The United States Virgin Islands,officially the Virgin Islands of the United States,are a group of Caribbean islands and a territory of the United States. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles. The islands have a tropical climate.
Politics of the United States Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a presidential representative democratic dependency,whereby the governor is the head of the territory's government,and of a multi-party system. United States Virgin Islands are an unincorporated and organized territory of the United States,administered by the Office of Insular Affairs of the United States Department of the Interior. Executive power is exercised by the local government of the Virgin Islands. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The Legislature of the Virgin Islands is the territorial legislature of the United States Virgin Islands. The legislative branch of the unincorporated U.S. territory is unicameral,with a single house consisting of 15 senators,elected to two-year terms without term limits. The legislature meets in Charlotte Amalie on the island of St. Thomas.
Kenneth Ezra Mapp is an American politician who served as the eighth elected Governor of the United States Virgin Islands,from 2015 to 2019. He was registered Republican,but ran as an independent.
In the U.S. Virgin Islands,Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) rights have evolved substantially in recent years. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1985. The region also provides explicit legal protections against discrimination for LGBTQ residents since December 2022. Following the Supreme Court's ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges on June 26,2015,which found the denial of marriage rights to same-sex couples unconstitutional,same-sex marriage became legal in the islands.
Cannabis in the United States Virgin Islands is legal for recreational use since January 18,2023,under territorial law. Legislation to legalize was passed by the territorial legislature in 2022,and was signed into law on January 18. Medical use was legalized in 2019 through a bill that passed the Senate 9–4. It remains illegal under federal law.
The 2018 U.S. Virgin Islands gubernatorial election took place on November 6,2018,to select the Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. The election was held concurrently with the 2018 United States midterm elections. On Election Day,November 6,Bryan earned 38.08% of the vote,with Mapp coming in second with 33.45%. Since no candidate received a majority of the general election vote,as required by the Revised Organic Act of the Virgin Islands,a runoff was held 14 days later between Albert Bryan Jr. and Incumbent Governor Kenneth Mapp,the top two vote-getters. On November 20,2018,Democrat Albert Bryan Jr. won the runoff with 54.5% of the vote.
Albert Bryan Jr. is an American politician serving since 2019 as the ninth governor of the United States Virgin Islands. A member of the Democratic Party,he served as Commissioner for Department of Labor from 2007 to 2015.
Tregenza A. Roach is an American politician,attorney,and former journalist. Since 2019,Roach has been serving as the 12th Lieutenant Governor of the United States Virgin Islands. Roach previously was a senator at the Legislature of the Virgin Islands from 2013 to 2019.
Kurt Anthony Vialet is an American politician and former educator who is member-elect of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands from St. Croix. He previously served from 2015 to 2023. Vialet ran as an independent candidate for governor in the 2022 election but lost to incumbent Governor Albert Bryan. Vialet won the 2024 senate election as the top vote getter on St. Croix and will return to the 36th legislature on January 13,2025.
Janelle K. Sarauw is a Virgin Islander politician and former educator who served as senator in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands from the St. Thomas-St. John District,from 2017 to 2023. Sarauw ran for Lieutenant Governor in the 2022 election.
The 34th Virgin Islands Legislature was a meeting of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. It convened in Charlotte Amalie on January 11,2021,during the third year of Albert Bryan’s governorship and ended on January 9,2023.
The 35th Virgin Islands Legislature was a meeting of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. It convened in Charlotte Amalie on January 9,2023 until December 19,2024,during the first two years of Governor Albert Bryan’s second term.
Donna Frett-Gregory locally known as Donna is a United States Virgin Islands politician and Senator representing St. Thomas/St. John in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands,since 2019. She has served as President of the 34th Virgin Islands Legislature.
The Equality Act is a law passed by the 34th Virgin Islands Legislature which prohibits discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity as an unlawful discriminatory practice. The bill was signed into law by Governor Albert Bryan on January 19,2023.
The 2024 United States Virgin Islands general election took place on Tuesday,November 5,2024,to elect the non-voting delegate to the United States House of Representatives,all 15 seats in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands,members of the Virgin Islands Board of Elections,Board of Education,and the 15 delegates to the Sixth Constitutional Convention.
The 28th Virgin Islands Legislature was a meeting of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. It convened in Charlotte Amalie on January 12,2009,during the last two years of Governor John de Jongh’s first term.
Kenneth "Kenny" Gittens is a United States Virgin Islands politician and the Majority leader of the Legislature of the Virgin Islands. He was a member of the 30th Virgin Islands Legislature,31st Virgin Islands Legislature,33rd Virgin Islands Legislature,34th Virgin Islands Legislature,35th Virgin Islands Legislature,and is running in the 2024 United States Virgin Islands general election.
Marise Cecile James is a United States Virgin Islands politician,attorney and Senator representing Saint Croix in the Legislature of the Virgin Islands,since 2023.
