The prime minister of the Bahamas is the

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

the Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

. The prime minister is formally appointed into office by the

governor-general of the Bahamas The governor-general of the Bahamas is the vice-regal representative of the Bahamian monarch, currently King Charles III, in the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The governor-general is appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime ...

, who represents

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

, the

king of the Bahamas The monarchy of the Bahamas is a system of government in which a hereditary monarch is the sovereign and head of state of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The current Bahamian monarch and head of state since 8 September 2022, is King Charles ...

(the Bahamian

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

). The following article contains a list of prime ministers of the Bahamas, from the establishment of the position of chief minister of the Bahama Islands in 1955 to the present day.

Constitutional basis

Under section 72 of the constitution of the Bahamas, the

must appoint "the member of the

House of Assembly House of Assembly is a name given to the legislature or lower house of a bicameral parliament. In some countries this may be at a subnational level. Historically, in British Crown colonies as the colony gained more internal responsible gove ...

who is the leader of the party which commands the support of the majority of the members of that House". In the event of a

hung parliament A hung parliament is a term used in legislatures primarily under the Westminster system to describe a situation in which no single political party or pre-existing coalition (also known as an alliance or bloc) has an absolute majority of legisla ...

, the governor-general should appoint the member who is "most likely to command the support of the majority of members of that House".

Official oath of office

Office of the Prime Minister

The prime minister of the Bahamas is the head of the

government of the Bahamas The Bahamas is a parliamentary constitutional monarchy headed by King Charles III in his role as King of the Bahamas. The politics of the Bahamas takes place within a framework of parliamentary democracy, with a Prime Minister as the Head of Gover ...

. The duties of the prime minister include: * Office of the Prime Minister * Department of Lands and Surveys * Government Printing Department * Department of Statistics * Bahamas Information Services * National Economic Council * Promotion and facilitation of investment * Development in the Family Islands Agencies under the prime minister include: * Department of Lands and Surveys * Lands and Surveying * Acquiring Land * Department of Local Government * Relations with Local Government Agencies * Local improvement associations

List of heads of government of the Bahamas (1955–present)

Chief minister of the Bahama Islands (1955–1964)

Premiers of the Bahama Islands (1964–1969)

Prime minister of the Commonwealth of the Bahama Islands (1969–1973)

Prime ministers of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas (1973–present)

Deputy prime ministers

* Arthur Dion "A.D" Hanna 1967–1984 * Clement T. Maynard 1985–1992 * Orville Turnquest 1992–1995 * Frank Watson 1995–2002 * Cynthia A. Pratt 1947-1948 * Brent Symonette 2007–2012 * Philip Davis 2012–2017 *

Peter Turnquest Kevin Peter Turnquest (born August 22, 1964) is a Bahamian politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance from May 15, 2017 to November 25, 2020. He is a Certified Public accountant. He was the deputy leader of the Free ...

2017–2020 * Desmond Bannister 2020–2021 * Chester Cooper 2021–present

References

*http://www.rulers.org/rulb1.html#bahamas *https://web.archive.org/web/20041017033939/http://www.hk-bahamas.de/en/parties.php *http://www.politicalresources.net/bahamas.htm *''Guinness Book of Kings Rulers & Statesmen, Clive Carpenter, Guinness Superlatives Ltd'' {{Prime Minister

Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

Heads of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, a ...