Her Majesty's Government of the Virgin Islands is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of the British Virgin Islands. It is regulated by the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands.
The Governor of the Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state, and he or she is responsible for appointing the chief minister and the executive council.
Elections in the British Virgin Islands are conducted to elect members to the House of Assembly. In the British Virgin Islands elections are not conducted in relation to appointments to either the Executive or Judicial branches of Government, and there are no other publicly elected posts in the British Virgin Islands. Most elections are conducted as general elections, which under the Constitution are required to be held every four years, or as by-elections when a member of the House of Assembly dies or steps down. Since the re-introduction of democracy into the British Virgin Islands in 1950 there have been fifteen general elections, and three recorded by-elections. The next general election was scheduled to be held in 2015.
The House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands, until 2007 known as the Legislative Council, has 15 members: 13 directly elected for four-year terms, and two ex officio members.
Ruth Dancia Penn, is a British Virgin Islands politician and former Deputy Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 20 September 2004 to 1 April 2007. She also formerly served as the Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands from 1992 to 1999.
The Royal Virgin Islands Police Force is the national police force of the British Virgin Islands, a British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and north-west of Anguilla. The United States Virgin Islands Police Department is responsible for policing the American side.
A dormant commission is a commission in a Commonwealth realm that lies dormant or sleeping until it is triggered by a particular event.
The Constitution of the British Virgin Islands is a predominantly codified constitution documented primarily within the Virgin Islands Constitution Order, 2007 a statutory instrument of the United Kingdom. The 2007 Constitution was the fourth written constitution of the British Virgin Islands, and superseded the 1976 constitution. In addition to the constitution itself a number of the constitutional powers of the British Virgin Islands government are specified a "letter of entrustment" from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office which delegates powers to the British Virgin Islands government to represent itself in certain external affairs.
The Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands is the collective decision-making body of the British Virgin Islands government. It is composed of the Premier, four other Ministers of Government, and the Attorney General as an ex officio, non-voting, member. The Governor attends and presides over meetings of Cabinet where possible. The Cabinet has responsibility for the formulation of policy, including directing the implementation of such policy, insofar as it relates to every aspect of government, except those matters for which are reserved to the Governor under the Constitution. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to the House of Assembly for such policies and their implementation.
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 27 November 1950, the first after the decision to restore the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands. Four members were elected to the First Legislative Council.
Conrad Antonio Maduro is a veteran politician in the British Virgin Islands and longtime leader of the United Party. Remarkably, Conrad Maduro has led his party to victory at three different general elections, but has never been appointed Chief Minister.
Dr Qwominer William Osborne, OBE was a politician and physician in the British Virgin Islands.
The Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition in the British Virgin Islands is a politician who is appointed by the Governor who leads the political parties and elected legislators who are not aligned with the Government of the day. Under the Constitution the Governor is required to appoint a member of the House of Assembly recommended by a majority of the elected members of the House who are members of any opposition party whose numerical strength in the House is greater than that of any other opposition party, or if no such person exists, the member of the House of Assembly who in the judgement of the Governor is best able to command the support of the members of the House in opposition to the Government.
Howard Reynold Penn OBE (1903–1994), more commonly known simply as H.R. Penn, was a politician who served during the years immediately after the reintroduction of democracy in the British Virgin Islands in 1950. He was elected as a member of First Legislative Council and continued to serve until his defeat in the 1963 general election.
The Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands is the principal legal adviser to the Government of the British Virgin Islands. Under the Constitution of the British Virgin Islands the Attorney General sits ex officio in both the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands and in the Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands, but is not permitted to vote in either. The Attorney General also sits on the Committee for the Prerogative of Mercy and on the National Security Council.
Vivian Inez Archibald CBE is a British Virgin Islander politician and businesswoman who has served as the Deputy Governor of the British Virgin Islands since September 2008. On 21 August 2008, Meg Munn, who held the British ministerial portfolio for the Overseas Territories at the time, instructed the Governor of the British Virgin Islands to appoint Archibald as Deputy Governor. Inez Archibald took office as the British Virgin Islands' Deputy Governor on 15 September 2008.
Isaac Glanville Fonseca was one of the early political figures in the British Virgin Islands around the time of the restoration of democracy in 1950. Fonseca was one of the community leaders who participated in the "march of 1949" and later went on to become one of the longest serving legislators in the British Virgin Islands, winning a total of six general elections before retiring from politics.
John Mark Ambrose Herdman was a British diplomat and overseas civil servant. Herdman served as the Deputy Governor of Bermuda from 1983 to 1986 and then as the Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 1986 until 1991.
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