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Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign archipelagic country in the Caribbean. It lies at the conjuncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles.
The politics of Antigua and Barbuda takes place in a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic monarchy,wherein the sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state,appointing a governor-general to act as vice-regal representative in the nation. A prime minister is appointed by the governor-general as the head of government,and of a multi-party system;the prime minister advises the governor-general on the appointment of a Council of Ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The history of Antigua and Barbuda covers the period from the arrival of the Archaic peoples thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization,the lands encompassing present-day Antigua and Barbuda were inhabited by three successive Amerindian societies. The island was claimed by England,who settled the islands in 1632. Under English/British control,the islands witnessed an influx of both Britons and African slaves migrate to the island. In 1981,the islands were granted independence as the modern state of Antigua and Barbuda.
Sir Lester Bryant Bird was an Antiguan politician and athlete who served as the second prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004. He was chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) from 1971 to 1983,then became prime minister when his father,Sir Vere Bird,the previous prime minister,resigned.
Sir Vere Cornwall Bird,KNH was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. His son,Lester Bryant Bird,succeeded him as prime minister. In 1994,he was declared a "National Hero".
The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. The current leader of the party is Gaston Browne,who serves as the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. The party had previously been led by Lester Bird,who was chairman of the party since 1971,and was Prime Minister and political leader in 1994.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 23 March 2004. The result was a victory for the opposition United Progressive Party (UPP),which defeated the incumbent Antigua Labour Party. Baldwin Spencer,leader of the UPP,replaced Lester Bird as Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda,with Bird being one of eight Labour MPs to lose his seat. Spencer became only the second Prime Minister from outside the Bird family or the Labour Party.
Winston Baldwin Spencer is an Antiguan politician who was the third prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014.
The Barbuda People's Movement is a left-wing Barbudan nationalist political party in Antigua and Barbuda active only on the island of Barbuda. The party's symbol is the European fallow deer,national animal of Barbuda. The party seeks the secession of Barbuda from Antigua and Barbuda. The party is allied with the United Progressive Party.
The Barbuda People's Movement for Change was a political party in Barbuda,part of Antigua and Barbuda.
The Barbuda Independence Movement was a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. The party was formed in 1988 by Arthur Nibbs. It participated in the 1989 general elections,but received only 71 votes and failed to win a seat. It did not contest another election.
Sir George Herbert Walter,KNH was an Antiguan politician of the Progressive Labour Movement and Premier of Antigua and Barbuda from 14 February 1971 to 1 February 1976.
Vere Bird Jr. was an Antiguan lawyer and politician who served as chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) and a government minister. He was the son of Vere Bird,the former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda,and brother of Lester Bird,who later held the same position.
Sir Steadroy "Cutie" Olivero Benjamin,KGCN,is an Antiguan lawyer and politician,who is the current minister of Justice and Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 12 June 2014. The result was a victory for the opposition Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party led by Gaston Browne,which won 14 of the 17 seats. Following the election,Browne became the country's youngest Prime Minister.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 21 March 2018 to elect members to House of Representatives of the 15th Antigua and Barbuda Parliament. Each of the 17 constituencies elected one Member of Parliament (MP).
Trevor Myke Walker is a Barbudan politician,current member of parliament for Barbuda,and former Cabinet Minister under the Baldwin Spencer administration. He is a member of the Barbuda People's Movement,a party that seeks the independence of Barbuda from Antigua and Barbuda.
The Chairperson of the Barbuda Council is the leader of the Barbuda Council. Established by the Barbuda Local Government Act of 1976,the first council election was on March 22,1979.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 18 January 2023 to elect members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party (ABLP) has held an absolute majority of 15 seats in the House of Representatives after the 2018 general election,with Gaston Browne remaining as prime minister. Browne initiated a constitutional referendum after the 2018 election,which was rejected by voters,and following the death of Elizabeth II in 2022,he announced his intention to organise a referendum for the transition of Antigua and Barbuda to a republican system. Besides ABLP,the United Progressive Party (UPP),Democratic National Alliance,Barbuda People's Movement (BPM),and three independent politicians filed candidacies for the 2023 general election.
Antigua,officially the Associated State of Antigua,was an associated state of the United Kingdom,which was established on 27 February 1967. The associated state was abolished on November 1,1981,by the Antigua Order.