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The President of the States of Alderney, also known as the President of Alderney, is the elected head of Alderney's legislature, the States of Alderney and the Leader of Alderney. The Presidency is the latest of a variety of political positions to govern the island. The office was established in 1949 after a new constitution establishing Alderney as a subordinate part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. [1]
Before the office of President was established, the leaders of Alderney were the Judges of Alderney, who were appointed as representatives of the Crown in Alderney. [2] During the Second World War, the majority of the population of Alderney was evacuated. In the Occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany, Alderney was used by the Nazis as a location for two concentration camps. [3] After the Liberation, less than 50% of Alderney's population returned, leading to an urgent discussion taking part in the Parliament of the United Kingdom because land boundaries and property documents had been destroyed.
In 1947, His Majesty's Privy Council decided that Guernsey might take over administration of Alderney. In 1948 the Alderney (Application of Legislation) Law was passed by both the States of Guernsey and the States of Alderney, which provided financial administration responsibility for certain public services to be assumed by the States of Guernsey. The law provided for the establishment of the office of President of Alderney to be the elected leader of Alderney in civil life under the Lieutenant-Governor of Guernsey. [1] [4]
The President is elected for a four-year term and is also the chairman of the States of Alderney. The President also holds the right to vote in the States of Alderney; however, this is only used to make the deciding vote in the event of a tied vote. [5] The next election for President will be in 2024.
The President's Office is responsible for the following:
| President of Alderney [2] | |||
| Sydney Peck Herivel | 1 January 1949 –26 August 1970 | ||
| George William Baron (1st time) | 1970–77 | ||
| Jon Kay-Mouat (1st time) | 1977–94 | ||
| George William Baron (2nd time) | 1994–97 | ||
| Jon Kay-Mouat (2nd time) | 1997 –19 January 2002 | ||
| Sir Norman Browse | 19 January 2002 –22 June 2011 | ||
| Stuart Trought | 22 June 2011 [update] [6] –15 May 2019 | ||
| James Dent, Interim President | 15 May 2019 –28 June 2019 | ||
| William Tate | 28 June 2019 [7] [8] [9] –present | ||
The Channel Islands are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They are divided into two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, which is the largest of the islands; and the Bailiwick of Guernsey, consisting of Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm and some smaller islands. Historically, they are the remnants of the Duchy of Normandy. Although they are not part of the United Kingdom, the UK is responsible for the defence and international relations of the islands as it is for the other Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man, and the British Overseas Territories. The Crown Dependencies are neither members of the Commonwealth of Nations, nor part of the European Union. They have a total population of about 171,916, and the bailiwicks' capitals, Saint Helier and Saint Peter Port, have populations of 33,500 and 18,207 respectively.
Guernsey is the second-largest island in the Channel Islands, located 27 miles (43 km) west of the Cotentin Peninsula, Normandy. It is the largest island in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, which includes five other inhabited islands and many small islets and rocks. The Bailiwick has a population of 63,950, the vast majority of whom live on Guernsey, and the island has a land area of 24 square miles (62 km2).
Politics of the Bailiwick of Guernsey take place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Crown dependency.
Sark is an island, part of the Channel Islands in the southwestern English Channel, off the coast of Normandy, France. It is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, with its own set of laws based on Norman law and its own parliament. It was a royal fief until 2008. It has a population of about 500. Sark has an area of 2.10 square miles (5.44 km2). Little Sark is a peninsula joined by a natural but high and very narrow isthmus to the rest of Sark Island.
Alderney is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown dependency. It is 3 miles (5 km) long and 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) wide.
The Bailiff is the chief justice in each of the Channel Island bailiwicks of Guernsey and Jersey, also serving as president of the legislature and having ceremonial and executive functions. Each bailiwick has possessed its own bailiff since the islands were divided into two jurisdictions in the 13th century. The bailiffs and deputy bailiffs are appointed by the Crown on the advice of the Secretary of State for Justice and may hold office until retirement age.
The Bailiwick of Guernsey is a self-governing British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France, comprising several of the Channel Islands. It has a total land area of 78 square kilometres (30 sq mi) and an estimated total population of 67,334.
Guernsey elects a legislature at the national level. The islands of Alderney and Sark also elect their own parliaments.
The jurats are lay people in Guernsey and Jersey who act as judges of fact rather than law, though they preside over land conveyances and liquor licensing. In Alderney, however, the jurats are judges of both fact and law in both civil and criminal matters.
Aurigny Air Services Limited, commonly known as Aurigny, is the flag carrier airline of the Bailiwick of Guernsey with its head office next to Guernsey Airport in the Channel Islands, and wholly owned by the States of Guernsey since nationalisation in 2003. It operates regular passenger and freight services to the Channel Islands, France, the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. Its main base is situated next to Guernsey Airport, with other aircraft and crew based at Alderney Airport. Aurigny is one of the longest serving regional airlines in the world, and is the second oldest established airline in Britain after Loganair. The origin of its name lies in the cognate across Norman languages for Alderney.
The States of Guernsey, officially the States of Deliberation and sometimes referred to as the Government of Guernsey, is the parliament and government of the British Crown dependency of Guernsey. Some laws and ordinances approved by the States of Guernsey also apply to Alderney and Sark as "Bailiwick-wide legislation" with the consent of the governments of those islands. All enactments of the States of Guernsey apply to Herm as well as Guernsey, since Herm is directly administered by the Bailiwick of Guernsey.
The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are British Crown dependencies in the English Channel, near the coast of Normandy. The Channel Islands were the only de jure part of the British Empire in Europe to be occupied by Nazi Germany during the war. Germany's allies Italy and Japan also occupied British territories in Africa and Asia, respectively.
The States of Alderney is the parliament/council and the legislature of Alderney, part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. The origin of the States is unknown, but has operated from the medieval period. The States of Alderney comprises ten Members, and a President of the States of Alderney, currently William Tate who was elected in 2019 and re-elected in 2020.
The Leader of Alderney is the civil leader of Alderney. Alderney is a dependency of the Bailiwick of Guernsey. Its leader has traditionally been appointed by the British Crown and has been known by various titles including Lord of Alderney, Governor of Alderney, and the current President of the States of Alderney. The President of the States of Alderney is directly elected every four years and there is no constitutional limit to the number of terms served. The current president, William Tate has held the post since 2019.
Politics of Alderney takes place in a framework of a parliamentary representative democratic British Crown dependency, whereby the President of the States of Alderney is the head of government. Alderney is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey but is largely self-governing.
The Judge of Alderney is the senior judicial officer in Alderney, ranking above the six Jurats. The holder was until 1949 entitled to a seat in the States of Alderney, and between 1825 and 1949 was Leader of Alderney.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights in the British Crown dependency of Guernsey have improved significantly in the past decades. Same-sex sexual activity for both men and women is legal in Guernsey. Same-sex marriage has been legal since 2 May 2017 in Guernsey, and since 14 June 2018 in its dependency, Alderney. Legislation approving the legalisation of same-sex marriage in its other dependency, Sark was given royal assent on 11 March 2020. Guernsey is the only part of the British Isles to have never enacted civil partnership legislation, though civil partnerships performed in the United Kingdom were recognised for succession purposes. Since April 2017, same-sex couples can adopt in the entire Bailiwick. Discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity has been banned since 2004. Transgender people have been able to legally change gender since 2007.
The history of the Jews in Guernsey dates back to well before the events of 1940–5. A London Jew named Abraham was described in 1277 as being from "La Gelnseye" (Guernsey). A converted Portuguese Jew, Edward Brampton, was appointed Governor of Guernsey in 1482.
The Courts of Guernsey are responsible for the administration of justice in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, one of the Channel Islands. They apply the law of the Island, which is a mixture of customary law dating back as far as the 10th century and legislation passed by the legislature, the States of Deliberation.
Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a Crown Dependency of the United Kingdom. Legislation to open marriage to same-sex couples in Guernsey was passed by the States of Guernsey on 21 September 2016, and took effect on 2 May 2017. Same-sex marriage laws took effect in Alderney on 14 June 2018, and Sark on 23 April 2020.
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