The Turks and Caicos Islands are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands,two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. They are known primarily for tourism and as an offshore financial centre. The resident population in 2023 was estimated by The World Factbook at 59,367,making it the third-largest of the British overseas territories by population. However,according to a Department of Statistics estimate in 2022,the population was 47,720.
The British Overseas Territories (BOTs) are the 14 territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that,while not forming part of the United Kingdom itself,are part of its sovereign territory. The permanently inhabited territories are delegated varying degrees of internal self-governance,with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence,foreign relations,and internal security,and ultimate responsibility for "good" governance. Three of the territories are chiefly or only inhabited by military or scientific personnel,the rest hosting significant civilian populations. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state. These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of the Foreign,Commonwealth and Development Office and are subject to change.
Michael Eugene Misick is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who was the 7th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 15 August 2003 to 9 August 2006 and was the 1st Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 9 August 2006 to 23 March 2009. Misick is a member of the Progressive National Party (PNP) and became chief minister when his party,after eight years as the opposition party,gained two parliamentary seats in by-elections. In addition to being premier,he was also the minister for Civil Aviation,Commerce and Development,Planning,District Administration,Broadcasting Commission,Tourist Board,Turks and Caicos Investment Agency,and Tourism. Several other members of Misick's family have been politicians in the Turks and Caicos Islands,and important leaders in the PNP. Washington Misick,his brother,is the current Premier,former Chief Minister and former Minister of Finance.
Before European colonization,the Turks and Caicos Islands were inhabited by Taíno and Lucayan peoples. The first recorded European sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos occurred in 1512. In the subsequent centuries,the islands were claimed by several European powers with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years the islands were governed indirectly through Bermuda,the Bahamas,and Jamaica. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973,the islands received their own governor,and have remained a separate autonomous British Overseas Territory since. In August 2009,the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos Islands' self-government following allegations of ministerial corruption. Home rule was restored in the islands after the November 2012 elections.
Politics of the Turks and Caicos Islands takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic dependency,whereby as of August 9,2006 the Premier is the head of government,and of a multi-party system. The islands are an internally self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. The United Nations Committee on Decolonization includes the Turks and Caicos Islands on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Legislative Council.
The governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's British Overseas Territory of Turks and Caicos Islands. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the vice-regal representative of the head of state,His Majesty King Charles III. The Governor appoints the Premier and 5 members of the House of Assembly. The official residence of the governor is the Government House of Turks and Caicos Islands,located in Waterloo on the island of Grand Turk.
The Turks and Caicos Islands are divided into five administrative districts,and the Island of Grand Turk;four of these are headed by District Commissioners,and Providenciales District is run by the Permanent Secretary of the Office of the Premier in Providenciales. The Island of Grand Turk is directly administered by the TCI Government.
Arthur Christopher Watson,was a British colonial administrator and politician who served as Governor of Montserrat,Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the British High Commissioner to Brunei.
The current flag of the Turks and Caicos Islands was adopted on 7 November 1968,and modified in 1999. Prior to this,the islands had several different flags either proposed or utilised.
Gordon Geoffrey Wetherell is a British diplomat who was the former Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands. He was appointed on 5 August 2008,replacing Richard Tauwhare in the position. On 14 August 2009,he assumed direct political control when the British government imposed direct rule on the islands in response to a Foreign Office inquiry which found "information in abundance pointing to a high probability of systematic corruption or serious dishonesty" in the islands' administration under former Premier,Michael Misick.
Mabel Maame Agyemang is the current Chief Justice of the Turks and Caicos Islands. An expert superior court judge with a judicial career spanning decades,Justice Agyemang served in the judiciaries of the governments of Ghana,The Gambia and Eswatini prior to her current role in the Turks and Caicos Islands. She was also the first female Chief Justice of The Gambia.
The Cabinet of the Turks and Caicos Islands comprises the ministers who advise the governor on government affairs. It was known as the Executive Council under the 1988 Constitution,and was given its current name in the 2006 Constitution. The Cabinet was disbanded in 2009 when self-government in the Turks and Caicos Islands was suspended. It was reconstituted after the 2012 election.
The Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands,in its present form,was passed in 2011.
Overseas military bases of the United Kingdom enable the British Armed Forces to conduct expeditionary warfare and maintain a forward presence. Bases tend to be located in or near areas of strategic or diplomatic importance,often used for the build-up or resupply of military forces,as was seen during the 1982 Falklands War and the use of RAF Ascension Island as a staging post. Most of the bases are located on British Overseas Territories or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the British government.
Alison Mary Blake,is a British diplomat who is currently serving as Governor of the Falkland Islands and Commissioner of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. She previously served as High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Ambassador to Afghanistan.
The Cayman Islands Regiment is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of the Cayman Islands. It is a territorial infantry and engineer reserve unit of the British Armed Forces that was formed in 2020. The regiment has an authorized strength level objective of 175 personnel,akin to that of a company-sized unit.
The Turks and Caicos Islands Regiment is the home defence unit of the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is a territorial infantry and engineer reserve unit of the British Armed Forces that was formed in 2020. The Regiment has an authorized strength level objective of 46 personnel,akin to that of a platoon-sized unit.
The COVID-19 pandemic in the Turks and Caicos Islands is part of the ongoing global viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19),which was confirmed to have reached the British Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands on 23 March 2020,and the first death occurred on 5 April. On 12 May,all cases were declared resolved,but on 20 June,new cases had been discovered. On 4 July 2021,all cases resolved again. On 8 July,new cases were discovered.
The potential political association of the Turks and Caicos Islands along with Canada is a recurring topic perennially discussed at times in various cross sections of society of both nations,and usually emerging in discourse during northern hemispheric winter. The islands are currently a British Overseas Territory under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom which covers the territory's foreign affairs and national defence.
The second W. Misick ministry began on 24 February 2021,four days after Washington Misick was sworn in as Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands by Governor Nigel Dakin,where he invited him to form a new administration following the 2021 general election,in which the Progressive National Party was voted into power with a supermajority of 14 seats in the House of Assembly. Misick led government once before after the 1991 general election.
