The Leader of the Opposition (officially the Leader of His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition of Belize) is an elected official who, according to the Constitution, "commands the support of those elected officials that do not support the Government." The Leader of the Opposition is the leader of the largest

political party 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 p ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

that is not in

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is ...

. The leader of the opposition speaks on behalf of the Opposition Members of

and also lead the Shadow Cabinet of Belize.

Leaders of the Opposition of Belize since Independence (1981–present)

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Theodore Aranda Theodore Roosevelt "Ted" Aranda (1934 – July 2022) was a Belize, Belizean politician and Garifuna people, Garifuna activist. Education and UDP career Aranda held an M.A. (1967) and a Ph.D. (1971) in Education from the University of Illinoi ...

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Curl Thompson Curl Osmond Thompson was a Belizean politician. Thompson served as an Area Representative in the Belize House of Representatives and as Deputy Prime Minister. He was also interim leader of the United Democratic Party for a brief period in the ea ...

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, , January 1983 , , December 1984 , , bgcolor="Red" , , , United Democratic Party , - , 3 , ,

Florencio Marin Florencio Marin is a retired Belizean politician. A veteran member of the People's United Party, Marin served as Deputy Prime Minister under George Cadle Price as well as Deputy Leader of the Opposition. Biography Marin entered politics in 19 ...

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People's United Party The People's United Party (PUP) is one of two major political parties in Belize. It is currently the governing party of Belize after success in the 2020 Belizean general election, winning a majority of 26 seats out of 31 in the Belizean House ...

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Manuel Esquivel Sir Manuel Amadeo Esquivel (2 May 1940 – 10 February 2022) was a Belizean politician. As leader of the United Democratic Party, he served as Prime Minister from 1984 to 1989, and then again from 1993 to 1998. His party's victory in 1984 was ...

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, , September 1989 , , July 1993 , , bgcolor="Red" , , , United Democratic Party , - , 5 , ,

George Cadle Price George Cadle Price, (15 January 191919 September 2011), was a Belizean statesman who served twice as the head of government of Belize from 1961–1984 and 1989–1993. He served as First Minister and Premier under British rule until inde ...

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Said Musa Said Wilbert Musa (, born 19 March 1944) is a Belizean lawyer and politician. He was the Prime Minister of Belize from 28 August 1998 to 8 February 2008. Early life and education Said Wilbert Musa was born in 1944 in San Ignacio in the Cayo D ...

(1st time) , , Said Musa

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Dean Barrow Dean Oliver Barrow, SC PC (born March 2, 1951) is a politician from Belize who served as prime minister of Belize from 2008 until 2020 and as leader of Belize's United Democratic Party. An attorney by profession, Barrow served as Belize's ...

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Belizean Prime Minister, Dean Barrow in London, 27 June 2013 (cropped)

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(2nd time) , , Said Musa

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Johnny Briceño John Antonio Briceño (born 17 July 1960) is a Belizean politician who is the 5th and current Prime Minister of Belize since 12 November 2020, and the leader of the People's United Party (PUP) since 2016. He was Leader of the Opposition from 20 ...

(1st time) , , John Briceño (cropped)

, , April 2008 , , 18 October 2011 , , bgcolor="Blue" , , ,

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Francis Fonseca Francis William Fonseca (born 11 March 1967) is a Belizean politician who served as leader of the People's United Party (PUP) and as Leader of the Opposition of Belize from 2011 to 2016.

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(2nd time) , , John Briceño (cropped)

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, - , 9 , , Patrick Faber
(1st time) , , Patrick Faber (cropped)

, , 13 November 2020 , , 24 June 2021 , , bgcolor="Red" , , , United Democratic Party , - , 10 , , Moses Barrow
(1st time) , , Shyne profile (cropped)

, , 24 June 2021 , , 16 September 2021 , , bgcolor="Red" , , , United Democratic Party , - , (9) , , Patrick Faber
(2nd time), , Patrick Faber (cropped)

, , 16 September 2021, , 1 February 2022 , , bgcolor="Red" , , , United Democratic Party , - , (10) , , Moses Barrow
(2nd time), , Shyne profile (cropped)

, , 1 February 2022, , ''Incumbent'' , , bgcolor="Red" , , , United Democratic Party

Notes

was removed as UDP leader in

Dangriga Dangriga, formerly known as Stann Creek Town, is a town in southern Belize, located on the Caribbean coast at the mouth of the North Stann Creek River. It is the capital of Belize's Stann Creek District. Dangriga is served by the Dangriga Airpo ...

Town on 21 November 1982 while still holding the office of Leader of the Opposition, which he had held since the UDP lost general elections exactly three years earlier on 21 November 1979. Aranda resigned from the UDP shortly thereafter.

was subsequently elevated to deputy party leader and Leader of the Opposition. Meanwhile,

defeated Phillip Goldson in elections for party leader in January 1983. Since Esquivel was a member of the Belize Senate at the time, Thompson remained as Leader of the Opposition in the House until the December 1984 election. *

became Leader of the Opposition after PUP leader

lost his seat in the 1984 election, which the PUP lost by 21 seats to seven. Price retained his position as PUP leader. * Price resigned as leader of the PUP on 17 August 1996, during his only term as Leader of the Opposition. He was succeeded as party leader and Leader of the Opposition by

on 10 November 1996. *

was named Leader of the Opposition after Esquivel lost his seat in the 27 August 1998 election, in which the UDP retained just three seats, of which Barrow's was one. On 30 August, Esquivel retired to make way for Barrow as the new party leader. Barrow retained the office after the UDP lost elections again on 5 March 2003. * Musa was appointed Leader of the Opposition on 11 February 2008. However effective 30 March 2008, he stepped down as PUP leader and Leader of the Opposition. He was succeeded by

of Orange Walk. * Briceño resigned as PUP leader on 7 October 2011 and as Leader of the Opposition on 18 October 2011, citing health issues. The PUP elected

as his successor on 3 November 2011. * Barrow ousted Faber as leader in Parliament after obtaining support from the majority of his colleagues. Faber remains leader of the UDP.

Leaders of the Opposition of Belize since Independence (1981–present)

Notes

See also