Premier of the Virgin Islands
The Premier of the Virgin Islands[1] is the head of government for the British Virgin Islands. As a British Overseas Territory, the Premier is appointed by the Governor on behalf of the British monarch, currently King Charles III.[2] Until 2007, the head of government was known as the Chief Minister of the Virgin Islands, but a constitutional change in 2007 renamed the position as Premier.[3]
| Premier of the Virgin Islands | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Style | The Honourable |
| Appointer | Governor of the Virgin Islands |
| Term length | At the Governor's pleasure (normally 4 years) |
| Formation | 14 April 1967 |
| First holder | Hamilton Lavity Stoutt as Chief Minister |
| Website | Office of the Premier |
.jpg.webp)
|
|---|
| Judiciary |
| Administrative divisions |
| Foreign relations |
The current Premier is Natalio Wheatley. He is serving since 5 May 2022.[4]
History of the office
Since the 1967 constitution was adopted, only seven different people (all men) have served as Premier or Chief Minister, and each of them except for Cyril Romney has served at least two full terms. Also, each of them has served as the Leader of the Opposition.
H. Lavity Stoutt won the most general elections of any leader (he won five), followed by Orlando Smith (three). Stoutt, Smith and Willard Wheatley are the only leaders to have served two consecutive full terms (Ralph T. O'Neal also served two consecutive terms, but the first of those was the remaining part of a term after Stoutt's death).
List
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| UP VIDP VIP NDP | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Portrait | Name (Birth–Death) |
Term of office[lower-alpha 1] | Political party | Elected | Notes | ||
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | ||||||
| Chief Ministers (1967–2007) | ||||||||
| 1 |  |
H. Lavity Stoutt (1929–1995) |
14 April 1967 | 2 June 1971 | 4 years, 49 days | United Party | 1967 | First tenure |
| 2 | |
Willard Wheatley (1915–1997) |
2 June 1971 | 12 November 1979 | 8 years, 163 days | VI Democratic Party | 1971 1975 |
|
| (2) | United Party[lower-alpha 2] | |||||||
| (1) | |
H. Lavity Stoutt (1929–1995) |
12 November 1979 | 11 November 1983 | 3 years, 364 days | Virgin Islands Party | 1979 | Second tenure |
| 3 | |
Cyril Romney (1931–2007) |
11 November 1983 | 17 November 1986 | 3 years, 6 days | United Party | 1983 | |
| (1) | |
H. Lavity Stoutt (1929–1995) |
17 November 1986 | 14 May 1995 | 8 years, 178 days | Virgin Islands Party | 1986 1990 1995 |
Third tenure. Died in office |
| 4 | .jpg.webp) |
Ralph T. O'Neal (1933–2019) |
15 May 1995 | 17 June 2003 | 8 years, 33 days | Virgin Islands Party | 1999 | |
| 5 | .jpg.webp) |
D. Orlando Smith (born 1944) |
17 June 2003 | 23 August 2007 | 4 years, 67 days | National Democratic Party | 2003 | |
| Premiers (2007–present) | ||||||||
| 1 | |
Ralph T. O'Neal (1933–2019) |
23 August 2007 | 9 November 2011 | 4 years, 78 days | Virgin Islands Party | 2007 | |
| 2 | |
D. Orlando Smith (born 1944) |
9 November 2011 | 25 February 2019 | 7 years, 108 days | National Democratic Party | 2011 2015 |
|
| 3 |  |
Andrew Fahie (born 1970) |
26 February 2019 | 5 May 2022 | 3 years, 69 days | Virgin Islands Party | 2019 | |
| 4 | .jpg.webp) |
Natalio Wheatley (born 1980) |
5 May 2022 | Incumbent | 1 year, 173 days | Virgin Islands Party | 2023 | |
All previous Chief Ministers or Premiers have served at least two terms except for Cyril Romney and Andrew Fahie.
| № | Name | General Election victories |
Total time in office (days) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lavity Stoutt | 5 | 6,117 |
| 2 | Ralph O'Neal | 2 | 4,494 |
| 3 | Orlando Smith | 3 | 4,194 |
| 4 | Willard Wheatley | 2 | 3,085 |
| 5 | Andrew Fahie | 1 | 1,164 |
| 6 | Cyril Romney | 1 | 1,055 |
| 7 | Natalio Wheatley | 1 | 538 |
See also
Notes
- Duration of terms are calculated as commencing on the date of the election; not the actual subsequent date of appointment by the Governor, which is usually a few days later.
- Wheatley led a coalition of himself plus the VI Democratic Party in the 1971 election and then another coalition of himself plus the United Party in the 1975 election.
References
- While the territory is commonly known as the 'British Virgin Islands', her official name is simply 'Virgin Islands'.
- The Virgin Islands Constitution Order 2007 Archived 22 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine (SI 2007/1678)
- The Virgin Islands (Constitution) Order 1976 Archived 2009-05-03 at the Wayback Machine (SI 1976/2145), as amended by 1979/1603, 1982/151, 1991/2871 and 1994/1638
- "Dr Wheatley sworn in as Premier! New cross-party gov't also installed". BVINews. 5 May 2022. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
Further reading
 | | ||
