Charles Wesley Turnbull (February 5, 1935 – July 3, 2022) was a Virgin Islander politician, educator and historian who served as the sixth elected

Governor of the United States Virgin Islands The governor of the United States Virgin Islands is the head of government of the United States Virgin Islands whose responsibilities also include making the annual State of the Territory addresses to the Legislature of the Virgin Islands, Virgi ...

from 1999 to 2007.

Biography

Charles Wesley Turnbull was born on February 6, 1935 in the island of St. Thomas to John Wesley Turnbull and Ruth Ann Eliza Skelton of

Tortola Tortola () is the largest and most populated island of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. It has a surface area of with a total population of 23,908, with 9,400 residents in ...

. Prior to being elected governor in 1998, he was a professor at 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 ...

, Commissioner and Assistant Commissioner of the territorial Department of Education, principal and assistant principal of

Charlotte Amalie High School Charlotte Amalie High School (CAHS) is a public high school housing a population of just over 1400 students, and over 130 members of faculty and staff. It is located in what is colloquially called the "town area" of the island of St. Thomas, Uni ...

, and a teacher in elementary and secondary schools. He was a graduate of

Hampton University Hampton University is a private, historically black, research university in Hampton, Virginia. Founded in 1868 as Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, it was established by Black and White leaders of the American Missionary Association af ...

, earning bachelor's and master's degrees. He earned a doctoral degree in Educational Administration from the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

in 1976. During his tenure as governor, Turnbull served as a member of the

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

, the

Southern Governors' Association The Southern Governors' Association (SGA), formerly the Southern Governors Conference, was a United States association of governors founded in 1934. It was the oldest and historically the largest of the regional governors associations. Since its fi ...

, and the

Democratic Governors Association The Democratic Governors Association (DGA) is a Washington, D.C.-based 527 organization founded in 1983, consisting of U.S. state and territorial governors affiliated with the Democratic Party. The mission of the organization is to provide party ...

. Turnbull was prohibited from seeking re-election in 2006 due to

term limits A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potenti ...

. His term of office expired on January 1, 2007, and he was succeeded by John de Jongh. Turnbull served as a member of the Virgin Islands Fifth Constitutional Convention. Turnbull died in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, on July 3, 2022, at the age of 87.

References

, - 1935 births 2022 deaths 20th-century African-American people 21st-century African-American people African-American politicians American people of British Virgin Islands descent Democratic Party governors of the United States Virgin Islands Democratic Party of the Virgin Islands politicians Governors of the United States Virgin Islands Hampton University alumni People from Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands United States Virgin Islands educators United States Virgin Islands Methodists University of Minnesota College of Education and Human Development alumni University of the Virgin Islands faculty {{USVirginIslands-politician-stub