Christine Scipio-O'Dean (born 1971 [1] ) is a politician from Saint Helena, who was a supporter of the approval of same-sex marriage in Saint Helena.
Scipio-O'Dean was first elected councillor in 2012, [2] as a result of a by-election after the resignation of Tara Thomas, and became one of two women councillors alongside Bernice Olsson. [3] Prior to her political career she worked as a teacher and in finance administration. She was re-elected in 2013, [1] and was appointed Executive Councillor for Education. [4] In 2014 she attended the 60th Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, held in Cameroon. [5]
In 2017 she was re-elected to the Legislative Council and was appointed as Chair of the Education Committee and Member of the Economic Development Committee. [1] That year she supported the approval of same-sex marriage in Saint Helena. [6] [7] In 2019 she attended the 6th British Islands and Mediterranean Region (BIMR) Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians (CWP) Conference in Jersey. [8] In 2020 she attended the British Islands and Mediterranean Region Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference, hosted by the Falkland Islands Legislative Assembly. [9]
In 2021, Scipio-O'Dean was re-elected to the Legislative Council. [10]
Saint Helena is a British possession in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is a remote volcanic tropical island 1,950 kilometres west of the coast of south-western Africa, and 4,000 kilometres (2,500 mi) east of Rio de Janeiro in South America. It is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Politics of Saint Helena takes place in a framework of limited self-government as a dependent territory of the United Kingdom, whereby the Governor is the head of government. Saint Helena, an island in the southern Atlantic Ocean, is a part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
The Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), previously known as the Empire Parliamentary Association, is an organisation which works to support good governance, democracy and human rights.
Joan Helen Vickers, Baroness Vickers, DBE was a British National Liberal and later Conservative Party politician.
From the turn of the 20th century, women have had the right to stand for parliament and participate in government in Australia. Following federation, the government of the newly formed Commonwealth of Australia passed the Commonwealth Franchise Act 1902 allowing most women to both vote and stand at the 1903 Federal election. South Australia and Western Australia granted women the vote before federation, and the states of New South Wales, Tasmania, Queensland and Victoria also passed legislation allowing women to participate in government at the state and local levels following federation. Indigenous Australian women did not achieve suffrage at all levels of government and in all states and territories until 1962.
The Legislative Council of Saint Helena has 15 members, 12 members elected for a four-year term by popular vote and three members ex officio. Members of the Council are referred to as Councillors and sometimes use the suffix "MLC", while the council itself is often referred to as "LegCo" by islanders officials.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) rights in the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha have gradually evolved over the years. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation is banned in the entire territory through the Constitution Order 2009 and same-sex marriage has been legal on the islands since 2017.
The Ascension Island Council is an elected body that provides advice to the Administrator of Ascension Island on matters relating to the governance of Ascension Island. The Council is made up of either five or seven Councillors, depending on the number of candidates standing for an election, and its meetings are chaired by the Administrator. The Island's constitution requires the Governor and Administrator to consult with the Council when making laws for Ascension Island. The Governor and Administrator are not bound to accept the advice of the Council but the Council has the right of appeal to the British Government.
The Tristan da Cunha Island Council is the legislature of the island of Tristan da Cunha in the Atlantic Ocean. The composition of the Island Council consists of the Administrator of Tristan da Cunha as the presiding officer, plus three appointed and eight elected members. At least one elected member of the council must be a woman.
Dean Anthony Smith is an Australian politician and Liberal Party member of the Australian Senate since 2012, representing Western Australia.
Patricia Arab is a Lebanese Canadian politician, who was elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in the 2013 provincial election. A member of the Nova Scotia Liberal Party, she represents the electoral district of Fairview-Clayton Park.
Christine Forster is a former Australian local government politician who was a Liberal councillor in the City of Sydney (2012–2021) and the younger sister of former Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Among the fourteen British Overseas Territories, eight – Akrotiri and Dhekelia, the British Antarctic Territory, the British Indian Ocean Territory, the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, the Pitcairn Islands, Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands – recognise and perform same-sex marriages. In the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, only British military and civilian personnel can enter into same-sex marriages and civil partnerships.
Same-sex marriage has been legal in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha since 2017. An ordinance to open marriage to same-sex couples in Saint Helena was passed by the Legislative Council in a 9–2 vote on 19 December 2017. It went into force the following day, and the first same-sex marriage was performed on 31 December 2018. Same-sex couples have also been able to marry on Ascension Island since 1 January 2017 and in Tristan da Cunha since 4 August 2017.
Kylie Marie Hercules, MLC is a politician and former prison officer and social worker from the island of Saint Helena, part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Susan O'Bey is a politician in Saint Helena. She is currently chief secretary, one of the most senior roles in the island's government.
A two-part consultative referendum on changing the system of governance was held in Saint Helena on 17 March 2021. In the first question, voters were asked whether there should be a change. In the second, they were asked for their preference on the form of governance, choosing between a committee system and a ministerial system.
General elections were held in Saint Helena on 13 October 2021 to elect the 12 members of the Legislative Council. They were the first elections after a March 2021 referendum on changing the governance system of Saint Helena from a committee system to a ministerial system. Following the election, the island's first Chief Minister, Julie Thomas, was elected by members of the Legislative Council on its first session on 25 October.
The Chief Minister of Saint Helena is the head of the Saint Helena Government. The chief minister is elected by the Legislative Council of Saint Helena, and is formally appointed by the Governor of Saint Helena, the representative of the British monarch.
Julie Dorne Thomas is the inaugural Chief Minister of Saint Helena. She was elected to the role on 25 October 2021 by the Legislative Council following the 2021 Saint Helena general election, in which she received the most votes out of all candidates.
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