The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by King Charles III in his role as King of the Bahamas. The politics of the Bahamas takes place within a framework of parliamentary democracy, with a Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The Bahamas is an Independent Country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. As a former British colony, its political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom. King Charles III is the head of state, but executive power is exercised by the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and jurisprudence is based on English common law. The multi-party system is dominated by the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National Movement. The constitution protects freedom of speech, press, worship, movement, and association.
Sir Orville Alton Turnquest is a Bahamian politician who was the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of External Relations of the Bahamas from 1992 to 1994, and the sixth governor-general of the Bahamas from 3 January 1995 until his retirement on 13 November 2001.
Theodore Brent Symonette is a Bahamian businessman and Free National Movement politician who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for St. Anne's constituency from 2007 to 2012 and 2017 to 2021. In his first term, he served as Deputy Prime Minister to Hubert Ingraham and Minister of Foreign Affairs. In his second, he was the Minister of Financial Services, Trade and Industry and Immigration from 2017 to 2019.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Bahamas have limited legal protections. While same-sex sexual activity is legal in the Bahamas, there are no laws that address discrimination or harassment on the account of sexual orientation or gender identity, nor does it recognize same sex unions in any form, whether it be marriage or partnerships. Households headed by same-sex couples are also not eligible for any of the same rights given to opposite-sex married couples.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 2 May 2007. The result was an opposition victory, with the Free National Movement, led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham, claiming 23 of the 41 seats. Incumbent Prime Minister Perry Christie conceded defeat in a phone call to his rival. Ingraham was sworn into the office of Prime Minister on 4 May.
The monarchy of the Bahamas is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. The current Bahamian monarch and head of state, since 8 September 2022, is King Charles III. As sovereign, he is the personal embodiment of the Bahamian Crown. Although the person of the sovereign is equally shared with 14 other independent countries within the Commonwealth of Nations, each country's monarchy is separate and legally distinct. As a result, the current monarch is officially titled King of the Bahamas and, in this capacity, he and other members of the royal family undertake public and private functions domestically and abroad as representatives of the Bahamian state. However, the King is the only member of the Royal Family with any constitutional role.
Philip Edward "Brave" Davis is a Bahamian politician serving as the prime minister of the Bahamas since 2021. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cat Island, Rum Cay & San Salvador from 1992 to 1997 and returned to the seat in May 2002, which he still represents.
Frederick Audley Mitchell Jr. is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the third time. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fox Hill, first elected in 2002 and then again in 2021. He also served two terms in the Senate.
Sir Leonard Joseph Knowles, CBE was the first Chief Justice of an independent Bahamas.
Michael Arthur Delaney is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 28th New Hampshire Attorney General from 2009 to 2013. Delaney was appointed to the office of Attorney General by New Hampshire Governor John Lynch and decided not to seek reappointment by Governor Maggie Hassan at the end of his term, instead taking a position at the McLane Law Firm. In 2023, Delaney was nominated by President Joe Biden to serve as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit. On May 18, 2023, it was announced that his nomination would be withdrawn because of bipartisan opposition.
Sir Burton Percival Curtis Hall, KCHS is a Judge of the UN International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals.
Paul Lawrence Adderley was a Bahamian politician and lawyer. He was the longest serving Attorney-General of the 20th century, holding the post for 17 years (1973-1989)
The Norman Manley Law School is a law school in Jamaica.
Leo Ryan Pinder is a Bahamian lawyer, politician, Member of Parliament and Senator. He has served as Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs since September 2021.
Allyson Maynard Gibson KC is a Bahamian barrister, politician, and community rights advocate, particularly with regard to laws affecting women and children. From 2012 to 2017 she was the Attorney-General and Minister for Legal Affairs of The Bahamas, and leader of government business in the Senate of the Bahamas. From 2002 to 2007, she served as Minister of Financial Services and Investments in the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) administration.
Dame Janet Gwennett Bostwick is a Bahamian lawyer and politician. She entered politics in 1977 with an appointment to the Senate. She was the first woman to serve as acting Prime Minister, first woman Attorney-General and the first woman Member of Parliament in the Bahamas.
Jeanne I. Thompson is a Bahamian attorney who was a Justice of the Supreme Court from 2002 until 2007. Prior to her legal career, Thompson had a career as a playwright and a journalist.
The Office of the Attorney-General & Ministry of Legal Affairs provides legal advice to the government of the Bahamas in national and international matters.
JoBeth Lillian Coleby-Davis is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician and attorney who has been the Bahamian Minister of Energy and Transport since 4 September 2023 and the Member of Parliament for Elizabeth since 16 September 2021. Coleby-Davis defeated the FNM incumbent Duane Sands in the 2021 general election. She previously served in the Senate from 2017 to 2021.
Hon. Eugene Aubrey Pyfrom Dupuch was a Bahamian journalist, lawyer, Member of Parliament, and Cabinet Minister.
