Andrew Alturo Fahie (, born 7 August 1970) is a British Virgin Islands politician who served as
Premier of the British Virgin Islands
The Premier of the Virgin Islands 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. Until 2007, the h ...
from 2019 to 2022. He was also the chairman of the
Virgin Islands Party
The Virgin Islands Party (VIP) is a political party in the British Virgin Islands. It is presently led by Acting Premier Natalio Wheatley. It is the oldest active political party in the British Virgin Islands, and it has won more general elect ...
in the
British Virgin Islands
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, song_type = Territorial song
, song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands"
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, mapsize = 290px
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from 2016 to 2022.
Fahie was the elected
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
member for the First District from 1999 to 2022.
He was appointed chairman of the Virgin Islands Party on 30 November 2016 after winning a leadership contest with incumbent leader,
Julian Fraser
Julian Fraser (born 5 July 1950) is a British Virgin Islander politician who formerly belonged to the opposition Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands, and in August 2018 formed a new party, Progressives United. He is the current L ...
. On 6 February 2017 he was officially appointed
Leader of the Opposition
The Leader of the Opposition is a title traditionally held by the leader of the largest political party not in government, typical in countries utilizing the parliamentary system form of government. The leader of the opposition is typically se ...
.
On 25 February 2019 Fahie led his party to victory in the
2019 British Virgin Islands general election
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 25 February 2019. For the first time, four parties with at least one incumbent member were contesting an election.
The result was a decisive victory for the Virgin Islands Party, whic ...
, and was sworn in as Premier the following day.
On 28 April 2022, Fahie was arrested in the United States on charges related to drug trafficking and money laundering.
Shortly afterwards, on 5 May 2022, he was removed as Premier by a near-unanimous vote in the
House of Assembly
House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level.
Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible governme ...
. He remained as the First District Representative until November 2022.
He is often referred to by his nickname, the Brown Bomber.
Early life and education
Andrew Fahie was born in 1970 to Ernest Alturo Fahie and Iris Dorene Romney.
After graduating from the BVI High School in 1986, Fahie attended the
University of the Virgin Islands
The University of the Virgin Islands (or UVI) is a public historically black land-grant university in the United States Virgin Islands.
History
UVI was founded as the College of the Virgin Islands on March 16, 1962. In 1986, it officially beca ...
in
St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas ( da, Sankt Thomas) is one of the Virgin Islands in the Caribbean Sea which, together with Saint John, Water Island, Hassel Island, and Saint Croix, form a county-equivalent and constituent district of the United States Virgin I ...
, and then earned a BSc in Education from
Florida A&M University
Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...
, graduating in 1991.
After that he initially taught as a Maths teacher at
Elmore Stoutt High School
Elmore Stoutt High School (ESHS) is a grade 7-12 secondary school in Road Town, Tortola, British Virgin Islands.
History
It was previously BVI High School (BVIHS). In September 2012 Wade Tobin became acting principal, but Vanessa Garraway became ...
.
Fahie is married to Sheila Fahie (née Herbert-Forbes). Together they have had three children, one of whom died in infancy.
Political career
Fahie was first elected as the 1st District representative in 1999 at the age of 28, and he has held that seat continuously since then.
He has previously served as Minister for Education and Culture from 2007 to 2011, and as Minister for Health, Education and Welfare from 2000 to 2003. Since 1999 he has dominated the voting in his 1st District - his smallest margin of victory has been 27.6% of the vote (2015).
Leader of the Opposition
In the
2015 general election only two members of the Virgin Islands Party won their seats - Julian Fraser and Fahie. Subsequently, Fraser and Fahie argued over who should be named as leader of the opposition, as Fraser believed that he should take over as the incumbent party leader following the general election defeat. Fahie disagreed as he believed the majority of party members would prefer him to take over as leader following the party's disastrous electoral defeat.
As the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
required that the Leader of the Opposition commanded a support of the "majority" of the opposition members, and the only two opposition members disagreed, there was an impasse. Governor
John Duncan John Duncan may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* John Duncan (painter) (1866–1945), Scottish painter
* John Duncan (artist) (born 1953), American artist and musician
* Big John Duncan (born 1958), Scottish punk musician
* John Duncan (harpist) ...
gave the men a month to resolve their differences, but they were unable to do so, and eventually the Governor appointed Fraser as the official Leader of the Opposition.
Fahie later ousted Fraser as party leader, and was appointed Leader of the Opposition in his stead.
He was succeeded by
Ronnie Skelton
Since the restoration of democracy in the British Virgin Islands in 1950, only a comparatively small number of persons have
been elected to political office. Although elections are held approximately every three or four years, the small size ...
as opposition leader on 22 December 2018 after the ruling Government party split, and the Skelton-led faction became the largest opposition party.
Fahie, when he was Leader of the Opposition, frequently commented that a Commission of Inquiry was needed into BVI Government corruption.
Two years after he was elected as Premier of the Virgin Islands, then-Governor
Augustus Jaspert
Augustus James Ulysses "Gus" Jaspert (born 1979) is a British diplomat who was previously the Governor of the Virgin Islands, Governor of the British Virgin Islands. He was sworn into office on 22 August 2017. He left office on 23 January 2021 ...
announced that there would be a Commission of Inquiry and the Report of that Inquiry was published in late April 2022, one day after Fahie's arrest in connection to drug trafficking, money laundering and terrorism financing.
Premier
Fahie led his party to victory in the
2019 British Virgin Islands general election
General elections were held in the British Virgin Islands on 25 February 2019. For the first time, four parties with at least one incumbent member were contesting an election.
The result was a decisive victory for the Virgin Islands Party, whic ...
, and was sworn in as Premier the following day.
He was removed as Premier on 5 May 2022 after the House of Assembly passed a no-confidence motion against his government.
Resignation
He formally resigned his seat at representative of the First District on 24 November 2022.
In his resignation letter to the Speaker of the House he indicated that he was retiring from representational politics.
Shooting incident
In 2007 Fahie suffered a gunshot wound to his left leg during an attempted bank robbery. The wound was not serious. Fahie tried to sue the bank for the injuries he received. He lost at trial, and the case was settled before the appeal was heard.
Money laundering and cocaine allegations
2003
In 2003, ''
Offshore Alert'' reported that Fahie was under investigation about allegations of money laundering. Fahie did not deny that an investigation took place, but contended that no action was taken against him as a result of the investigation. He called the allegations "outdated, unproven, and unsubstantiated".
2022
On 28 April 2022, Fahie was arrested by the
US Drug Enforcement Administration
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic enf ...
(DEA) in Miami on charges related to money laundering, conspiracy to import 5 kg (11 lb) of cocaine, and planning to assist the Mexico-based
Sinaloa Cartel
The Sinaloa Cartel ( es, link=no, Cártel de Sinaloa), also known as the CDS, the Guzmán-Loera Organization, the Pacific Cartel, the Federation and the Blood Alliance, is a large, international organized crime syndicate that specializes in il ...
in moving thousands of kilograms of cocaine into the United States for a percentage of the proceeds.
He reportedly intends to plead not guilty.
Electoral history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fahie, Andrew
1970 births
British Virgin Islands politicians
Florida A&M University alumni
Living people
Members of the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands
People from Tortola
Premiers of the British Virgin Islands
University of the Virgin Islands alumni
Virgin Islands Party politicians