James Anthony Brown

OBE 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 ...

(born 5 January 1950) is a Manx

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

and

businessman A businessperson, also referred to as a 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 ...

who was the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man 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 ...

by David Cannan 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 ele ...

. 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 ter ...

, 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 Philip 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 th ...

nor David Cannan 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 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 ...

(OBE) in the 2013 Birthday Honours for public and political service. Brown returned to politics 14 years after retirement topping the polls in the Castletown Commissioners election 2025. He was subsequently elected to Chair of the Commissioners.

Personal life

Brown has been married to Rachel (née Smith) since 1979 until her passing in 2022. They had 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 a ...

, 1996–2001 *

, 2006–11

Brown Council

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Tony 1950 births Living people Chief ministers of the Isle of Man Independent politicians in 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