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Johnny Briceño | |
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_(cropped).jpg) Briceño in 2022 | |
| 5th Prime Minister of Belize | |
| Assumed office 12 November 2020 | |
| Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
| Governors-General | SirColville Young DameFroyla Tzalam |
| Deputy | Cordel Hyde |
| Preceded by | Dean Barrow |
| Leader of the Opposition | |
| In office 31 January 2016 – 12 November 2020 | |
| Prime Minister | Dean Barrow |
| Preceded by | Francis Fonseca |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Faber |
| Member of theBelize House of Representatives forOrange Walk Central | |
| Assumed office 30 June 1993 | |
| Preceded by | Leopold Briceño |
| Chairman of theCaribbean Community | |
| In office 1 January 2022 – 30 June 2022[1] | |
| Secretary-General | Carla Barnett |
| Preceded by | Gaston Browne |
| Succeeded by | Chan Santokhi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | John Antonio Briceño (1960-07-17)17 July 1960 (age 65) |
| Political party | People's United Party |
| Spouse | Rossana Briceño |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
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| Alma mater | St. John's College University of Texas |
John Antonio Briceño (born 17 July 1960) is aBelizean politician who is the fifth and currentprime minister of Belize since 12 November 2020 and the leader of thePeople's United Party (PUP) since 2016. He wasLeader of the Opposition from 2008 to 2011 and from 2016 to 2020.[2] From 1998 to 2007, he served as thedeputy prime minister under Prime MinisterSaid Musa.
Briceño was born inOrange Walk Town,British Honduras, on 17 July 1960.[3] His fatherElijio Briceño was a government minister in the 1980s, but in 1985 was convicted of conspiring to smuggle marijuana and cocaine into the United States, with the indictment naming a brother and a nephew as co-conspirators; in September 1985, his father was sentenced to seven years in prison.[4][5]
Briceño graduated fromMuffles College in 1978.[6] He earned anassociate degree in business administration fromSt. John's College in 1980, and abachelor's degree in business administration from theUniversity of Texas at Austin in 1985.[3]
In 1990, Briceño and his brother Jaime[7] founded Centaur Communications, acable television provider which later branched out intoInternet service, television news, and radio.[8]
Briceño was first elected to theBelizean House of Representatives from the Orange Walk Centralconstituency in 1993;[9] in 1994 he successfully ran in the town council elections ofOrange Walk Town.[3]
In 1994, Briceño was elected Co-Chairman of thePeople's United Party;[3] in 1996, he was elected Deputy Party Leader.[10] When the PUP won the1998 elections, Briceño was appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Natural Resources and the Environment.[3]
In August 2004, he led a group of ministers, known as the G-7 alliance, who made a number of reform demands, including the dismissal ofRalph Fonseca from the Cabinet. When Prime MinisterSaid Musa failed to meet these demands, the group resigned; however, Musa subsequently agreed to all of the demands except for the dismissal of Fonseca and the G-7 ministers remained in the Cabinet.[11] Briceño also gained an additional portfolio, theMinistry of Finance.[3] Briceño was later one of the ministers who opposed Musa's proposal to settle the country's Universal Health Services debt; as a result of this, Musa attempted to demote Briceño from his position as Deputy Prime Minister, but Briceño refused to accept the lesser posts in the Cabinet that he was offered and instead resigned from the Cabinet on 5 June 2007.[11]
At a national convention of the PUP in July 2007, Briceño was re-elected as one of the party's deputy leaders.[12] In theFebruary 2008 general election, in which the PUP was defeated, Briceño was re-elected in his constituency ofOrange Walk Central; he was one of only six successful PUP candidates.[13]
On 30 March 2008, Briceño was elected as the leader of the PUP at a party convention inBelmopan, succeeding Musa. He defeatedFrancis Fonseca, who was considered to be the candidate preferred by the party establishment, receiving 330 votes against 310 for Fonseca.[14]
Citing unspecified health issues, Briceño abruptly resigned as both PUP and opposition leader in October 2011 without leading the party in a general election. He retained his seat in the National Assembly.[15] He was succeeded in both leadership positions by Fonseca.[16]
In March 2015, shortly after the PUP's decisive defeat inmunicipal elections, a recording was made public of Briceño sharply criticizing the 1998–2008 Musa government. In the recording, Briceño accusedMusa andRalph Fonseca of stealing "millions, tens of millions of dollars", and stated, "... had this been another country they would have been in jail right now". Briceño also claimed he went deeply into debt personally as PUP leader on the party's behalf, and blamed Francis Fonseca for losing the2012 general election andlocal elections. Briceño claimed the recording was made without his consent and refused to comment on it. Francis Fonseca characterized the incident as an "internal party matter".[17]
On 11 November 2020, thePeople's United Party, led by Briceño, won government in the2020 general election, defeating theUnited Democratic Party, led byPatrick Faber. He took office as Prime Minister of Belize on 12 November 2020. He is the first prime minister who is not from Belize City.[18]
In July 2021, Briceño's government passed legislation establishing a fixed seven-year term for theGovernor-General of Belize. During the debate on the bill, he stated that Belize should begin to consider the replacement of themonarchy with a republic.[19][20]
In March 2025, Briceño (and the PUP) won the2025 Belizean general election and was sworn in again the next day.[21][22]
Briceño and his wifeRossana Briceño (a 1986 graduate ofMuffles College)[6] have three sons.[3] On 24 November 2020, two weeks after starting his term as prime minister, he declared he was diagnosed withCOVID-19 and was doing well.[23] On 1 February 2022, it was announced that Briceño tested positive for COVID-19 again.[24][needs update]
| Assembly seats | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Leopold Briceño | Member of the Belize House of Representatives forOrange Walk Central 1993–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of thePeople's United Party 2016–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition 2016–2020 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Prime Minister of Belize 2020–present | Incumbent |
| Diplomatic posts | ||
| Preceded by | Chairman of theCaribbean Community 2022 | Succeeded by |
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Speaker:Valerie Woods
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| Belize District |
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| Cayo District |
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| Corozal District |
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| Orange Walk District |
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| Stann Creek District |
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| Toledo District |
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