The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands,two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The resident population in 2023 was estimated by The World Factbook at 59,367,making it the third-largest of the British overseas territories by population. However,according to a Department of Statistics estimate in 2022,the population was 47,720.
Michael Eugene Misick is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who was the 7th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 15 August 2003 to 9 August 2006 and was the 1st Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 9 August 2006 to 23 March 2009. Misick is a member of the Progressive National Party (PNP) and became chief minister when his party,after eight years as the opposition party,gained two parliamentary seats in by-elections. In addition to being premier,he was also the minister for Civil Aviation,Commerce and Development,Planning,District Administration,Broadcasting Commission,Tourist Board,Turks and Caicos Investment Agency,and Tourism. Several other members of Misick's family have been politicians in the Turks and Caicos Islands,and important leaders in the PNP. Washington Misick,his brother,is the current Premier,former Chief Minister and former Minister of Finance.
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.
Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency,whereby as of August 9,2006 the Premier is the head of government,and of a multi-party system. The islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Turks and Caicos Islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Council.
The Progressive National Party is a political party in the Turks and Caicos Islands,currently led by Washington Misick. The PNP holds 14 of the 15 elected seats in the House of Assembly and has been the government since 20 Feb 2021.
The Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands is the political leader and head of government. The post of premier is the equivalent to chief minister or prime minister in other British Overseas Territories. It is the highest political level that can be attained within the British colonial system. Prior to 2006,the position was known as the Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
Derek Hugh Taylor is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who served as the 6th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 31 January 1995 to 15 August 2004. He is the former leader of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM) party.
Charles Washington Misick is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who has been the 5th Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands since 20 February 2021. He has been the leader of the Progressive National Party since 20 December 2016. He previously served as the 5th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 3 April 1991 to 31 January 1995,was Minister of Finance,Trade and Investment from 2012 to 2016 and Leader of the Opposition from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2016 to 2021. Misick has been a MHA for the All Island District since November 2012 and was previously an MHA for Grand Turk from 1991 to 1999.
Norman B. Saunders is a Turks and Caicos Islander former politician who served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 4 November 1980 to 28 March 1985. Saunders is also the longest-serving Member of the House of Assembly in the Turks and Caicos Islands,nearing 50 years of service,the first Chief Minister to win back-to-back elections in 1980 and 1984,the only ever politician in the nation to win as an independent candidate,and the first leader of the opposition.
The House of Assembly is the legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The name of the house was changed from the Legislative Council of the Turks and Caicos Islands to its present name following the implementation of the new constitution on 9 August 2006.
The Honourable Galmo "Gilley" Williams is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who served as the 2nd Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 23 March 2009 to 14 August 2009.
The Speaker of the House of Assembly is the presiding officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands' House of Assembly,the legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. The current Speaker,Gordon Burton,was elected Speaker on 4 March 2021.
Akierra Mary Deanne Missick is a Turks and Caicos Islands lawyer and politician. She served as Deputy Premier and Minister of Education from 2012 to 2016 and Leader of Government Business and Minister of Infrastructure from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Progressive National Party,Missick has served as the Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for Leeward &Long Bay ED5 since 2012.
The Cabinet of the Turks and Caicos Islands comprises the ministers who advise the governor on government affairs. It was known as the Executive Council under the 1988 Constitution,and was given its current name in the 2006 Constitution. The Cabinet was disbanded in 2009 when self-government in the Turks and Caicos Islands was suspended. It was reconstituted after the 2012 election.
The Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands,in its present form,was passed in 2011.
Sharlene Linette Cartwright-Robinson JP is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician and lawyer who served as the 4th Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 20 December 2016 to 20 February 2021. She was the territory's first female premier. She was also the first woman to become first,deputy head,and then,head of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM).
The potential political association of the Turks and Caicos Islands along with Canada is a recurring topic perennially discussed at times in various cross sections of society of both nations,and usually emerging in discourse during northern hemispheric winter. The islands are currently a British Overseas Territory under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom which covers the territory's foreign affairs and national defence.
Karen Malcolm is a politician in the Turks and Caicos Islands. From 2016 to 2021,she was a member of the House of Assembly and the islands' minister of education,youth,culture,social,and library services.
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 19 February 2021 to elect members of the House of Assembly. The result was a landslide victory for the Progressive National Party,which won 14 of the 15 seats in the House.
Edwin Andre Astwood is a politician from the Turks and Caicos Islands who has been Leader of the Opposition since February 2021 and Leader of the PDM party since June 2021. He served as Minister of Health,Agriculture and Human Services from 2016 to 2021. Astwood has been a Member of the House of Assembly for Grand Turk South &Salt Cay since November 2012. He is the son of one of the founders of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM),Lewis Edwin Astwood III.
