Norman Saunders | |
---|---|
3rd Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands | |
In office 4 November 1980 –28 March 1985 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Governor | John Clifford Strong Christopher J. Turner |
Preceded by | Oswald Skippings |
Succeeded by | Nathaniel Francis |
Leader of the Progressive National Party | |
In office 29 September 1976 –28 March 1985 | |
Succeeded by | Nathaniel Francis |
Member of Parliament for South Caicos South | |
In office 2 February 1995 –14 August 2009 | |
Preceded by | Emily Saunders |
Member of Parliament for South Caicos | |
In office 29 September 1976 –28 March 1985 | |
Succeeded by | Emily Saunders |
In office 9 November 2012 –15 December 2016 | |
Succeeded by | Ruth Blackman |
Personal details | |
Born | 27 October 1943 |
Political party | Progressive National Party |
Spouse | Emily Saunders |
Children | Erwin Jay Saunders |
Norman B. Saunders (born 27 October 1943) is a Turks and Caicos Islander former politician who served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 4 November 1980 to 28 March 1985. Saunders is also the longest-serving Member of Parliament in the Turks and Caicos Islands, [1] nearing 50 years of service,the first Chief Minister to win back-to-back elections with a resounding 8-3 victories at the polls in 1980 [2] and 1984, [3] the only ever politician in the nation to win as an independent candidate,and the first leader of the opposition.
In 1967,Saunders was elected as a Member of Parliament for South Caicos under the Progressive National Party at the age of 23,making him the youngest elected official at the time.
In 1976,after a 5-4-2 result in the election,and the two independent candidates siding with the People's Democratic Movement,Saunders became the first Leader of the Opposition in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
However,after 4 years,Saunders lead the Progressive National party to an 8-3 victory which resulted in the party getting re-elected as the government in 1985. At this point,Saunders led the party to both the largest mandate,and the first back-to-back victory in the nation,which has only happened two other times in history.
Saunders was arrested in March 1985 together with Commerce and Development Minister Stafford Missick. Saunders was alleged by the US Drug Enforcement Administration to have accepted $30,000 from undercover agents to ensure safe passage of drugs by permitting safe stopover refuelling of drug flights from Colombia to the United States. Video evidence showed Saunders accepting $20,000 from an agent. Saunders was convicted in July 1985 of conspiracy,though he was acquitted of the charge of conspiring to import drugs into the United States (which Missick was also convicted of). He was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $50,000. [4] However,these charges were later dropped as Saunders was not found guilty.
In January 1995,Saunders was elected back to Parliament as an independent candidate representing South Caicos South. [5] Saunders,along with his wife,Hon. Emily Saunders,earned and represented the two electoral districts in South Caicos,with Hon. Emily Saunders earning the South Caicos North seat.
In 2003,Saunders ran as a member of the Progressive National Party which formed the government.
In 2007,Saunders was a part of,at the time,the largest mandate in the Turks and Caicos Islands' House of Assembly history,when the Progressive National Party won 13-2 seats. [6]
Saunders ran as a member of the Progressive National Party and held his seat upon retirement in 2016.
In recognition of Saunders' 49 years of service,it was announced that the newly renovated South Caicos Airport will be named after Hon. Norman Saunders. [7]
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 Taino 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 Progressive National Party is a political party in the Turks and Caicos Islands,currently led by Washington Misick. The PNP holds 14 of the 15 seats in the House of Assembly and has been the government since 20 Feb 2021.
Charles Washington Misick is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who has been the 5th Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands since 20 February 2021. He has been the leader of the Progressive National Party since 20 December 2016. He previously served as the 5th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 3 April 1991 to 31 January 1995,was Minister of Finance,Trade and Investment from 2012 to 2016 and Leader of the Opposition from 1995 to 2003 and again from 2016 to 2021. Misick has been a Member of Parliament for the All Island District since November 2012 and was previously an MP for Grand Turk from 1991 to 1999.
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 9 February 2007. The result was a victory for the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP),which won thirteen of the fifteen seats in the House of Assembly. PNP leader Michael Misick remained Premier.
Illegal drug trade in the Turks and Caicos Islands involves trans-shipment of cocaine and marijuana through The Turks and Caicos Islands to the United States.
Akierra Mary Deanne Missick is a Turks and Caicos Islands lawyer and politician. She served as Deputy Premier and Minister of Education from 2012 to 2016 and Leader of Government Business and Minister of Infrastructure from 2021 to 2022. A member of the Progressive National Party,Missick has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Leeward &Long Bay ED5 since 2012.
Sharlene Linette Cartwright-Robinson JP is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician and lawyer who served as the 4th Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 20 December 2016 to 20 February 2021. She was the territory's first female premier. She was also the first woman to become first,deputy head,and then,head of the People's Democratic Movement (PDM).
Rosita Beatrice Missick-Butterfield,was a Turks and Caicos Islander who served as the first woman Member of Parliament and Speaker of the House of Assembly of the Turks and Caicos Islands.
General elections were held in Turks and Caicos Islands on 15 December 2016. The result was a victory for the People's Democratic Movement (PDM),with Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson becoming the islands' first female Premier. Following the election outgoing Prime Minister Rufus Ewing resigned as Progressive National Party (PNP) leader and quit politics.
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 4 November 1980. The result was a victory for the opposition Progressive National Party (PNP),which won eight of the eleven seats in the Legislative Council. Following the elections,PNP leader Norman Saunders became Chief Minister.
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 29 May 1984. The result was a victory for the ruling Progressive National Party (PNP),which won eight of the eleven seats in the Legislative Council,including Kew North Caicos,where Rosita Butterfield became the islands' first female Legislative Council member. Following the elections,PNP leader Norman Saunders remained Chief Minister.
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 3 March 1988. They were the first after the suspension of the islands' constitution between 1986 and 1988,which followed Chief Minister Norman Saunders leaving office in March 1985 after being arrested on suspicion of drug smuggling and the next Chief Minister Nathaniel Francis resigning in July 1986 after a British parliamentary inquiry accused him of corruption.
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 3 April 1991. The result was a victory for the opposition Progressive National Party (PNP),which won eight of the thirteen seats in the Legislative Council. Following the elections,PNP leader Washington Misick became Chief Minister.
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 2 February 1995. The result was a victory for the opposition People's Democratic Movement (PDM),which won eight of the thirteen seats in the Legislative Council. Following the elections,PDM leader Derek Hugh Taylor became Chief Minister.
General elections were held in the Turks and Caicos Islands on 4 March 1999. The result was a victory for the ruling People's Democratic Movement (PDM),which won nine of the thirteen seats in the Legislative Council. PDM leader Derek Hugh Taylor remained Chief Minister.
Porsha Stubbs-Smith is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician,who served as the Minister of Tourism,Environment,Heritage and Culture.
Karen Malcolm is a politician in the Turks and Caicos Islands. From 2016 to 2021,she was a member of the House of Assembly and the islands' minister of education,youth,culture,social,and library services.
Ruth Blackman is British politician and civil servant,who is Member of Parliament for South Caicos,in the Turks and Caicos Islands. Her political career began as Clerk of the Executive Council and Legislative Council in 1978. She remained in that role until 1995,when the councils split;Blackman then continued to work for the Legislative Council until 2007. In 2006 she was the first person to be appointed to the role of Cabinet Secretary. She retired from the Civil Service in 2009.