Orlando Smith
|
The Honourable Orlando Smith OBE |
|
|---|---|
.jpg) |
|
| Premier of the British Virgin Islands | |
|
Assumed office 9 November 2011 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor | John Duncan |
| Preceded by | Ralph O'Neal |
|
In office 17 June 2003 – 23 August 2007 |
|
| Monarch | Elizabeth II |
| Governor |
Tom Macan Dancia Penn (Acting) David Pearey John Duncan |
| Preceded by | Ralph O'Neal |
| Succeeded by | Ralph O'Neal (Premier) |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
28 August 1944 Tortola, British Virgin Islands |
| Political party | National Democratic Party |
| Spouse(s) | Lorna Smith |
Dr Daniel Orlando Smith, OBE (born 28 August 1944) is the current Premier of the British Virgin Islands. He also formerly served as Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands (as the role was formerly known before the 2007 constitution was adopted) from 2003 to 2007. He first won the office when his National Democratic Party won the 2003 general election, being the party's first victory at a general election in its history.
Orlando Smith originally qualified as a physician, specialising in obstetrics, and was the territory's chief medical officer for many years both before and after entering politics. He entered politics at a relatively late stage of his career, being first elected to the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands (now called the House of Assembly) in the 1999 general election, as the head of the newly formed National Democratic Party (NDP). In 2003, Smith led the NDP to victory, defeating the ruling Virgin Islands Party for the first time since 1983 in the 2003 general election.
However, in the 2007 general election, Smith and his party suffered a defeat at the hands of the Virgin Islands Party, retaining only two seats (one of which was Smith's) out of 13 elected seats. Smith barely retained his seat as the at-large candidate, receiving the fourth largest number of votes. Smith remained in the legislature as the head of the opposition.
In the 2011 general election Smith and the National Democratic Party rebounded, and won an overall majority. Accordingly, he was invited by the governor to form a new government. He followed that with a second successive victory in the 2015 general election becoming only the second politician in the Territory to win three general elections as party leader. He passed Willard Wheatley as the third longest serving head of Government in British Virgin Islands history on 14 February 2016. However, he would need to win a fourth term to surpass Ralph O'Neal in second place.
...
Wikipedia