Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina,about 1,035 km (643 mi) to the west-northwest.
Bermuda is the oldest British Overseas Territory,and the oldest self-governing British Overseas Territory,and has a great degree of internal autonomy through authority and roles of governance delegated to it by the national Government. Its parliament held its first session in 1620,making it the third-oldest continuous parliament in the world. As part of the British realm,King Charles III is head of state and is represented in Bermuda by a Governor,whom he appoints on the advice of the British Government. The Governor has special responsibilities in four areas:external affairs,defence,internal security,and policing.
Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, KCMG,PC,NH,JP was a Bahamian politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation",having led the Bahamas to majority rule and independence.
Before European colonization,the Turks and Caicos Islands were inhabited by Taíno and Lucayan peoples. The first recorded European sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos occurred in 1512. In the subsequent centuries,the islands were claimed by several European powers with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years the islands were governed indirectly through Bermuda,the Bahamas,and Jamaica. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973,the islands received their own governor,and have remained a separate autonomous British Overseas Territory since. In August 2009,the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos Islands' self-government following allegations of ministerial corruption. Home rule was restored in the islands after the November 2012 elections.
Dame Jennifer Meredith Smith,DBE,JP,DHumL,MP was the Premier of Bermuda from 1998 until 2003,the first premier who was not a member of the United Bermuda Party.
Dame Billie Antoinette Miller,DA,OOC is a Barbadian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister. Miller is a member of the Barbados Labour Party (BLP).
The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) is one of the two political parties in Bermuda. At the 18 July 2017 general election,the party won 24 of the 36 seats in the Bermudian House of Assembly to become the governing party. The party was founded in 1963,the first political party in Bermuda,and the oldest still active. It formed government from 1998 to 2012,and again since 2017.
The governor of Bermuda is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda.
The House of Assembly is the lower house of the Parliament of the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda. The house has 36 Members of Parliament (MPs),elected for a term of five years in single seat constituencies using first-past-the-post voting. Bermuda now has universal voting with a voting age of 18 years. Voting is non-compulsory. The presiding officer of the House is called the Speaker.
The Honourable Kenneth Howard Randolph "Randy" Horton,JP,MP is a former soccer and cricket player from Bermuda who is currently Speaker of the House of Assembly of Bermuda. He was named North American Soccer League Most Valuable Player in 1972.
Ewart Frederick Brown Jr. is a politician and physician who served as the ninth Premier of Bermuda and leader of the country's Progressive Labour Party (PLP) from 2006 to 2010. He represented Warwick South Central as a Member of Parliament from 1993 to 2010.
Freundel Jerome Stuart,OR,PC,SC is a Barbadian politician who served as seventh Prime Minister of Barbados and the leader of the Democratic Labour Party (DLP) from 23 October 2010 to 21 February 2013;and from 21 February 2013 to 25 May 2018. He succeeded David Thompson,who had died in office on 23 October 2010 from pancreatic cancer.
Paula Ann Cox CBE is a Bermudian politician and former premier of Bermuda. She has been the leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP),since 28 October 2010. In accordance with the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968,she was appointed Premier of Bermuda,on Friday,29 October 2010 by Governor Sir Richard Gozney. She was succeeded as Premier by Craig Cannonier on 18 December 2012,when she led her party into election defeat,losing her own seat in the process.
Sir David Gibbons KBE,JP was a Bermudian politician and businessman. He served as Minister of Health from 1974 to 1975,Minister of Finance from 1975 to 1985 and ultimately as Premier between 1977 and 1982 for the United Bermuda Party. Gibbons alswo was member of the House of Assembly of Bermuda. During his term as Premier he had to deal with large-scale riots in 1977 and a general strike in 1981. He is recognized as one of the architects of modern Bermuda,laying the foundations for the offshore financial industry and reinsurance sector.
Michael Henry Dunkley,JP,MP is a Bermudian politician and businessman who served as the 12th Premier of Bermuda from 2014 to 2017. He was an MP and member general of the One Bermuda Alliance political party and an active businessman on the island.
The Hon. Marc A. Bean,JP,MP is a Bermudian politician,and the former Leader of the Opposition. Bean was a Member of Bermuda's Parliament since winning a by-election in 2010,securing the seat of Warwick South Central for the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Previously,Bean had served in the Bermuda Senate. While in government,Bean held various ministerial and junior ministerial portfolios,including Environment,Planning and Infrastructure Strategy. In September 2020,he announced that he was forming a new political party,the Free Democratic Movement,to contest the 2020 Bermudian general election.
Edward David Burt is the Premier of Bermuda and leader of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Burt is Bermuda's youngest ever premier,having taken office at the age of 38.
Gloria Juanita McPhee OBE was a Bermudian politician who served as a member of the House of Assembly from 1968 to 1980,representing the United Bermuda Party (UBP). She was a government minister from 1968 to 1977,the first woman appointed to the ministry.
Kim Wilson is a Bermudian politician and lawyer,who is Minister of Health for the Government of Bermuda. Elected to parliament in 2012,Wilson has held several ministries,as a member of the Progressive Labour Party.
