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Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign island country in the Caribbean. It lies at the conjuncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles.
The politics of Antigua and Barbuda takes place in a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic monarchy,wherein the sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state,appointing a governor-general to act as vice-regal representative in the nation. A prime minister is appointed by the governor-general as the head of government,and of a multi-party system;the prime minister advises the governor-general on the appointment of a Council of Ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The history of Antigua and Barbuda covers the period from the arrival of the Archaic peoples thousands of years ago to the present day. Prior to European colonization,the lands encompassing present-day Antigua and Barbuda were inhabited by three successive Amerindian societies. The island was claimed by England,who settled the islands in 1632. Under English/British control,the islands witnessed an influx of both Britons and African slaves migrate to the island. In 1981,the islands were granted independence as the modern state of Antigua and Barbuda.
Sir Lester Bryant Bird was an Antiguan politician and athlete who served as the second prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 1994 to 2004. He was chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) from 1971 to 1983,then became prime minister when his father,Sir Vere Bird,the previous prime minister,resigned.
Sir Vere Cornwall Bird,KNH was the first Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. His son,Lester Bryant Bird,succeeded him as Prime Minister. In 1994,he was declared a "National Hero".
Winston Baldwin Spencer is an Antiguan politician who was the third prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda from 2004 to 2014.
Elections in Antigua and Barbuda take place in the framework of a parliamentary democracy.
George William Odlum was a Saint Lucian left-wing politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister. Born in Castries,Odlum studied at Bristol University and Oxford University in the United Kingdom before returning to Saint Lucia as Permanent Secretary to the Ministry of Trade. After working for the Commonwealth Secretariat and the West Indies Associated States,he formed the Saint Lucia Forum,a left-wing pressure group. This group merged with the Saint Lucia Labour Party in time for the 1974 elections;although the Party did not win,the progress they made allowed them to take power in 1979,with Odlum as Deputy Prime Minister.
Sir George Herbert Walter,KNH was an Antiguan politician of the Progressive Labour Movement and Premier of Antigua and Barbuda from 14 February 1971 to 1 February 1976.
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda (GOAB),is a unitary constitutional monarchy,where the Monarch of Antigua and Barbuda serves as the head of state,represented by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda,and the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda serves as the head of government.
Sir Robert Hall (1909–1994) was a politician of Antigua and Barbuda. Hall was an opponent of the dominant Antigua Labour Party throughout his career. He was politically active mainly during Antigua and Barbuda's time as a West Indies Associated State.
Vere Bird Jr. was an Antiguan lawyer and politician who served as chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP) and a government minister. He was the son of Vere Bird,the former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda,and brother of Lester Bird,who later held the same position.
Sir Robin Yearwood KGCN is an Antiguan politician and member of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP). Entering Parliament in 1976,Yearwood served as Minister of Agriculture,Land and Fisheries in the ALP administration until a cabinet reshuffle in 1987 saw him take over Vere Bird,Jr.'s portfolio for Aviation,Public Information and Public Utilities. Despite a failed attempt to oust the Prime Minister he retained this position,and kept it when he became Deputy Prime Minister on 9 September 2002 and Minister of Finance a year later. Following the ALP's loss in the 2004 election,Yearwood was one of only three ALP members left in the lower house,and became Leader of the Opposition. He held this position until 2006,when he was replaced with Steadroy Benjamin.
Sir Molwyn Joseph,KGCN,is an Antiguan politician and Chairman of the Antigua Labour Party (ALP). First entering politics in 1984 when he was made a Minister without Portfolio in the government of Vere Bird,Joseph became Minister of Finance seven years later,renegotiating the Antiguan national debt and introducing fiscal reforms. After a 1996 scandal in which it was discovered he had used his position to import a 1930s Rolls-Royce for a friend,bypassing normal import duties and taxes,he was dismissed from the Bird administration,returning 14 months later to serve as Minister for Planning,Implementation and the Environment. Following the 1999 general election,he became Minister of Heath and Social Improvement before being made Minister of Tourism and the Environment a few months later. As Minister,Joseph attempted to improve the perception of Antigua as a tourist destination and invest in the industry,spending 2 million US dollars increasing the number of hotel rooms on the island and providing money for both Air Jamaica and Air Luxor to provide flights to the island.
Gaston Alfonso Browne is an Antiguan politician serving as the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and leader of the Labour Party since 2014. Before entering politics,he was a banker and businessman.
Sir Rodney Errey Lawrence Williams,is the current and 4th Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda.
Maria Vanessa Bird-Browne is a politician in Antigua and Barbuda. She was elected as a member of the House of Representatives for St. John's Rural East in the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda in 2018,becoming the youngest lawmaker in the country and the youngest female member of parliament across the Commonwealth. She is the country's minister for housing,lands,and urban renewal.
Sir Gerald Owen Anderson Watt KCN KC is an Antiguan politician and a former cabinet minister. Watt represented St. John's Rural East in parliament from 1971 until 1976 and is a former chairman of the Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission. Watt has also served as attorney general during his time as Minister of National Security,Labour,and Legal Affairs. Watt has been the Speaker of the House of Representatives since 25 June 2014. He can be considered bipartisan.
The Leader of the Opposition,officially the Leader of His Majesty's Opposition,is the leader of the largest political party in the House of Representatives of Antigua and Barbuda that is not in government. The Leader of the Opposition is appointed by the Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda.
Antigua,officially the Associated State of Antigua,was an associated state of the United Kingdom,which was established on 27 February 1967. The associated state was abolished on November 1,1981 by the Antigua Order.
References
- ↑ "Ivor Bird's Pleads Not Guilty". Associated Press Worldstream. Associated Press. May 11, 1995.
- ↑ "Labour Party wins majority in parliamentary elections". BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. BBC. March 11, 1999.
- ↑ "CARIBBEAN: ANTIGUA'S NEW CABINET IS SWORN IN". BBC Monitoring Latin America - Political. BBC. March 13, 1999.
- ↑ "PEOPLE IN POWER: ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA". Cambridge International Reference on Current Affairs. May 1999.
- ↑ "Antigua and Barbuda: Cabinet reshuffle; premier to share finance portfolio". BBC Monitoring Latin America - Political. BBC. January 6, 2001.
- ↑ "Antigua: New anti-corruption legislation to be presented to parliament". BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. BBC. October 22, 2002.
- ↑ "Antigua and Barbuda exempts work permit requirements for non-nationals". BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. BBC. May 23, 2003.
- ↑ "Antigua: New parliament session opens with swearing-in ceremony". BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. BBC. March 30, 2004.
- ↑ "Antiguan opposition leader denies plans to form new party". BBC Monitoring Latin America - Political. BBC. December 20, 2005.
- ↑ "Antigua premier appoints political rival as his deputy". BBC Monitoring Latin America - Political. BBC. February 8, 2007.
- ↑ INDEPENDENCE CEREMONIAL PARADE AND NATIONAL AWARDS (WEDNESDAY 1ST NOVEMBER 2023) , retrieved 2023-11-01