Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the Caribbean. It lies at the conjuncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles.
The history of Antigua and Barbuda covers the period from the arrival of the Archaic peoples thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization,the lands encompassing present-day Antigua and Barbuda were inhabited by three successive Amerindian societies. The island was claimed by England,who settled the islands in 1632. Under English/British control,the islands witnessed an influx of both Britons and African slaves migrate to the island. In 1981,the islands were granted independence as the modern state of Antigua and Barbuda.
Sir Vere Cornwall Bird,KNH was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. His son,Lester Bryant Bird,succeeded him as Prime Minister. In 1994,he was declared a "National Hero".
Winston Baldwin Spencer is an Antiguan politician who was the third prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014.
The Barbuda People's Movement is a left-wing Barbudan nationalist political party in Antigua and Barbuda active only on the island of Barbuda. The party's symbol is the European fallow deer,national animal of Barbuda. The party seeks the secession of Barbuda from Antigua and Barbuda. The party is allied with the United Progressive Party.
Charlesworth Theophilus Samuel was an Antiguan politician.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda (GOAB),is a unitary constitutional monarchy,where the Monarch of Antigua and Barbuda serves as the head of state,represented by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda,and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda serves as the head of government.
Sir Molwyn Joseph,KGCN,is an Antiguan politician and Chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP). First entering politics in 1984 when he was made a Minister without Portfolio in the government of Vere Bird,Joseph became Minister of Finance seven years later,renegotiating the Antiguan national debt and introducing fiscal reforms. After a 1996 scandal in which it was discovered he had used his position to import a 1930s Rolls-Royce for a friend,bypassing normal import duties and taxes,he was dismissed from the Bird administration,returning 14 months later to serve as Minister for Planning,Implementation and the Environment. Following the 1999 general election,he became Minister of Heath and Social Improvement before being made Minister of Tourism and the Environment a few months later. As Minister,Joseph attempted to improve the perception of Antigua as a tourist destination and invest in the industry,spending 2 million US dollars increasing the number of hotel rooms on the island and providing money for both Air Jamaica and Air Luxor to provide flights to the island.
Sir Steadroy "Cutie" Olivero Benjamin,KGCN,is an Antiguan lawyer and politician,who is the current minister of Justice and Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda. He previously served as Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda.
Sir Rodney Errey Lawrence Williams,is the current and 4th Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 21 March 2018 to elect members to House of Representatives of the 15th Antigua and Barbuda Parliament. Each of the 17 constituencies elected one Member of Parliament (MP).
The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka is the current Parliament of Sri Lanka,with the membership determined by the results of the 2020 parliamentary election held on 5 August 2020. According to the Constitution of Sri Lanka the maximum legislative term of the parliament is 5 years from the first meeting.
Samantha Nicole Marshall is an Antiguan MP and Cabinet Minister. Marshall had once represented St. Mary's South in the House of Representatives. She is a member of the Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party.
Trevor Myke Walker is a Barbudan politician,current member of parliament for Barbuda,and former Cabinet Minister under the Baldwin Spencer administration. He is a member of the Barbuda People's Movement,a party that seeks the independence of Barbuda from Antigua and Barbuda.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 18 January 2023 to elect members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party (ABLP) has held an absolute majority of 15 seats in the House of Representatives after the 2018 general election,with Gaston Browne remaining as prime minister. Browne initiated a constitutional referendum after the 2018 election,which was rejected by voters,and following the death of Elizabeth II in 2022,he announced his intention to organise a referendum for the transition of Antigua and Barbuda to a republican system. Besides ABLP,the United Progressive Party (UPP),Democratic National Alliance,Barbuda People's Movement (BPM),and three independent politicians filed candidacies for the 2023 general election.
St. Mary's South is a parliamentary constituency in the parish of Saint Mary,Antigua and Barbuda. A by-election was held in the constituency on 24 October 2023.
On October 24,2023,a by-election was conducted in the Antiguan seat of St. Mary's South in response to the resignation of Kelvin Simon,the sitting UPP member of parliament,due to challenges to his candidacy. It was Antigua and Barbuda's second election since Prime Minister Gaston Browne emerged victorious in the country's general election in 2023 with a narrow win.
Jamale L. Pringle is an Antiguan politician who is leader of the United Progressive Party and leader of the opposition. He is the MP for All Saints East &St. Luke.
Dwayne George is an Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party politician,who was appointed to the Senate of Antigua and Barbuda for the government on 3 August 2023 and reappointed on 26 October 2023.
