The Cabinet of the British Virgin Islands (formerly referred to as the Executive Council, or sometimes ExCo) is the collective decision-making body of the

British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands (BVI), officially the Virgin Islands, are a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Caribbean, to the east of Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands, US Virgin Islands and north-west ...

government. It is composed of the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

, four other Ministers of Government, and the

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

as an ''ex officio'', non-voting, member. The

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

attends and presides over meetings of Cabinet where possible. The Cabinet has responsibility for the formulation of policy, including directing the implementation of such policy, insofar as it relates to every aspect of government, except those matters for which are reserved to the Governor under the

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

. The Cabinet is collectively responsible to 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 g ...

for such policies and their implementation. The Cabinet is supported by a Cabinet Secretary, who summons meetings of Cabinet. The agenda of Cabinet is set by the Cabinet Steering Committee, which consists of the Cabinet Secretary, the Governor, and the Premier. Each of the governors and the Premier has the authority to add matters to the Cabinet agenda.

Current members

The following Cabinet was provisionally announced on 25 April 2023 following the general election, but without specifying the exact Ministerial portfolios, but these were confirmed a few days later. This effectively brought an end to the cross-party "unity government" which was put in place following the 2021 Commission of Inquiry.

History

Along with other political institutions in the British Virgin Islands, the role of the Cabinet or Executive Council has evolved. The first ever Executive Council was formed on 30 November 1773, and consisted initially of twelve members, all nominated by the Governor (who at this time had regional responsibility for the Territory, but was based in St Kitts). At the same time the first Legislative Council was elected. For a while these organs were successful, but they withered in line with other political institutions during the economic decline of the British Virgin Islands in the 1800s such that by 1867 the Legislature at least was no longer functional. In 1871 a single federal colony was formed for British dominions in the Caribbean but, tellingly, the British Virgin Islands was not represented by a member. The Executive Council was formally abolished in 1902. When democracy was reintroduced into the British Virgin Islands in 1950 following the 1950 general election there was no Executive Council to accompany the new Legislative Council. However, after the 1957 general election an Executive Council was formed by the

Administrator of the British Virgin Islands The governor of the Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The r ...

, two other "Ministers" appointed by the Administrator, and two ''ex officio'' members, the Financial Secretary and "Attorney General". Those terms did not exactly exist in their present form at the time: there were no Ministers before 1967, but certain members were appointed with Ministerial type responsibilities. Similarly, there was no formal Attorney General until 1967 either, but Herman A. Besson filled that role under the slightly less grand title of Legal Assistant. The members of the first-ever Executive Council of the British Virgin Islands were:

Geoffrey Pole Allesbrook Geoffrey, Geoffroy, Geoff, etc., may refer to: People * Geoffrey (given name), including a list of people with the name Geoffrey or Geoffroy * Geoffroy (surname), including a list of people with the name * Geoffroy (musician) (born 1987), Canadian ...

(Administrator), H.R. Penn (Member for Trade and Production), Glanville Fonseca (Member for Works and Communications), Dennis S. Mordecai (Financial Official, ''ex officio''), and Herman A. Besson (Legal Assistant, ''ex officio''). Over the ensuing years, the composition of the Executive Council gradually morphed, vesting more responsibility in the Legislative Council, and then after the introduction of Ministerial rule in 1967, the Chief Minister. Following the 1967 general election, it would take the form that it would broadly follow for the next 50 years: *

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 ter ...

* Two other Ministers appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Chief Minister * Two ''ex officio'' non-voting members, the Financial Secretary and the

In 1979 the number of Ministers was expanded to three, and the Financial Secretary ceased to sit as part of the Executive Council. In 1999 the Cabinet was expanded to the current format of four Ministers. In 2007 the Executive Council was renamed the Cabinet, and in addition to the existing members, a Cabinet Secretary was appointed.

Footnotes

Government of the British Virgin Islands Politics of the British Virgin Islands {{BritishVirginIslands-stub