Philip Davis | |
---|---|
5th Prime Minister of the Bahamas | |
Assumed office 17 September 2021 | |
Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
Governors‑General | Cornelius A. Smith Cynthia A. Pratt |
Deputy | Chester Cooper |
Preceded by | Hubert Minnis |
Leader of the Opposition | |
In office 19 May 2017 –17 September 2021 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | Hubert Minnis |
Preceded by | Loretta Butler-Turner |
Succeeded by | Hubert Minnis |
Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas [lower-alpha 1] | |
In office 7 May 2012 –11 May 2017 | |
Prime Minister | Perry Christie |
Preceded by | Brent Symonette |
Succeeded by | K. Peter Turnquest |
Member of Parliament for Cat Island,Rum Cay &San Salvador | |
Assumed office 2 May 2002 | |
Preceded by | James Miller |
Majority | 65.40% |
In office 1992–1997 | |
Minister of Finance | |
Assumed office 17 September 2021 | |
Preceded by | Hubert Minnis |
Chairman of the Caribbean Community | |
In office 1 January 2023 –30 June 2023 [1] | |
Secretary-General | Carla Barnett |
Preceded by | Chan Santokhi [1] |
Succeeded by | Roosevelt Skerrit |
Personal details | |
Born | Nassau,Bahamas,British West Indies | 7 June 1951
Political party | Progressive Liberal Party |
Spouse | Anne-Marie Davis |
Children | 6 |
Philip Edward "Brave" Davis KC MP (born 7 June 1951) [2] is a Bahamian politician serving as the prime minister of the Bahamas since 2021. He was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cat Island,Rum Cay &San Salvador from 1992 to 1997 and returned to the seat in May 2002,which he still represents.
Davis was deputy prime minister to Perry Christie and minister of public works and urban development from 2012 to 2017. He then served as leader of the opposition from May 2017 to September 2021,when he led the Progressive Liberal Party to victory and was subsequently sworn in as prime minister.
Davis was born in a house off Wulff Road,the eldest of eight children to Dorothy (née Smith),a domestic worker from Alexander,Great Exuma and Brave Edward Davis,a firefighter from Old Bight,Cat Island. Davis spent his early childhood living with his grandparents on Cat Island where he attended Old Bight All Age School. Upon returning to Nassau,he continued his education at Eastern Schools and graduated from St. John's College. Growing up in a poor family,Davis worked a number of odd jobs from the age of seven to make ends meet. [3]
After finishing his O-Levels,Davis was a construction worker until he landed a job at Barclays. The job was brief,as he decided to pursue law. He was first invited for an interview to become an articled clerk at Davis Bethel's law chambers. Although the gig fell through,he ended up a clerk at Wallace-Whitfield &Barnwell later that year and completed his legal studies in three years. Davis was called to the Bahamas Bar in 1975,where he served two terms as vice president and one as president of the Bahamas Bar Association. He became a long-term partner at Christie,Ingraham &Co,and was appointed magistrate. He sat on the CARICOM Council of Legal Education. [4]
Davis got involved in the Progressive Liberal Party at a young age,volunteering as a campaign helper in the 1967 general election. He was first elected as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cat Island,Rum Cay &San Salvador in a 1992 by-election. Although he lost his seat in 1997,he regained it in 2002 and has held onto it since. [5]
Prior to becoming prime minister,Davis was the leader of the opposition as well as of the Progressive Liberal Party having been elected at the party's convention in October 2017. Prior to his election as party leader,he was elected deputy-leader,at the Party's Convention in 2009,when the PLP won the 2012 general elections,he became the Bahamas' deputy prime minister and minister for public works and urban development,to which he served up until 2017,when the PLP was once again defeated in the polls.
He was appointed a Queen's Counsel (QC) in 2015.
In September 2021,the Progressive Liberal Party defeated the ruling Free National Movement in a snap election,as the economy struggles to recover from its deepest crash since at least 1971. [6] [7] Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won 32 of the 39 seats in the House of Assembly. Free National Movement (FNM) took the remaining seats. [8] On 17 September 2021,the Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) Phillip “Brave”Davis was sworn in as the new Prime Minister of Bahamas to succeed Hubert Minnis. [9]
As Minister of Public Works and Urban Development,he oversaw and ensured around some 1000 homes,in both the Family Islands and New Providence were provided with indoor toilets and potable water,additionally,he oversaw infrastructure developments across the islands,such as building of roads,rebuilding of seawalls,bringing lights to Family Islands airports,and repairing of buildings and docks damaged by Hurricanes. He established the Urban Renewal Small Homes Repairs Program,which saw more than 1000 homeowners and employed thousands of contractors and tradespersons.
After winning the 2021 election in a landslide,Davis was appointed prime minister. [10]
Davis is married to Ann Marie Davis,women's rights activist and treasurer of the Bahamas Humane Society. They have six children and are practicing Anglicans at St. Christopher's. [11] Davis is a member of Toastmasters Club 1600 and a keen sportsman interested in baseball,softball and swimming.
The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by King Charles III in his role as King of the Bahamas. The politics of The Bahamas takes place within a framework of parliamentary democracy,with a Prime Minister as the Head of Government. The Bahamas is an Independent Country and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. As a former British colony,its political and legal traditions closely follow those of the United Kingdom. King Charles III is the head of state,but executive power is exercised by the cabinet. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of parliament. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature and jurisprudence is based on English common law. The multi-party system is dominated by the Progressive Liberal Party and the Free National Movement. The constitution protects freedom of speech,press,worship,movement,and association.
Sir Lynden Oscar Pindling, KCMG,PC,NH,JP was a Bahamian politician who is regarded by some as the "Father of the Nation",having led the Bahamas to majority rule and independence.
Perry Gladstone Christie PC,MP is a Bahamian former politician who served as prime minister of the Bahamas from 2002 to 2007 and from 2012 to 2017. He is the second longest-serving Bahamian elected parliamentarian,representing the Centreville constituency from 1977 to 2017. He is also a former athlete. His Progressive Liberal Party is the oldest Bahamian political party,holding solid majorities in the Bahamian Parliament several times in its long history.
The Free National Movement is a political party in the Bahamas formed in the early 1970s and led by Sir Cecil Wallace-Whitfield. The current leader of the party is Michael Pintard and the current deputy leader is Shanendon Cartwright.
The Progressive Liberal Party is a populist and social liberal party in the Bahamas. Philip Davis is the leader of the party.
Hubert Alexander Ingraham,PC is a Bahamian politician who was Prime Minister of the Bahamas from August 1992 to May 2002,and again from May 2007 to May 2012. He is a member of the Free National Movement Party (FNM). Prior to the 2012 election,he was the FNM's Party Leader and member of Parliament for the North Abaco constituency. He served as leader of the opposition in the House of Assembly of the Bahamas from 2005 to 2007.
Elections in the Bahamas take place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy. Since independence,voter turnout has been generally high in national elections,with a low of 87.9% in 1987 and a high of 98.5% in 1997. The current Prime Minister is The Hon. Philip Davis. The electorate is less than half of citizenry.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 2 May 2007. The result was an opposition victory,with the Free National Movement,led by former Prime Minister Hubert Ingraham,claiming 23 of the 41 seats. Incumbent Prime Minister Perry Christie conceded defeat in a phone call to his rival. Ingraham was sworn into the office of Prime Minister on 4 May.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 2 May 2002. The opposition Progressive Liberal Party (PLP) won 29 of the 40 seats in the House of Assembly to defeat the governing Free National Movement (FNM). Voter turnout was 90%.
Renward Ricardo Wells is a Bahamian politician and retired sprinter who has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Bamboo Town from 2012 to 2021. In sprinting,he specialized in the 100 metres.
Frederick Audley Mitchell Jr. is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician serving as Minister of Foreign Affairs for the third time. He is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Fox Hill,first elected in 2002 and then again in 2021. He also served two terms in the Senate.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 7 May 2012. They were the first general election in which a third party offered a full slate of candidates alongside the two major parties,the Free National Movement and the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP). The result was a victory for the opposition PLP,whose leader Perry Christie became prime minister.
General elections were held in the Bahamas on 16 September 2021 to elect all 38 members of the House of Assembly.
Picewell A. L. "Soca" Forbes is a Bahamian former Progressive Liberal Party politician and broadcaster who was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Mangrove Cay and South Andros from 2007 to 2021.
Cat Island,Rum Cay and San Salvador is a parliamentary constituency represented in the House of Assembly of the Bahamas. It elects one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting method. The Incumbent Member of Parliament is Philip "Brave" Davis,who serves as Prime Minister of the Bahamas and Leader of the Progressive Liberal Party (PLP).
Michael Clifton Pintard is a Bahamian politician serving as Leader of the Free National Movement and leader of the opposition since 27 November 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Marco City,Grand Bahama since 2017. First appointed in 2010,he served two terms in the Senate. He was the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Resources from 2018 to 2021.
JoBeth Lillian Coleby-Davis is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician and attorney who has been the Bahamian Minister of Energy and Transport since 4 September 2023 and the Member of Parliament for Elizabeth since 16 September 2021. Coleby-Davis defeated the FNM incumbent Duane Sands in the 2021 general election. She previously served in the Senate from 2017 to 2021.
Isaac Chester Cooper is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician serving as Deputy Prime Minister of the Bahamas to Philip Davis and Minister of Tourism and Aviation since September 2021. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for The Exumas and Ragged Island since 2017.
Pia Takita Glover-Rolle is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician,entrepreneur,and philanthropist who is currently The Bahamas Minister of Labour and Public Service since 11 September 2023. Previously serving as the Bahamian Minister of State for Public Service since 23 September 2021 and the Member of Parliament for Golden Gates. Glover Rolle defeated FNM incumbent Michael Foulkes in the 2021 general election.
Mario Keith Bowleg is a Bahamian Progressive Liberal Party politician,who has been Minister of Sports Youth and Culture and the Member of Parliament for Garden Hills since 2021.