Keith Biles | |
---|---|
Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands | |
Assumed office 27 February 2009 | |
Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
Governor | Alan Huckle Nigel Haywood Colin Roberts Nigel Phillips Alison Blake |
Preceded by | Darwin Lewis Clifton |
Personal details | |
Nationality | British |
Political party | Nonpartisan |
Spouse | Kathy |
Keith Robert Biles JP is a British-born Falkland Islands banker and politician who has served as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands since his election in 2009. [1]
Biles was born in the UK but moved to the Falkland Islands in 1995 as CEO of a branch of the Standard Chartered Bank. He retired from this position in 2002. [2]
In June 2012,Biles launched Heroes Welcome in the Falklands. Heroes Welcome UK is an open-resource community partnership scheme,designed to encourage a show of support to members of the British Armed Forces.
In 2014,Biles was amongst those who bid farewell to the outgoing Governor of the Falkland Islands,Nigel Haywood. Haywood's last official act was presenting the Governor's sword to Biles for safekeeping until the next Governor arrived. [3]
He is married to the Rev. Kathy Biles,an Anglican cleric (ordained deacon in 2004 and priest in 2006) and Assistant at Christ Church Cathedral,Port Stanley. [2]
The politics of the Falkland Islands takes place in a framework of a constitutional monarchy and parliamentary representative democratic dependency as set out by the constitution,whereby the Governor exercises the duties of head of state in the absence of the monarch and the Chief Executive is the head of the Civil Service,with an elected Legislative Assembly to propose new laws,national policy,approve finance and hold the executive to account.
Stanley is the capital city of the Falkland Islands. It is located on the island of East Falkland,on a north-facing slope in one of the wettest parts of the islands. At the 2016 census,the city had a population of 2,460. The entire population of the Falkland Islands was 3,398 on Census Day on 9 October 2016.
Peter Symonds College is a sixth form college in Winchester,Hampshire,in the south of England. Founded as a boys' grammar school,it is one of the few specialist sixth form colleges which is also a boarding school. It serves Falkland Islands residents for sixth form. It is the biggest sixth form college in the UK.
Alan Edden Huckle is an English senior diplomat in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the British Government. He was the commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) and the British Antarctic Territory from 23 April 2001 until 12 January 2004,when he left to become the governor of Anguilla in the Caribbean. He was the Governor of Anguilla from 29 July 2004 to July 2006,having been appointed in July 2003.
The governor of the Falkland Islands is the representative of the British Crown in the Falkland Islands,acting "in His Majesty's name and on His Majesty's behalf" as the islands' de facto head of state in the absence of the British monarch. The role and powers of the governor are set out in Chapter II of the Falkland Islands Constitution. The governor in office resides at Government House,which serves as the official residence.
Sir Rex Masterman Hunt,was a British Government diplomat and colonial administrator. He was Governor,Commander-in-Chief,and Vice Admiral of the Falkland Islands between 1980 and September 1985. He became a household name in the United Kingdom during the Falklands War,after the Argentine invasion of the islands in 1982,when he was taken prisoner and temporarily removed from his position.
The Legislative Assembly of the Falkland Islands is the unicameral legislature of the British Overseas Territory of the Falkland Islands. The Legislative Assembly replaced the Legislative Council when the new Constitution of the Falklands came into force in 2009 and laid out the composition,powers and procedures of the islands' legislature.
The Falkland Islands is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about 300 mi (480 km) east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about 752 mi (1,210 km) from Cape Dubouzet at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula,at a latitude of about 52°S. The archipelago,with an area of 4,700 sq mi (12,000 km2),comprises East Falkland,West Falkland,and 776 smaller islands. As a British overseas territory,the Falklands have internal self-governance,but the United Kingdom takes responsibility for their defence and foreign affairs. The capital and largest settlement is Stanley on East Falkland.
The Executive Council of the Falkland Islands is the policy making body of the Government of the Falkland Islands,exercising executive power by advising the Governor. It has an equivalent role to that of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. The first Executive Council for the Falklands was inaugurated on 2 April 1845 by Governor Richard Moody.
The Falkland Islands Constitution is a predominantly codified constitution documented primarily within the Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008,a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom. The Constitution,in its present form,was made on 5 November 2008 by Queen Elizabeth II in a meeting of the Privy Council at Buckingham Palace. It was laid before Parliament on 12 November 2008 and came into force on 1 January 2009,replacing the 1985 constitution.
Nigel Robert Haywood is a British diplomat,who served as British ambassador to Estonia from 2003 until 2008 and Governor of the Falkland Islands from 2010 until 2014.
Glenn Ross is a Falkland Islands engineer and politician who served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Stanley constituency from the 2009 general election until his resignation in 2011.
Richard Sawle is a British born,Falkland Islands politician,who has been Complaints Commissioner since 15 January 2014 and previously served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the Stanley constituency from 2009 until 2013.
Heroes Welcome is a scheme designed to encourage British communities to demonstrate support to members of the armed forces. The concept involves the displaying of a Heroes Welcome Sticker,this can be by either private individuals,or business operators and simply indicates a special welcome to service personnel. Heroes Welcome is not a charity or discount scheme,the minimum offer is;"A Warm Welcome",participating members may choose to offer a small discount or additional service upgrade if they wish,but this is not mandatory to membership of the scheme.
Keith Padgett is an English politician who served as Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands from 2012 to 2016. Before his appointed as Chief Executive,Padgett served as the islands' Financial Secretary from 2008,which was renamed Director of Finance with the implementation of the 2009 Constitution. He also acts as Director of Corporate Resources.
Colin Roberts is a British diplomat and the former Governor of the Falkland Islands and former Commissioner of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.
A referendum on political status was held in the Falkland Islands on 10–11 March 2013. The Falkland Islanders were asked whether or not they supported the continuation of their status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom in view of Argentina's call for negotiations on the islands' sovereignty.
Among the fourteen British Overseas Territories,eight –Akrotiri and Dhekelia,the British Antarctic Territory,the British Indian Ocean Territory,the Falkland Islands,Gibraltar,the Pitcairn Islands,Saint Helena,Ascension and Tristan da Cunha,and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands –recognise and perform same-sex marriages. In the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia,only British military and civilian personnel can enter into same-sex marriages and civil partnerships.
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 since 13 August 2022.