Since the restoration of democracy in the
British Virgin Islands
)
, anthem = "God Save the King"
, song_type = Territorial song
, song = "Oh, Beautiful Virgin Islands"
, image_map = File:British Virgin Islands on the globe (Americas centered).svg
, map_caption =
, mapsize = 290px
, image_map2 = Brit ...
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 of the legislative body and the tendency to return incumbent politicians
[For example, ]Lavity Stoutt
Hamilton Lavity Stoutt (7 March 1929 – 14 May 1995) was a British Virgin Islander politician and the first and longest serving Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands. He won five general elections (1967, 1979, 1986, 1991 and 1995) ...
won the 1st District in 11 consecutive elections. Ralph O'Neal
Ralph Telford O'Neal, OBE (15 December 1933 – 11 November 2019) was a British Virgin Islander politician. He was the longest ever serving elected representative in the British Virgin Islands, and served as Chief Minister (when the office was ...
won the 7th/9th District in 10 consecutive elections. The 3rd District has been won by 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 ...
, his brother Earl, or his cousin Oliver Cills, every year since 1971. In five consecutive elections from 1979 to 1995 just under half the legislature was ever-present: Stoutt, O'Neal, Omar Hodge
Omar Wallace Hodge (2 February 1942 – 20 December 2017) was a politician in the British Virgin Islands. Hodge was the third longest serving member of the House of Assembly (including its former incarnation as the Legislative Council) after Lavi ...
and Oliver Cills. has resulted in a relatively small aggregate number.
Prior to the
1967 general election legislators were elected on a non-party basis. However, many persons who were elected in those early elections later went on to form, or stand for,
political parties
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or pol ...
.
In addition to politicians who were elected by popular mandate, various other political positions are filled by appointment. These include:
* The
Governor 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 r ...
* The
Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands
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 ...
* The
Speaker of the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands
* Prior to 1967, certain members of the Legislative Council (as the House of Assembly was formerly named) were appointed rather than elected.
List of elected politicians
A total of 64 people have been elected to serve in the Legislature of the British Virgin Islands; 56 were men, and eight were women. Of those 64, just over half (33) have only served a single term or less.
Longest serving elected politicians
Twelve people (all men) have served five or more terms in the British Virgin Islands Legislature.
See also
*
List of political parties in the British Virgin Islands
The British Virgin Islands has a two-party system, which means that there are two dominant political parties, creating difficulty for anybody to achieve electoral success under the banner of any other party. In none of the previous four election ...
Footnotes
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