Akierra Mary Deanne Missick (born 1983) is a Turks and Caicos Islands lawyer and politician. She served as Deputy Premier and Minister of Education from 2012 to 2016 and Leader of Government Business and Minister of Infrastructure from 2021 to 2022 . A member of the Progressive National Party, Missick has served as the Member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for Leeward & Long Bay ED5 since

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

Law career

Missick was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

of England and Wales and the bar of the Turks and Caicos Islands. She works as an associate for the law firm of Misick & Stanbrook, where she specialised in dispute resolution, company law,

medical law Medical law is the branch of law which concerns the prerogatives and responsibilities of medical professionals and the rights of the patient. It should not be confused with medical jurisprudence, which is a branch of medicine, rather than a bra ...

, and personal injury law.

Political career

Missick became a member of the Progressive National Party in 2002. She was formerly Secretary-General of the PNP. She resigned from that position in August 2009 to protest statements made by

Michael Misick Michael Eugene Misick (; born 2 February 1966) is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who was the 7th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 15 August 2003 to 9 August 2006 and was the 1st Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands ...

, but continued her membership in the party. In August 2012, Missick announced that she would be seeking the PNP's nomination to stand in Leeward District 5,

Providenciales Providenciales (known locally as Provo) is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the la ...

for the 2012 general election. Due to provisions in the new 2011

Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands The Constitution of the Turks and Caicos Islands, in its present form, was passed in 2011. 1962 When Jamaica became independent in 1962, the Turks and Caicos Islands, formerly under Jamaican administration, became a Crown colony in its own right. ...

, this required her to renounce any foreign allegiance she held by virtue of her own act. As

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Huw Shepheard commented, those who were merely born in foreign countries would not be affected by these changes, but those who had applied for foreign passports as adults would be. Missick, though the only U.S.-born candidate, was far from the only one to had to take quick action to renounce foreign citizenship; Bahamas-born

People's Democratic Movement The People's Democratic Movement is a political party in Papua New Guinea. It was founded by Paias Wingti in 1985, after his faction left the Pangu Party. Wingti served as prime minister from 1985 to 1988 and from 1992 to 1994. He was later repla ...

deputy leader

Sharlene Cartwright-Robinson Sharlene Linette Cartwright-Robinson Justice of the Peace, JP (born 4 September 1971) is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician and lawyer who served as the 4th Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 20 December 2016 to 20 February 2021. S ...

and several other members of her party were also affected, and the newly formed People's Progressive Party stood in danger of having all of its candidates disqualified. Missick renounced U.S. citizenship in mid-October, and was officially nominated on 25 October. She emerged victorious in the election, and the week afterwards was named as Deputy Premier and Minister of Education, Youth, Sports and Culture. Missick was re-elected as the Member of the House of Assembly for Leeward-Long Bay ED5 in the 2016 general election and the 2021 general election. She was appointed by Premier Charles Misick to serve as the Leader of Government Business and Minister of Infrastructure, Housing Planning and Development on 22 January 2021.

Personal life

Missick's mother is Doreen Missick, also a Turks and Caicos Islands politician, and a former member of the Advisory Council. Missick was born in the United States, and thus had ''jus soli'' citizenship there. She attended Ona Glinton Primary School on

Grand Turk Island Grand Turk Island is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands (the smaller of the two archipelagos that make up the island territory) with . Grand Turk contains the territory's capital, Cockburn To ...

, Iris Stubbs Primary School on

South Caicos South Caicos is the seventh-largest island in the Turks and Caicos archipelago, with a land area of . South Caicos is known for excellent fishing, both deep-sea and bone fishing, and scuba diving. South Caicos was formerly a salt exporter, the is ...

, and

MAST Academy Maritime and Science Technology Academy, commonly referred to as MAST Academy, or MAST, is a public high school in Miami, Florida, on Virginia Key. MAST Academy is a magnet school under the governance of Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The scho ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in the United States. Following that she moved to England to continue her schooling, doing her A Levels at

Notre Dame Catholic Sixth Form College Notre Dame is a Sixth Form College in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The college is situated on Saint Mark's Avenue, near to the engineering departments of the University of Leeds in Woodhouse, Leeds. It is near the (formerly C of E) St Mark ...

, her

LL.B Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

at the

University of Nottingham The University of Nottingham is a public university, public research university in Nottingham, United Kingdom. It was founded as University College Nottingham in 1881, and was granted a royal charter in 1948. The University of Nottingham belongs t ...

from 2002 to 2005, and her

Bar Vocational Course The Bar Professional Training Course or BPTC is a postgraduate course which allows law graduates to be named and practise as barristers in England and Wales. The eight institutes that run the BPTC along with the four prestigious Inns of Court ...

at the

Inns of Court School of Law The City Law School is one of the five schools of City, University of London. In 2001, the Inns of Court School of Law became part of City, and is now known as the City Law School. Until 1997, the ICSL had a monopoly on the provision of the Bar ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Missick, Akierra 1983 births Living people Alumni of the University of Nottingham American emigrants to the Turks and Caicos Islands Politicians from Miami Government ministers of the Turks and Caicos Islands Members of the Turks and Caicos Islands House of Assembly Progressive National Party (Turks and Caicos Islands) politicians Former United States citizens Turks and Caicos Islands lawyers Women government ministers of the Turks and Caicos Islands 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians Education ministers