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.
Tristan da Cunha, colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately 2,787 kilometres (1,732 mi) from Cape Town in South Africa, 2,437 kilometres (1,514 mi) from Saint Helena, 3,949 kilometres (2,454 mi) from Mar del Plata in Argentina, South America and 4,002 kilometres (2,487 mi) from the Falkland Islands.
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), are the 14 territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom, but do not form part of the United Kingdom itself. The permanently inhabited territories are internally self-governing, with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations. All of the territories are inhabited by civilians, except three that are chiefly or only inhabited by military or scientific personnel. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state. These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and are subject to change.
An administrator in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general.
The Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the monarch in Saint Helena, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The current governor of Saint Helena has been Nigel Phillips since 13 August 2022.
The governor of Tristan de Cunha is the representative of the monarch in Tristan da Cunha, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state.
The Supreme Court of St Helena together with the St Helena Court of Appeal are the Senior Courts of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Ascension Island:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Saint Helena:
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to Tristan da Cunha:
Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from the coast of Africa and 1,400 miles (2,300 km) from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, of which the main island, Saint Helena, is around 800 miles (1,300 km) to the southeast. The territory also includes the sparsely populated Tristan da Cunha archipelago, 2,300 miles (3,700 km) to the south, about halfway to the Antarctic Circle.
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.
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha. Its name was Saint Helena and Dependencies until 1 September 2009, when a new constitution came into force giving the three islands equal status as three territories, with a grouping under the Crown.
The politics of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha operate under the jurisdiction of the government of the United Kingdom. The three parts of the territory—Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha—effectively form an asymmetric federacy and collectively constitute one of United Kingdom's fourteen overseas territories.
Lisa Kathleen Honan was the Governor of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha from 25 April 2016 until 4 May 2019, when she was replaced by Philip Rushbrook. She is the first, and currently only, female to have held the post. Honan was previously Head of Office in Kenya for the Department for International Development, and after holding the post in St Helena went on to be Head of the DFID Office in Nepal. She resigned from there in August 2021 ending a career lasting 46 years in international development.
Air Commodore Nigel James Phillips, is a British diplomat, former Royal Air Force officer and former Governor of the Falkland Islands and Commissioner of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. He has served as Governor of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha since 13 August 2022.
The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 is a Statutory Instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom direct from the Privy Council of the United Kingdom that made legal provision for a new Constitution for the British Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Before the Constitution came into force, the territory was formally known as St Helena and Dependencies under the provisions of the St. Helena Constitution Order 1988, which the 2009 Order replaces. The new Constitution gave each of the main islands equal status, ending the status of Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha as dependencies of Saint Helena within the territory. However, it retains a single Governor who is based in Jamestown, a single legal system and Administrators for Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It came into force on 1 September 2009.
