James Anthony Brown OBE (born 5 January 1950) is a Manx

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, former

businessman A businessperson, businessman, or businesswoman is an individual who has founded, owns, or holds shares in (including as an angel investor) a private-sector company. A businessperson undertakes activities (commercial or industrial) for th ...

and

electrician An electrician is a tradesperson specializing in electrical wiring of buildings, transmission lines, stationary machines, and related equipment. Electricians may be employed in the installation of new electrical components or the maintenance ...

who was the

Chief Minister of the Isle of Man The Chief Minister (Manx: ''Ard-shirveishagh'') is the executive head of the Isle of Man Government. The office derives from that of Chairman of the Executive Council. Before 1980 the Executive Council was chaired by the Lieutenant Governor, b ...

from 2006 until October 2011, when he stepped down from office following his decision to retire.

Early life and career

Born on 5 January 1950, Brown was educated at Victoria Road Primary, Castletown and Castle Rushen High School and has since been an electrician, being the proprietor of Tony Brown Electrics in Castletown until its closure in 2010. He was elected as a member of Castletown Commissioners in 1976, becoming Chairman in 1980 before being elected as the Castletown MHK in 1981 at his first attempt. In 2000, he was defeated in his attempt to become

Speaker of the House of Keys The Speaker of the House of Keys () is the principal officer of the House of Keys, the lower house of the Isle of Man legislature. The Speaker is elected from the membership of the House at its first sitting after an election. He is responsibl ...

David Cannan John David Qualtrough Cannan (24 August, 1936 – 2022) was the Member of the House of Keys for Michael and Chairman of the Isle of Man Water Authority. He was the son of former Chaplain of the House of Keys, Rev Canon Charles Cannan. He was ...

but instead became the Deputy Speaker. Following the 2001 General Election, he was elected Speaker and in January 2002, Deputy

President of Tynwald The President of Tynwald (''Eaghtyrane Tinvaal'') is the presiding officer at the sittings of Tynwald Court in Douglas and is elected by the members of Tynwald from amongst their number. The first elected President, Charles Kerruish, was elec ...

. He was re-elected in November 2006 as MHK, beating Roy Redmayne by 915 votes to 335. He was again elected Speaker of the House of Keys after the General Election in 2006. There was a great deal of rumour that he might run for

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

, but when nominations were put forward his name was not on the list. Then followed an unsuccessful round of voting with neither

Steve Rodan Stephen Charles Rodan MLC (born 19 April 1954) is a Manx politician who served as the President of Tynwald from 2016 to 2021 and is a former Minister of the Isle of Man Government and former MHK for the constituency of Garff. He was firs ...

John Shimmin John Shimmin (born 1 July 1960) is a former Member of the House of Keys for Douglas West. Early life Shimmin was born in Douglas in 1960 and educated at St Ninian's High School and the Worcester College of Higher Education. He was then a teac ...

nor

being elected. Nominations then reopened, with Tony Brown being the only candidate put forward. His nomination was confirmed by Tynwald on Thursday, 14 December 2006 receiving 27 votes and the

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

appointed him Chief Minister later in the day. He then resigned the Speakership of the House of Keys as required by law. Brown was appointed

Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for public and political service.

Personal life

Brown has been married to Rachel (née Smith) since 1979, they have 2 children together and live in Brown's hometown of Castletown.

Governmental positions

* Minister of Health and Social Security, 1986–89 * Minister of Local Government and the Environment, 1989–94 * Minister of Tourism and Leisure, 1994–96 *

Minister of Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

, 1996–2001 *

, 2006–11

Brown Council

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tony 1950 births Living people Chief Ministers of the Isle of Man Manx businesspeople Members of the House of Keys 1981–1986 Members of the House of Keys 1986–1991 Members of the House of Keys 1991–1996 Members of the House of Keys 1996–2001 Members of the House of Keys 2001–2006 Members of the House of Keys 2006–2011 Officers of the Order of the British Empire