Palmavon Webster is an Anguillian lawyer and politician. She is a former member of the

House of Assembly of Anguilla The House of Assembly is the unicameral legislature of Anguilla. It has 13 members, 7 members in single-seat constituency, constituencies, 4 members representing the island at-large and 2 ex officio members. Anguilla has a multi-party system. 2 ...

and leader of the opposition. Webster was born in Island Harbour, Anguilla. She went to the

University of the West Indies at Cave Hill University of the West Indies at Cave Hill is a public research university in Cave Hill, Barbados. It is one of five general campuses in the University of the West Indies system. It was the third campus to be established by the UWI System, follow ...

in Barbados, graduating with a bachelor's in law in 1984. She obtained a legal education certificate from the

Norman Manley Law School The Norman Manley Law School is a law school in Jamaica. Building and location The Norman Manley Law School is located on the Mona campus of the University of the West Indies, yet it is a distinct and separate institution. Its building, design ...

in Jamaica in 1986. From 1986 to 1987, she worked as

crown counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

to the attorney general of Anguilla. Since then, she has worked as a lawyer focused on corporate and real estate law at her Webster Law Firm. She was also a long-serving president of the Anguilla Financial Services Association beginning in 2001. Webster first entered politics in 2010, running for the Island Harbour seat in the House of Assembly as a member of the

Anguilla Progressive Party The Anguilla Progressive Party (APP) is a political party in Anguilla. The APP took part in the 2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is hel ...

. She lost to Othlyn Vanterpool of the

Anguilla United Front The Anguilla United Front is an alliance of political parties in Anguilla. At elections, 21 February 2005, the alliance won 38.9% of popular votes and 4 out of 7 elected seats. The Anguilla United Front (AUF) was created on 7 January 2000 as a ...

. Five years later, after distancing herself from the APP—saying that "our values have separated"—she ran as an independent. She took the seat in the

2015 Anguillian general election General elections were held in Anguilla on 22 April 2015. The result was a victory for the Anguilla United Front alliance, which won six of the seven elected seats in the House of Assembly. The ruling Anguilla United Movement failed to win a sea ...

, unseating the incumbent with 35% of the vote to his 33%. The only member elected who was not in the AUF, she subsequently became leader of the opposition. Alongside Cora Richardson-Hodge and

Evalie Bradley Evalie Bradley nee Hughes (12 October 1954) is an Anguillian politician and member of the House of Assembly of Anguilla. Early life and education Bradley started attending Road Primary School, currently named Adrian T. Hazell Primary, and r ...

, she was part of a wave of female candidates who took office in the House of Assembly that year, the first women to do so in over three decades. Webster herself was the first female representative of her district and the country's first female leader of the opposition. In 2018, she was elected to the board of the

Caribbean Democrat Union The Caribbean Democrat Union is an alliance of moderate, centre-right and conservative political parties and individuals the Caribbean. It is affiliated to the global International Democrat Union The International Democrat Union (IDU) is an ...

, a center-right political union. She ran for re-election to the House of Assembly in 2020 but lost to the leader of the Anguilla Progressive Movement,

Ellis Webster Ellis Lorenzo Webster is an Anguillan politician and physician. He is the Premier of Anguilla, Premier of the British Overseas Territory of Anguilla, first elected when he led the Anguilla Progressive Movement to victory in the 2020 Anguillian gen ...

, who became

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Palmavon Living people Anguillan women in politics Members of the House of Assembly of Anguilla Anguillan lawyers 21st-century women politicians Year of birth missing (living people)