Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island 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.
Winston Baldwin Spencer is an Antiguan politician who was the third Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014.
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 Molwyn Joseph,KGCN,is an Antiguan politician and Chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP). First entering politics in 1984 when he was made a Minister without Portfolio in the government of Vere Bird,Joseph became Minister of Finance seven years later,renegotiating the Antiguan national debt and introducing fiscal reforms. After a 1996 scandal in which it was discovered he had used his position to import a 1930s Rolls-Royce for a friend,bypassing normal import duties and taxes,he was dismissed from the Bird administration,returning 14 months later to serve as Minister for Planning,Implementation and the Environment. Following the 1999 general election,he became Minister of Heath and Social Improvement before being made Minister of Tourism and the Environment a few months later. As Minister,Joseph attempted to improve the perception of Antigua as a tourist destination and invest in the industry,spending 2 million US dollars increasing the number of hotel rooms on the island and providing money for both Air Jamaica and Air Luxor to provide flights to the island.
Steadroy "Cutie" Benjamin 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.
Gaston Alfonso Browne is an Antiguan politician serving as the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and leader of the Labour Party since 2014. Before entering politics,he was a banker and businessman.
The high commissioner of India in Georgetown,Guyana is concurrently accredited to Antigua and Barbuda. Antigua and Barbuda maintains an honorary consulate general in New Delhi.
Antigua and Barbuda and Mexico are members of the Association of Caribbean States,Organization of American States and the United Nations.
Maria Vanessa Bird-Browne is a politician in Antigua and Barbuda. She was elected as a member of the House of Representatives for St. John's Rural East in the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda in 2018,becoming the youngest lawmaker in the country and the youngest female member of parliament across the Commonwealth. She is the country's minister for housing,lands,and urban renewal.
Gerald Owen Anderson Watt is an Antiguan politician and a former cabinet minister. Watt represented St. John's Rural East in parliament from 1971 until 1976 and is a former chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission. Watt has also served as attorney general during his time as Minister of National Security,Labour,and Legal Affairs. Watt has been the Speaker of the House of Representatives since 25 June 2014. He can be considered bipartisan.
Saint John's City West is a parliamentary constituency located in the city of St. John's,Antigua and Barbuda.
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.
Osbert Richard Frederick is an Antiguan and Barbudan politician. He was appointed senator by Prime Minister Gaston Browne. After his appointment,he was elected the Deputy senate president in the Upper House of Parliament in Antigua and Barbuda.
Cheryl Mary Clare Hurst is an Antiguan and Barbudan politician. She is a senator of the Upper House of Parliament in Antigua and Barbuda. She was appointed senator by Prime Minister Gaston Browne. She is also the General Secretary of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party. Hurst was appointed senator after the 2014 general elections held in Antigua and Barbuda.
