 2014 after Tillman Thomas stepped aside following the loss at the 2013 elections. Burke resigned as party leader in July 2018 following his party's disastrous election results in that year's election in which the party failed to gain any seats leaving it out of the house of representatives for a third time. He was succeeded by his Deputy Joseph Andall as acting leader pending a new leadership election due no later than March 2019.
A constitutional referendum was held in Grenada on 24 November 2016. Voters were asked whether they approved of seven amendments, with each one voted on separately. The amendments would only have been approved if two-thirds of valid votes had been cast in favour. However, all seven proposals were rejected by voters. It was the first referendum in Grenada's history.
General elections were held in Barbados on 24 May 2018. The result was a landslide victory for the opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP), which won all 30 seats in the House of Assembly, resulting in BLP leader Mia Mottley becoming the country's first female Prime Minister. The BLP's victory was the first time a party had won every seat in the House of Assembly. Previously, the most one-sided result for a Barbadian election had been in 1999, when the BLP won 26 of the 28 seats. The BLP's 73.5 percent vote share was also the highest on record.
General elections were held in Trinidad and Tobago on Monday, 10 August 2020, to elect 41 members to the 12th Trinidad and Tobago Republican Parliament. It was the 14th election since gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1962 and the 22nd national election in Trinidad and Tobago ever. Tracy Davidson-Celestine, political leader of the Tobago Council of the People's National Movement (PNM) became the first woman to lead a Tobagonian political party with representation in the House of Representatives. Additionally, two of the three largest parties elected in 2015, the United National Congress (UNC) and the Congress of the People (COP), were led by women.
General elections were held in Saint Lucia on 26 July 2021, having been constitutionally required by 12 October 2021. Voters elected all 17 members of the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Saint Lucia Labour Party, which won 13 of the 17 seats in the House, while the ruling United Workers Party lost nine of its eleven seats, its worst result since 1997. It was the fourth consecutive election in which the incumbent government was defeated.
Dickon Amiss Thomas Mitchell is a Grenadian politician and attorney serving as the prime minister of Grenada since 24 June 2022 and the leader of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) since 2021. He led his party to victory in the 2022 general election.
The Cabinet of Grenada is appointed by the Prime Minister of Grenada.
Events in the year 2022 in Grenada.
Yolande Bain-Horsford is a Grenadian politician who has been a Minister of Tourism, the Minister for Agriculture and the Minister of Sport and Culture. She is a leading member of Grenada's New National Party.
