Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda

The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of government of the Antigua and Barbuda. The prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda is appointed by the Governor-General under the terms of the Constitution.

Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
Coat of arms of Antigua and Barbuda
Incumbent Gaston Browne since 13 June 2014
Style	The Right Honourable His Excellency (diplomatic)
Member of	Cabinet, National Security Council
Appointer	Governor-General Prime minister must have support of the majority of members of the House of Representatives
Term length	Five years renewable
Formation	1 November 1981
First holder	Vere Bird
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
Salary	150,000 Eastern Caribbean dollars/US$ 55,555 annually
Website	https://opm.gov.ag/

The executive branch of government is established in section 68 of the constitution, and it is vested in the monarch. The prime minister is appointed by the Governor-General. The prime minister must either be a member of the House and the leader of the political party with the support of the majority of the House's members; or the member of the House who, in the opinion of the Governor-General, is most likely to command the support of the majority of members of the House, if it appears to him that such party does not have an indisputable leader in the House or that no party commands the support of such a majority. Additionally, the nominee ought to be open to serving as prime minister.

Only the Prime Minister or, in his absence, the Minister the Prime Minister appoints in that regard, may call the Cabinet to order. Under section 73 of the constitution, the Governor General must revoke the appointment of the Prime Minister in the event that the House passes a resolution declaring its lack of confidence in the Prime Minister and the Prime Minister fails to resign from office or advise the Governor-General to dissolve Parliament within seven days of the resolution's passage. If parliament is dissolved, and a prime minister must be appointed, a person who was a member of the House immediately before the dissolution may be appointed as Prime Minister or any other Minister, and a person who was a member of the Senate immediately before the dissolution may be appointed as any Minister other than Prime Minister.

The Governor-General may authorize another member of the Cabinet to perform those functions (other than the functions conferred by section 74(2) of the constitution) when the Prime Minister is not present in Antigua and Barbuda or is unable to do so due to illness or because of the restrictions of section 73(4) of this Constitution. That member may perform those functions until the Governor-General revokes his authority.

Appointment and tenure

The Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda regulates that the prime minister must be a member of the House of Representatives who is the leader in the House of the political party that has the support of the majority of members of the House of Representatives. If there is no party that has an undisputed leader, or no party that maintains the support of the majority of the House of Representatives, the Governor-General may appoint a member that is most likely to maintain the support of the majority of the members, and who is willing to hold the role of prime minister.

The Office of the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda is located in Botanical Gardens. It however is not the official residence. V.C. Bird used Tomlinson House as his official residence. Funds to build an official residence for the prime minister were instead used to build the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.

If a prime minister must be appointed while Parliament is dissolved, then, a person who was a member of the House of Representatives immediately before the dissolution may be appointed as prime minister.

Responsibilities

The prime minister advises the Governor-General on appointments to the Cabinet of Antigua and Barbuda.

Chief minister of Antigua (1960–1967)

Elizabeth II (1960–1967)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Vere Bird (1910–1999)	1 January 1960	27 February 1967	7 years, 57 days	ABLP	1960 1965

Premiers of Antigua (1967–1981)

Elizabeth II (1967–1981)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Vere Bird (1910–1999)	27 February 1967	14 February 1971	3 years, 352 days	ABLP	—
2		George Walter (1928–2008)	14 February 1971	19 February 1976	5 years, 5 days	PLM	1971
(1)		Vere Bird (1910–1999)	19 February 1976	1 November 1981	5 years, 255 days	ABLP	1976 1980

Prime ministers of Antigua and Barbuda (1981–present)

Elizabeth II (1981–2022)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Vere Bird (1910–1999)	1 November 1981	9 March 1994	12 years, 128 days	ABLP	1984 1989
2		Lester Bird (1938–2021)	9 March 1994	24 March 2004	10 years, 15 days	ABLP	1994 1999
3		Baldwin Spencer (born 1948)	24 March 2004	13 June 2014	10 years, 81 days	UPP	2004 2009
4		Gaston Browne (born 1967)	13 June 2014	Incumbent	10 years, 163 days	ABLP	2014 2018

Charles III (2022–present)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
4		Gaston Browne (born 1967)	13 June 2014	Incumbent	10 years, 163 days	ABLP	2014 2018 2023

References

 This article incorporates public domain material from documents of the Government of Antigua and Barbuda.

See also

• Prime Ministers of Queen Elizabeth II
• Prime Ministers of King Charles III
• List of Commonwealth Heads of Government
• Politics of Antigua and Barbuda
• Prime Minister of the West Indies Federation
• Governor-General of Antigua and Barbuda
• List of Privy Counsellors (1952–2022)