McWelling Todman | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 25 December 1923 |
| Died | 7 March 1996 (aged 72) Tortola, British Virgin Islands |
| Nationality | British Virgin Islands |
| Occupation | Barrister |
| Spouse | Audrey Creque |
| Children | McWelling Todman, Cyntelia Todman-Doswell, Henry Todman |
McWelling "Mac" Todman, CBE QC (25 December 1923 - 7 March 1996) was a civil servant and lawyer from the British Virgin Islands who played an important role in the early political history of the Territory. [1]
Mac Todman was born on Christmas 1923 in Tortola, British Virgin Islands. Like many successful Caribbean nationals, he began life as a teacher. [1]
In 1952, he married Audrey Creque, to whom he remained married for life. Together they had three children, one of whom predeceased him. [1]
Todman was also a regular lay preacher at the Road Town Methodist Church. [1]
After he left teaching Mac Todman held various administrative posts during the colonial administration in the British Virgin Islands before the introduction of self-rule in 1967. This role took him first to Antigua, and later in 1957 to Barbados as part of the doomed Federation of the West Indies. Todman played in active role in supporting the right of the British Virgin Islands for political self-determination. He famously described the constitutional reforms which led to the 1950 general election as "an instrument minimal in its intent and its effect". [2]
He was also a longstanding member of BVI Public Service Commission, serving from 1970 until 1994, just two years before his death. [1]
For his services to Government he was awarded an OBE in 1970, and promoted to be a CBE in 1988. [1]
In 1967 he travelled to London and trained as a barrister at Gray's Inn, becoming the first Belonger from the British Virgin Islands to be called as a lawyer. In 1980 he was elevated to Queen's Counsel. [1] He was the first, and still one of the very few, native-born lawyers from the British Virgin Islands to be so honoured. He founded his own practice, McW Todman & Co, which continues in existence today.[ when? ] [3] He has been described as a lawyer of "exceptional ability." [4]
In 1981 in the early days of the British Virgin Islands financial services industry, other than the Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands Lavity Stoutt, Mac Todman was the only native-born member of the delegation sent by the Territory to negotiate with the United States in relation to the proposed cancellation of the double tax treaty between the two countries. He memorably described the process as one of "plea-gotiation" rather than "negotiation". [4]
On 7 March 1996, he died peacefully of natural causes. In his memory, the BVI Bar Association instituted an annual lecture series in his name.
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The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The islands are geographically part of the Virgin Islands archipelago and are located in the Leeward Islands of the Lesser Antilles and part of the West Indies.
The economy of the British Virgin Islands is one of the most prosperous in the Caribbean. Although tiny in absolute terms, because of the very small population of the British Virgin Islands, in 2010 the Territory had the 19th highest GDP per capita in the world according to the CIA World factbook. In global terms the size of the Territory's GDP measured in terms of purchasing power is ranked as 215th out of a total of 229 countries. The economy of the Territory is based upon the "twin pillars" of financial services, which generates approximately 60% of government revenues, and tourism, which generates nearly all of the rest.
The history of the British Virgin Islands is usually, for convenience, broken up into five separate periods:
Elections in the British Virgin Islands are conducted to elect members to the House of Assembly. In the British Virgin Islands elections are not conducted in relation to appointments to either the Executive or Judicial branches of Government, and there are no other publicly elected posts in the British Virgin Islands. Most elections are conducted as general elections, which under the Constitution are required to be held every four years, or as by-elections when a member of the House of Assembly dies or steps down. Since the re-introduction of democracy into the British Virgin Islands in 1950 there have been fifteen general elections, and three recorded by-elections. The last election was held on 25 February 2019.
The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by Natalio Wheatley. It is the oldest active political party in the British Virgin Islands, and it has won more general elections (seven) than any other political party in the British Virgin Islands.
The BVI Bar Association is a voluntary membership organisation for members of the legal profession in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). The Association was founded on 8 May 1976. Of the eight founder members, half would go on to serve as president at some point. Residency requirements for members mean that not all members of the British Virgin Islands legal profession are members. Most resident lawyers within the BVI do in fact join the BVI Bar Association, but it is relatively rare for non-resident lawyers to join. The BVI Bar Association currently has no statutory functions and it is open to membership by both Barristers and Solicitors within the jurisdiction.
The law of the British Virgin Islands is a combination of common law and statute, and is based heavily upon English law.
In practice, basic human rights in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) appear to be respected. Reports of repression of freedom of speech, interference with democracy or the rule of law, and arbitrary arrest and torture are generally non-existent. The BVI have been described as "generally free of human rights abuses".
The Island Sun is a weekly newspaper in the British Virgin Islands. Founded on 23 June 1962, it is the oldest continuously published newspaper in the British Overseas Territory.
Politics of the British Virgin Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency, whereby the Premier is the head of government, and of a multi-party system. The British Virgin Islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. The Constitution of the Islands was introduced in 1971 and amended in 1979, 1982, 1991, 1994, 2000 and 2007. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the House of Assembly. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. Military defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 20 February 1995. The result was a victory for the incumbent Virgin Islands Party (VIP) led by Chief Minister Lavity Stoutt. The VIP won a plurality of six seats, and thus were able to form a minority government as no other party or coalition could muster a larger number of seats. The BVI United Party (UP) won three seats, and the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM) won two seats. The two other seats were won by independents. Shortly after the election Alvin Christopher joined the VIP upon being offered a Ministerial seat, giving the VIP an outright majority.
The Virgin Islands General Legal Council is a body established under the Legal Professions Act, 2015 of the British Virgin Islands. The Act was passed on 25 March 2015 by the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, and came into force on 11 November 2015.
The Constitution of the British Virgin Islands is a predominantly codified constitution documented primarily within the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom. The 2007 Constitution was the fourth written constitution of the British Virgin Islands, and superseded the 1976 constitution. In addition to the constitution itself, a number of the constitutional powers of the British Virgin Islands government are specified a "letter of entrustment" from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which delegates powers to the British Virgin Islands government to represent itself in certain external affairs.
John James Rankin, is a British diplomat and a former ambassador to Nepal. He served as the Governor of the British Virgin Islands from January 2021 to January 2024. He was the Governor of Bermuda from December 2016 to December 2020.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 27 November 1950, the first after the decision to restore the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands. Four members were elected to the First Legislative Council.
John Mark Ambrose Herdman was a British diplomat and overseas civil servant. Herdman served as the Deputy Governor of Bermuda from 1983 to 1986 and then as the Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 1986 until 1991.
Alexander Ogilvie Shirley, MBE, was a British Virgin Islands cricketer, civil servant, and social activist who pioneered the development of cricket in the territory. He served as the Accountant General of the British Virgin Islands from 1967 until his retirement in 1987.
Ethlyn Smith was a civil servant from the British Virgin Islands, who became one of the first two women elected to the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands. After a career of more than two decades as an accountant and public administrator in the civil service of the British Virgin Islands, Smith retired and entered politics. She contested her first election in 1995 as an independent, winning the 5th District. She was reelected to the post in 1999, serving until her defeat in the 2003 elections.
Todman is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
Events from the year 2022 in the British Virgin Islands.