This article provides information about the structure and function of the Government of the Cayman Islands. Coming soon will be a directory with contact information for the various ministries, statutory bodies, government agencies, chief officers, and department heads. A brief summary is provided on certain hot topics regarding how the Cayman Islands Government shapes and affects international politics, standards of living and ability for the Cayman Islands to compete in a global economic environment.
Please leave your comments if any information is out of date or if critical facts are missing and should be included.
The Cayman Islands is currently a British overseas territory, listed by the UN Special Committee of twenty-four as one of the last non-self governing territories. A fifteen-seat Legislative Assembly is elected by the people every four years to handle domestic affairs. Of the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), five are chosen to serve as government ministers in a cabinet headed by the governor. The head of the elected government is the Premiere, who is currently The Honourable McKeeva Bush.
A Governor is appointed by the British government to represent the monarch. The governor can exercise complete executive authority if he/she wishes through blanket powers reserved to him/her in the constitution. He/she must give royal assent to all legislation, which allows him/her the power to strike down any law the legislature may see fit for the country. In modern times, the governor usually allows the country to be run by the cabinet, which is made up of the five elected ministers and three high ranking civil servants: the Cabinet Secretary, the Attorney General, and the Financial Secretary.
The 1999 White Paper Partnership for Progress and Prosperity: Britain and the Overseas Territories sets out the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's policy on the Overseas Territories. This includes support and encouragement of constitutional modernization. Following the collapse of the Euro Bank Corporation in 2003, constitutional modernization has become an important issue in the Islands' politics. The prosecution in the trial was forced to reveal that MI6, on behalf of the British government and with the consent of the Governor, had planted moles (and used wire taps) throughout the Islands' banking industry. This caused the trial's collapse and subsequent release of those charged with wrongdoing. The only mole known at the time was allowed to leave the country, never to answer for what he (or the United Kingdom ) had done. This infuriated the elected members of the Legislative Assembly as they maintained that the Governor and the United Kingdom had put into question Cayman's reputation as a well-regulated offshore jurisdiction. Some saw this as the United Kingdom meddling in the territory's affairs to benefit itself (and the EU), at the expense of the islands' economy.
Constitutional talks however went on hold following Hurricane Ivan in 2004. Subsequently, in May 2005 elections, the ruling UDP Party was ousted by the PPM. A Constitutional Review Secretariat was opened on 1 March 2007. A timeline has been established, with public consultation on proposed constitutional changes leading up to the islands' first referendum before negotiations begin with the UK .
View Full Cayman Islands Government Organizational Chart
Form of Government: British Dependent Territory
Head of State: Queen Elizabeth II
Governor: His Excellency Mr Duncan Taylor, CBE
Premier: Hon. W. McKeeva Bush, OBE, JP
Speaker of the House: Hon Mary Lawrence, JP
Deputy Governor: Hon. Donovan Ebanks, MBE, JP
Deputy Premier: Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, JP
Cabinet Secretary: Mr. Orrett Connor, MBE, JP
Laws & Judiciary: --Summary Court, Grand Court, Cayman Islands Court of Appeal, Her Majesty's Privy Council.
Electoral Subdivisions: Eight districts.
Comments
we kindly ask you to supply us with an e-mail address
which we can use for the Hon W. McKeeva Bush The one listed: tedc
Thank you very much - Irene & Carl Nielsen -
Hess & Nielsen Marine Consultants, Copenhagen, DK.
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