Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands

Last updated

Governor of The Turks and Caicos Islands
Flag of the Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands.svg
Flag of the governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands
Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam (cropped).jpg
since 29 June 2023
Viceroy
Style Her Excellency
Appointer Charles III
as King of the United Kingdom
Term length At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation1973
First holder Alexander Graham Mitchell

The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory governed through the Turks and Caicos Islands Constitution Order 2011, amended in 2024, that provides for a Governor, an elected Government consisting of a Ministerial Cabinet and an elected Parliament. [1] [2]

Contents

The Governor is appointed by the British Monarch, to be his representative and to carry out key duties to support the people of the Islands, such as chairing Cabinet and ensuring the good governance of the Territory. The Constitution also reserves to the Governor responsibility for defence, external affairs, the regulation of international financial services; and internal security, including the police force. The Monarch also has the power to legislate for the Islands by Order in Council and to instruct the Governor through the British Government's Secretary of State for Foreign & Commonwealth Affairs. [3]

Following elections, the Governor appoints the Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands and on the Premier's advice, Government Ministers. The Governor chooses to appoint the Deputy Governor and Attorney General, who both sit in Cabinet and, on advice, senior officials such as the Commissioner of the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force and the Commanding Officer of the Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment. The Governor appoints the Chief Justice, Judges and other Judicial Officers on advice from the Turks and Caicos Islands Judicial Service Commission. [4] [5]

In August 2009, the United Kingdom suspended the islands' self-government after allegations of ministerial corruption. The prerogative of the ministerial government and the then House of Assembly were vested in the Governor until self-government was restored in 2012. [6] In March 2020 the Governor, at the request of Cabinet, used his emergency powers to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, which allowed the Governor to make laws and regulations without immediate reference to the legislature, although Cabinet consensus was maintained throughout. [7] [8]

The official residence of the Governor is 'Waterloo', on Grand Turk, named after the British defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, the year the residence was built. [9] The Governor has their own flag in the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Union Flag with the territory's coat of arms superimposed. [10]

History

The islands were a dependency of Jamaica until that colony received independence in 1962. Afterwards the governor of the Bahamas oversaw affairs from 1965 to 1973. With Bahamian independence, the islands received a separate governor in 1973.

Governors of The Turks and Caicos Islands

ImageNameTerm
No image.svg Alexander Graham Mitchell 1973–1975
No image.svg Arthur Christopher Watson 1975–1978
No image.svg John Clifford Strong 1978–1982
No image.svg Christopher J. Turner 1982–1987
No image.svg Michael J. Bradley 1987–1993
No image.svg Martin Bourke 1993–1996
No image.svg John Kelly 1996–2000
No image.svg Mervyn Jones 2000–2002
No image.svg Cynthia Astwood (acting)2002
No image.svg Jim Poston 2002–2005
No image.svg Mahala Wynns (acting)2005
No image.svg Richard Tauwhare 2005–2008
No image.svg Mahala Wynns (acting)2008 – 5 August 2008
Henry Bellingham with Governor Gordon Wetherell (5011436688) (Wetherell cropped).jpg Gordon Wetherell 5 August 2008 – 22 August 2011
No image.svg Martin Stanley (acting)22 August – 12 September 2011
Turk and Caicos Islands- Damian Roderic Todd (8575102710) (cropped).jpg Ric Todd 12 September 2011 – 15 September 2013
Deputy Governor Anya Williams.jpg Anya Williams (acting)15 September – 9 October 2013
Peter Beckingham (cropped).jpg Peter Beckingham 9 October 2013 – 10 October 2016
Deputy Governor Anya Williams.jpg Anya Williams (acting)10–17 October 2016
Argentina- John Freeman (8473848056).jpg John Freeman [11] 17 October 2016 – 15 July 2019
Nigel Dakin photo 1.jpg Nigel Dakin [12] 15 July 2019 – 29 March 2023
Deputy Governor Anya Williams.jpg Anya Williams (acting)29 March 2023 – 29 June 2023
Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam (cropped).jpg Dileeni Daniel-Selvaratnam 29 June 2023 – present

References

  1. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/the-governors-office-turk-and-caicos-islands
  2. ↑ https://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2024-0661/Draft_PDF_2.10.24.pdf
  3. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/world/organisations/the-governors-office-turk-and-caicos-islands
  4. ↑ https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2011/1681/made
  5. ↑ https://data.parliament.uk/DepositedPapers/Files/DEP2024-0661/Draft_PDF_2.10.24.pdf
  6. ↑ https://hansard.parliament.uk/commons/2012-12-11/debates/12121148000021/TurksAndCaicosIslands
  7. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/governor-dakins-national-address-response-to-covid-19-in-the-cayman-islands
  8. ↑ https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/governor-dakin-marks-first-year-in-office
  9. ↑ https://suntci.com/governors-official-residence-in-grand-turk-reopened-following-hurric-p7358-129.htm
  10. ↑ Grieve, Martin (26 June 2004). "Turks and Caicos: Governor's Flag". Flags of the World. Retrieved 5 August 2008. Governor's flag since 1999. Album depicts this and shows the shield's points touching the garaland and blue ribbon.
  11. ↑ "Change of Governor of Turks and Caicos Islands". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
  12. ↑ "Change of Governor of Turks and Caicos Islands - July 2019". GOV.UK. Retrieved 7 June 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.