Saint Martin is an island in the northeast Caribbean Sea,approximately 300 km (190 mi) east of Puerto Rico. The 87 square kilometres (34 sq mi) island is divided roughly 60:40 between the French Republic and the Kingdom of the Netherlands,but the Dutch part is more populated than the French part. The division dates to 1648. The northern French part comprises the Collectivity of Saint Martin and is an overseas collectivity of the French Republic. As part of France,the French part of the island is also part of the European Union. The southern Dutch part comprises Sint Maarten and is one of four constituent countries that form the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The Collectivity of Saint Martin,commonly known as simply Saint Martin,is an overseas collectivity of France in the West Indies in the Caribbean,on the northern half of the island of Saint Martin,as well as some smaller adjacent islands. Saint Martin is separated from the island of Anguilla by the Anguilla Channel. Its capital is Marigot.
Sint Maarten is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in the Caribbean. With a population of 41,486 as of January 2019 on an area of 34 km2 (13 sq mi),it encompasses the southern 44% of the divided island of Saint Martin,while the northern 56% of the island constitutes the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin. Sint Maarten's capital is Philipsburg. Collectively,Sint Maarten and the other Dutch islands in the Caribbean are often called the Dutch Caribbean.
The Collectivity of Saint Martin was a French commune for many years and formed part of Guadeloupe,which is an overseas région and département of France and is therefore in the European Union. In 2003,the population of the French part of the island voted in favour of secession from Guadeloupe in order to form a separate overseas collectivity (COM) of France. On 9 February 2007,the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both the French part of Saint Martin and neighbouring Saint Barthélemy. The new status took effect once the local assembly was elected on 15 February 2007. Saint Martin remains part of the European Union.
Daniel Gibbs is a French Saint-Martinois politician.
Events from the year 2017 in France.
Guillaume Arnell is a member of the Senate of France. He was first elected in 2014,and represents the Saint-Martin Overseas Collectivity. An administrator by profession,he serves as a member of the Rassemblement Responsabilite Reussite (RRR). He has been vice president of the Territorial Council of Saint-Martin since 2012.
Henrietta Doran-York is a politician from Sint Maarten. She was Minister Plenipotentiary of Sint Maarten from 19 November 2015 until 15 January 2018. She previously served as Deputy Minister Plenipotentiary. Doran-York is a member of the National Alliance party,and has run in several elections.
Timothy John Foy is a former British civil servant and territorial governor. He served as Governor of Anguilla from August 2017 through December 2020. During his inaugural address,he stated that economic development and improving public safety would be his key priorities as governor.
Aline Hanson was a native of Saint Martin,who was noted as a teacher and then became the first woman elected president of the Collectivity of Saint Martin. Hanson began her career in education,working as a teacher,advisor to the French government on developing programs for disadvantaged children and principal of Sandy Ground Elementary School. She entered politics,simultaneously working as a teacher,in the mayoral office of Marigot. Serving on numerous island boards and government entities,in 2007 she ran for a seat on the Territorial Council and was elected as a council member. Two years later,she was promoted to the executive council. In 2012,after winning a seat on the council,she was selected as first vice president. When Richardson was forced from office in 2013,Hanson was elected as the first woman to serve as president of the Overseas Collectivity of St. Martin.
The second Marlin-Romeo cabinet was the 8th cabinet of Sint Maarten. It was formed by a coalition of the political parties United Democrats (UD) and the St. Maarten Christian Party (SMCP).
Yannick Bellechasse is a Saint-Martinois footballer who plays as a striker for Lymers FC and the Saint Martin national team.
Events in the year 2022 in France
Territorial Council elections were held in the French overseas collectivity of Saint Martin on 20 March 2022.
Gracita Arrindell is a Dutch politician,writer and women's rights activist,who was the first woman to be appointed President of the Parliament of Sint Maarten,a role she held for two terms.
The Saint-Martinois Rally,formerly Movement for Justice and Prosperity from 2016 to 2021 and Movement for the Advancement of the People until 2016,is a Saint-Martinois political party,previously close to the Socialist Party until 2021.
The Union for Democracy (UD) is a Saint Martin political party founded in 2011 by Daniel Gibbs.
Annick Danièle Petrus is a French Saint Martinois educator and politician. She has served as the Senator for the Collectivity of Saint Martin since October 2020 as a member of the Union for Democracy and The Republicans (LR) parties. Petrus is the first woman to represent Saint Martin's lone seat in the French Senate. Additionally,she has served in the Territorial Council of Saint Martin since 2017.
SXM Elite Championship is a top level association football league in Sint Maarten and Saint Martin.
