Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis, is an island country consisting of the two islands of Saint Kitts and Nevis, both located in the West Indies, in the Leeward Islands chain of the Lesser Antilles. With 261 square kilometres (101 sq mi) of territory, and roughly 48,000 inhabitants, it is the smallest sovereign state in the Western Hemisphere, in both area and population, as well as the world's smallest sovereign federation. The country is a Commonwealth realm, with Charles III as King and head of state.
Saint Kitts and Nevis have one of the longest written histories in the Caribbean, both islands being among Spain's and England's first colonies in the archipelago. Despite being only two miles apart and quite diminutive in size, Saint Kitts and Nevis were widely recognized as being separate entities with distinct identities until they were forcibly united in the late 19th century.
The politics of Saint Kitts and Nevis takes place in the framework of a federal parliamentary democracy. Saint Kitts and Nevis is an independent Commonwealth realm with Charles III as its head of state, viceregally represented by a Governor-General. He acts on the advice of the prime minister, who is the majority party leader in the National Assembly, and who, with a cabinet, conducts affairs of state.
Denzil Llewellyn Douglas is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician and the longest-serving prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in office from 1995 to 2015. He was the leader of the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP) from 1989 to 2021. He was the leader of the parliamentary opposition from 1989 to 1995 and from 2015 to 2022.
The Concerned Citizens' Movement (CCM) is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. Led by Mark Brantley, it is currently the largest party in Nevis, holding all three Nevisian seats in the National Assembly and three out of five seats in the Nevis Island Assembly. The CCM operates only in Nevis and for the 2022 general election is in a One Movement alliance with the People's Action Movement (PAM) operating in Saint Kitts, following the breakdown of the governing Team Unity alliance.
The Nevis Reformation Party is a Nevis-based political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The party currently holds none of the eleven seats in the National Assembly. It is the official opposition party on Nevis, holding two of five seats in the Nevis Island Assembly after losing to the CCM in the 2022 election. Since 2020, the NRP has been led by businesswoman and environmental consultant Janice Daniel-Hodge, the first woman to lead a political party in the country and daughter of former Premier of Nevis Simeon Daniel.
The Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party (SKNLP), also known simply as Labour, is a centre-left political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis. It is currently in government in the country after winning six of the eleven contested seats in the 2022 general election. It is the oldest active political party in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Sir Kennedy Alphonse Simmonds, KCMG, is a Saint Kittitian and Nevisian politician who served as the first prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis from 1983 to 1995.
General elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on 25 January 2010 for eleven of the fourteen or fifteen seats in the National Assembly. The other three or four members of the National Assembly will be appointed by the Governor-General after the elections.
General elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on 18 February 1980. Although the Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party won a plurality of the elected seats, the People's Action Movement (PAM) were able to form a coalition government with the Nevis Reformation Party which held a one-seat majority. PAM leader Kennedy Simmonds became Premier. Voter turnout was 74.5%.
Shawn Kenneth Richards is a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician from People's Action Movement (PAM).
Lindsay Fitz-Patrick Grant is a Saint Kitts and Nevis politician and lawyer. He served as Leader of the People's Action Movement until his resignation in July 2012.
Federal elections were held in the West Indies Federation for the first and only time on 25 March 1958. The result was a victory for the West Indies Federal Labour Party, which won 25 of the 45 seats in the House of Representatives.
General elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on 16 February 2015. The ruling Saint Kitts and Nevis Labour Party, led by Prime Minister Denzil Douglas, was defeated by Team Unity, an alliance of the Concerned Citizens' Movement, the People's Action Movement, and the People's Labour Party, led by Timothy Harris.
The People's Labour Party (PLP) is a political party in Saint Kitts and Nevis led by Timothy Harris. Despite only winning a single seat in the 2015 general elections, Harris became the third Prime Minister of the country following the elections. The party increased its number of seats in the National Assembly to two in the 2020 general elections, with Harris remaining Prime Minister.
Mark Anthony Graham Brantley is the Premier of Nevis, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly and former Minister of Foreign Affairs for St Kitts and Nevis. On May 10, 2022, Dr Timothy Harris, having lost the support of the elected majority to function as Prime Minister and facing a historic Motion of No Confidence in the National Parliament, decided to dissolve the Parliament and purported to revoke the appointment of more than 50% of his former Cabinet, including Brantley. Brantley previously served as the leader of the opposition in the National Assembly of Saint Kitts and Nevis . He is married and has 2 daughters. Brantley studied law at the University of the West Indies, obtained his Legal Education Certificate of Merit from Norman Manley Law School in Jamaica and also holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford, St. Catherine College. Prior to entering politics, Brantley worked as an attorney.
Dame Constance Viola Mitcham, is a politician in Saint Kitts and Nevis. She was the first woman elected to the National Assembly for that country. She was also the first woman to serve as acting prime minister for the country.
Snap general elections were held in Saint Kitts and Nevis on 5 August 2022, following the decision of incumbent prime minister Timothy Harris to dissolve the parliament on 11 May. Snap elections are constitutionally required within ninety days following the dissolution of parliament.
Events from the year 2022 in Saint Kitts and Nevis
Hugh C. Heyliger is a Kittitian politician and former deputy prime minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis.
