The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially simply the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles.
Subsequent to the restoration of the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands in 1950, Dawson was elected as member for the Third District following general elections in 1957, 1960 and 1963. He was then elected as the member for the Second District in the 1967 general election, which introduced Ministerial rule in the British Virgin Islands, and he was appointed Minister for Natural Resources and Public Health. He later served as Deputy Speaker (1971-1975) and then Speaker (1975-1983) to the Legislative Council.
The British Virgin Islands general election, 1967 was held in the British Virgin Islands on 14 April 1967. The election was the first general election after the passing of the new Constitution earlier in the same year, which introduced Ministerial Government into the British Virgin Islands for the first time. Elections under the prior Constitution introduced in 1950 to restore the Legislative Council had merely elected legislators. It is probably fair to say that 1967 marked the introduction of true direct democratic rule in the British Virgin Islands. But, notwithstanding the introduction of Ministerial Government, the resulting Legislative Council is still referred to as the 6th Legislative Council in deference to the five prior Councils elected under the 1950 Constitution.
He was a founding member of the United Party. The Ivan Dawson Primary School and the Ivan Dawson Memorial Scholarship are named in his honour.
The United Party is a now defunct political party of the British Virgin Islands.
Daniel Orlando Smith, OBE is the former Premier of the British Virgin Islands. He also formerly served as Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands from 2003 to 2007. He first won the office when his National Democratic Party won the 2003 general election, being the party's first victory at a general election in its history.
Elections in the British Virgin Islands are conducted to elect members to the House of Assembly. In the British Virgin Islands elections are not conducted in relation to appointments to either the Executive or Judicial branches of Government, and there are no other publicly elected posts in the British Virgin Islands. Most elections are conducted as general elections, which under the Constitution are required to be held every four years, or as by-elections when a member of the House of Assembly dies or steps down. Since the re-introduction of democracy into the British Virgin Islands in 1950 there have been fifteen general elections, and three recorded by-elections. The next general election was scheduled to be held in 2015.
The House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, until 2007 known as the Legislative Council, has 15 members: 13 directly elected for four-year terms, and two ex officio members.
Ralph Telford O'Neal, OBE is a former politician in the British Virgin Islands. He is the longest ever serving elected representative in the British Virgin Islands, and has served as Chief Minister or Premier of the British Virgin Islands for three terms.
Politics of the British Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Premier is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The British Virgin Islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the islands on the United Nations list of Non-Self-Governing Territories. The Constitution of the Islands was introduced in 1971 and amended in 1979, 1982, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2007. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
The British Virgin Islands general election, 1983 was held in the British Virgin Islands on 11 November 1983. The result was a victory for the opposition United Party in coalition with independent candidate Cyril Romney over the governing Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by former Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt. Each major party won four seats, and Cyril Romney was the sole remaining elected independent. Accordingly, Romney allegedly agree to join a coalition with whichever party would make him Chief Minister. The VIP declined to do so, but the UP eventually agreed thereby winning the election despite securing a smaller overall percentage of the vote.
The Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands is the collective decision-making body of the British Virgin Islands government. It is composed of the Premier, four other Ministers of Government, and the Attorney General as an ex officio, non-voting, member. The Governor attends and presides over meetings of Cabinet where possible. The Cabinet has responsibility for the formulation of policy, including directing the implementation of such policy, insofar as it relates to every aspect of government, except those matters for which are reserved to the Governor under the Constitution. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the House of Assembly for such policies and their implementation.
The British Virgin Islands general election, 1950 was the first election held in the British Virgin Islands after the decision to restore the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands. The election was held on 27 November 1950, and four members were elected to the First Legislative Council.
The British Virgin Islands general election, 1954 was a general election held in the British Virgin Islands in 1954 for seats on the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands. The exact date of the election is not recorded, although based on contemporary records it appears to have been in April. Similarly the exact vote tallies in each of the districts is not recorded, nor are the names of the candidates who stood.
The British Virgin Islands general election, 1960 was a general election held in the British Virgin Islands on 11 October 1960 for seats on the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands.
Conrad Antonio Maduro is a veteran politician in the British Virgin Islands and longtime leader of the United Party. Remarkably, Conrad Maduro has led his party to victory at three different general elections, but has never been appointed Chief Minister.
The British Virgin Islands general election, 1963 was a general election held in the British Virgin Islands on 28 November 1963 for seats on the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands general election, 1957 was a general election held in the British Virgin Islands in 1957 for seats on the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands. The election in 1957 is the election with the least recorded information at the Deputy Governor's office in the British Virgin Islands. Even exact date of the election is not recorded. Nor are the names of the candidates who stood, or is the exact vote tallies in each of the Districts. There are no details of turnout, nor is it recorded who the supervisor of elections was.
Dr Qwominer William Osborne, OBE was a politician and physician in the British Virgin Islands.
Howard Reynold Penn OBE (1903–1994), more commonly known simply as H.R. Penn, was a politician who served during the years immediately after the reintroduction of democracy in the British Virgin Islands in 1950. He was elected as a member of First Legislative Council and continued to serve until his defeat in the 1963 general election.
Isaac Glanville Fonseca was one of the early political figures in the British Virgin Islands around the time of the restoration of democracy in 1950. Fonseca was one of the community leaders who participated in the "march of 1949" and later went on to become one of the longest serving legislators in the British Virgin Islands, winning a total of six general elections before retiring from politics.
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