Allan Robert Bell (born 20 June 1947) is a Manx politician who was the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man from 2011 until 2016, having been elected to that position on 11 October 2011. He was an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

Member of the House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in La ...

for Ramsey from 1984 to September 2016, and served in several different ministerial roles. He was replaced as Chief Minister on 4 October 2016.

Early life and education

Bell was educated at Ramsey Grammar School. He was involved in banking and clothing retail prior to entering politics.

Political career

Bell was first elected to the House of Keys as an

representing Ramsey in a 1984

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

and continued as such until 22 September 2016 when he did not seek re-election. He had first, unsuccessfully contested Ramsey in 1976 as a candidate for Manx nationalist party Mec Vannin. He served in numerous ministerial roles including Minister for Tourism and Transport, from 1986 to 1990, Minister of Tourism, Leisure and Transport, from 1990 to 1994, Minister of Industry, from 1991 to 1996,

Minister of Home Affairs An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

, from 1996 to 2001, Minister of the Treasury, from 2001 to 2010 and was the first Minister for Economic Development, from 2010 to 2011. He was named as a central figure in the "corruption of the system of government" identified by Mount Murray Commission of Inquiry (2002–2003), referring to his time as Tourism Minister in the early 1990s.

Chief Minister

On 11 October 2011, Bell was elected Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, winning a clear majority over Liberal Vannin opponent Peter Karran. Bell was proposed by Eddie Teare and seconded by Laurence Skelly. While Bell was Chief Minister in 2013, the government signed a deal involving a £1.3 million bail-out loan and property purchase for the hotel chain Sefton Group which Bell stated was a "small but decisive part" in "support ngthe economy". After a legal review found the deal to be "outside of government powers", Bell initially refused to accept the proffered resignation of the economic development minister, John Shimmin. Bell was appointed Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for public service to the Isle of Man.

Government positions

* Minister of Tourism and Transport, 1986–90 * Minister of Tourism, Leisure and Transport, 1990–94 * Minister of Industry, 1991–96 *

, 1996–2001 * Minister of the Treasury, 2001–10 * Minister for Economic Development, 2010–11 * Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, 2011–2016

Personal life

In a 2015 interview with ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', Bell stated that "People know that I’m gay. I’ve never made a secret of it, but no one has ever asked me."

Retirement

On 1 August 2016, Bell announced that he was retiring after 37 years within Manx politics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Allan 1947 births Chief ministers of the Isle of Man Living people British gay politicians 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 Members of the House of Keys 2011–2016 LGBTQ heads of government Commanders of the Order of the British Empire 20th-century British LGBTQ people 21st-century British LGBTQ people Independent politicians in the Isle of Man Mec Vannin politicians