The Isle of Man had become physically separated from Great Britain and Ireland by 6500 BC. It appears that colonisation took place by sea sometime during the Mesolithic era. The island has been visited by various raiders and trading peoples over the years. After being settled by people from Ireland in the first millennium AD, the Isle of Man was converted to Christianity and then suffered raids by Vikings from Norway. After becoming subject to Norwegian suzerainty as part of the Kingdom of Mann and the Isles, the Isle of Man later became a possession of the Scottish and then the English crowns.
The government of the Isle of Man is a parliamentary representative democracy. The Monarch of the United Kingdom is also the head of state of the Isle of Man, and generally referred to as "The King, Lord of Mann". Legislation of the Isle of Man defines "the Crown in right of the Isle of Man" as separate from the "Crown in right of the United Kingdom". His representative on the island is the Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man, but his role is mostly ceremonial, though he does have the power to grant Royal Assent.
The Isle of Man partially elects its legislature at the national level. The High Court of Tynwald consists of two chambers. The House of Keys has 24 members, elected in a general election for a five-year term in 12 two-seat constituencies. Each voter has two votes and in each constituency the two candidates with the most votes are elected. The Legislative Council has 11 members: three ex-officio members and eight other members who are elected by the House of Keys for a five-year term. Political parties do not play an important role on the Island. The Isle of Man lowered its voting age from 18 to 16 in 2006.
Peter Alfred Craine was a baker and a politician from the Isle of Man and a Member of the House of Keys (MHK) for Douglas South.
The chief minister is the executive head of the Isle of Man Government.
Donald James Gelling CBE CP, CInstSMM is a Manx former politician, who is a former Chief Minister of the Isle of Man who served two terms as Head of the Government.
Noel Quayle Cringle OBE was President of Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man, from 2000 to 2011.
Sir Miles Rawstron Walker is a Manx businessman and politician, who was the first ever Chief Minister of the Isle of Man.
The Isle of Man Government is the government of the Isle of Man. The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, the personal representative of the Lord of Mann. The executive head is the Chief Minister.
Philip Anderson Gawne, better known as Phil Gawne, is a former Member of the House of Keys for Rushen, a constituency in the Isle of Man.
Sir Henry Charles Kerruish OBE LLD CP MLC was a Manx politician who was the first President of Tynwald and, as Speaker of the House of Keys from 1962 to 1990, was the longest-serving Speaker in any Parliament in the Commonwealth. He was also the first Chairman of the Executive Council, the forerunner of the present Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, from 1961 to 1967. This made him the first Manx person to fulfil an executive role on the Isle of Man. Previously the Lieutenant Governor had exercised all executive power. He was a keen supporter of Scouting on the Isle of Man, often offering his own lands for camping.
Stephen Charles Rodan MLC is a Manx politician who served as the President of Tynwald from 2016 to 2021 and is a former Minister of the Isle of Man Government and former MHK for the constituency of Garff. He was first elected to the seat in a by-election in 1995.
David Clifford Cretney is a former Manx politician. He was, until March 2014, Minister of Infrastructure in the Isle of Man Government, and had formerly headed the Departments of Community, Culture & Leisure, Trade & Industry, and Tourism & Leisure. He was a Member of the House of Keys for the Manx Labour Party, representing Douglas South from 1985. He has been a member of the upper house, the Legislative Council since 2015.
Lieutenant Colonel Edgar John Mann MB was a British politician, and Chairman of the Executive Council of the Isle of Man, the then head of the island's Government.
Walter Anthony Gilbey was a British politician and businessman, who was a member of the House of Keys on the Isle of Man.
Clifford Irving was an Isle of Man politician who, in a four-decade career lasting from 1955 to 1995, fulfilled a number of legislative and administrative duties, including those of Chairman of the Executive Council and Member of the Legislative Council.
Juan Paul Watterson FCA CMgr FCMI FRSA SHK is a Manx politician, who is Speaker of the House of Keys, and a member for Rushen, in the Isle of Man.
Dr David Moore is a Manx politician and former Chairman of the Finance Board, the forerunner to the present Treasury Minister. He was Member of the House of Keys for Peel from 1978 until his retirement in 1986. In 1985, he was appointed the last Chairman of the Finance Board.
Simcocks Advocates is a British law firm based in the Isle of Man. It is one of the Island’s leading offshore legal practices.
The Isle of Man Green Party is a green political party in the Isle of Man founded in August 2016 by Andrew Langan-Newton, who still leads the party along with Deputy Leader, Lamara Craine. Success has been achieved at local authority level with the first seat won in a by-election in 2018 and today the party has 4 elected members on 4 different local authorities. The Party proposes that it provides a forum for citizens of the Isle of Man to build a movement seeking change and direction in Isle of Man politics.
