Bermuda is the oldest British Overseas Territory,and the oldest self-governing British Overseas Territory,and has a great degree of internal autonomy through authority and roles of governance delegated to it by the national Government. Its parliament held its first session in 1620,making it the third-oldest continuous parliament in the world. As part of the British realm,King Charles III is head of state and is represented in Bermuda by a Governor,whom he appoints on the advice of the British Government. The Governor has special responsibilities in four areas:external affairs,defence,internal security,and policing.
Before European colonization,the Turks and Caicos Islands were inhabited by Taíno and Lucayan peoples. The first recorded European sighting of the islands now known as the Turks and Caicos occurred in 1512. In the subsequent centuries,the islands were claimed by several European powers with the British Empire eventually gaining control. For many years the islands were governed indirectly through Bermuda,the Bahamas,and Jamaica. When the Bahamas gained independence in 1973,the islands received their own governor,and have remained a separate autonomous British Overseas Territory since. In August 2009,the United Kingdom suspended the Turks and Caicos Islands' self-government following allegations of ministerial corruption. Home rule was restored in the islands after the November 2012 elections.
Dame Jennifer Meredith Smith,DBE,JP,DHumL,MP was the Premier of Bermuda from 1998 until 2003,the first premier who was not a member of the United Bermuda Party.
The United Bermuda Party (UBP) was a political party in Bermuda,which represented itself as centrist party with a moderate social and fiscal agenda. The party held power in Bermuda's House of Assembly continuously from 1968 to 1998,the 47-year-old party was dissolved on 30 June 2011 after the majority of its members joined the One Bermuda Alliance.
The Progressive Labour Party (PLP) is one of the two political parties in Bermuda. At the 18 July 2017 general election,the party won 24 of the 36 seats in the Bermudian House of Assembly to become the governing party. The party was founded in 1963,the first political party in Bermuda,and the oldest still active. It formed government from 1998 to 2012,and again since 2017.
Dame Lois Marie Browne-Evans DBE JP was a lawyer and political figure in Bermuda. She led the Progressive Labour Party (PLP) in opposition before being appointed Bermuda's first female Attorney-General. She first gained recognition in 1953 as Bermuda's first female barrister. Browne-Evans died of a suspected stroke on 29 May 2007,at age 79.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 December 2007 to elect all 36 members of the House of Assembly. The incumbent Progressive Labour Party (PLP) led by Ewart Brown was returned for a third term,with 22 of the 36 seats of the House of Assembly,with the opposition United Bermuda Party (UBP) winning the remaining 14 seats.
The Bermuda Democratic Alliance (BDA) was a political party in Bermuda which lasted from its foundation in November 2009 until its merger into the One Bermuda Alliance in May 2011.
Paula Ann Cox CBE is a Bermudian politician and former premier of Bermuda. She has been the leader of the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP),since 28 October 2010. In accordance with the Bermuda Constitution Order 1968,she was appointed Premier of Bermuda,on Friday,29 October 2010 by Governor Sir Richard Gozney. She was succeeded as Premier by Craig Cannonier on 18 December 2012,when she led her party into election defeat,losing her own seat in the process.
The Hon. Derrick V. Burgess,JP,MP,is a Bermudian politician,former labour union leader and hotel executive. The Hon. Derrick V. Burgess was elected Deputy Leader of the Progressive Labour Party and Deputy Premier of Bermuda on 28 October 2010,immediately following the election of the Hon. Paula Cox,JP,MP as Premier of Bermuda. Four days later,he was named Minister of Public Works.
The One Bermuda Alliance (OBA) is one of two political parties in Bermuda with elected members of the Bermuda's legislative assembly. It was created in May 2011 by the merger of most members of Bermuda's two non-Labour parties,the United Bermuda Party and the Bermuda Democratic Alliance. It won the 2012 election and governed until 2017. Since then,it has been the official opposition in Bermuda's Assembly.
Edgar Fitzgerald Gordon,born in Trinidad and Tobago,was a physician,parliamentarian,civil-rights activist and labour leader in Bermuda,and is regarded as the "father of trade unionism" there:"he championed the cause of Bermudian workers and fought for equal rights for black Bermudians,thereby laying the groundwork for much of the political and social change that came about after his death". He was president of the Bermuda Industrial Union (BIU) 1945–55. Gordon has been described as "perhaps the only black charismatic leader to have emerged in the island's modern political history",and as "Bermuda's most dedicated Pan-Africanist".
Craig Cannonier is a Bermudian politician,who served as Premier of Bermuda from 18 December 2012 until his resignation on 19 May 2014. He has also served as the leader of the One Bermuda Alliance since 10 September 2011.
Robert Vaughan Barritt was a Bermudian artist,painter and politician. He served in the House of Assembly of Bermuda from 1985 to 1989 representing Pembroke East Central,marking the only time that the United Bermuda Party (UBP) held that particular constituency. Barritt held the post of Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs during his tenure in the House of Assembly. Barritt was later appointed to the Senate of Bermuda as a member of the UBP. He was a member of the Barritts,a prominent Bermudian political and business family which owns Barritt's Ginger Beer.
The Hon. Marc A. Bean,JP,MP is a Bermudian politician,and the former Leader of the Opposition. Bean was a Member of Bermuda's Parliament since winning a by-election in 2010,securing the seat of Warwick South Central for the Bermuda Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Previously,Bean had served in the Bermuda Senate. While in government,Bean held various ministerial and junior ministerial portfolios,including Environment,Planning and Infrastructure Strategy. In September 2020,he announced that he was forming a new political party,the Free Democratic Movement,to contest the 2020 Bermudian general election.
Same-sex marriage is currently not recognised nor performed in Bermuda,a British Overseas Territory,but it was legal between 2017 and 2022. However,marriages performed during that period remain valid.
General elections were held in Bermuda on 18 July 2017 to elect all 36 members to the House of Assembly. The result was a victory for the opposition Progressive Labour Party,which won 24 of the 36 seats. Incumbent Premier Michael Dunkley subsequently resigned as leader of the One Bermuda Alliance. Bob Richards,a senior minister and deputy premier in Dunkley's government unexpectedly lost his Devonshire East seat.
Edward David Burt is the Premier of Bermuda and leader of the Progressive Labour Party (PLP). Burt is Bermuda's youngest ever premier,having taken office at the age of 38.
Jeanne Atherden is a Bermudian politician and was the Leader of the Opposition in the House of Assembly of Bermuda until she resigned in September 2018. She became opposition leader after winning the party leadership of the largest opposition party,the One Bermuda Alliance,in November 2017. In 2008 she was appointed to serve as a Senator and since 2013 has served as an MP for Pembroke West.
