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Legislature |
Judiciary
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Politics of Saint Helena takes place in a framework of limited self-government as adependent territory of theUnited Kingdom, whereby the governor is thehead of government.Saint Helena, an island in the southernAtlantic Ocean, is a part of theBritish overseas territory ofSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
It has had its present constitution since 1 September 2009.Executive power is exercised by the governor and the Executive Council.Legislative power is vested in both the governor and the Legislative Council. Thejudiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature.
The territory maintains its own police service, theRoyal Saint Helena Police Service, while defence is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. No British military forces are stationed on Saint Helena, although theRoyal Air Force maintains astaging base on constituent Ascension Island.
Saint Helena had until 2009 two dependencies:Ascension Island andTristan da Cunha. These territories have their own political structures with Administrators under thegovernor of Saint Helena. They are now equal parts ofSaint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha along with St Helena itself.
| Office | Name | Party | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monarch | Charles III | 8 September 2022 | |
| Governor and Commander-in-Chief | Nigel Phillips | 13 August 2022 | |
| Chief Minister | Rebecca Cairns-Wicks | 10 September 2025 |
TheExecutive Council consists of the governor, threeex officio officers (one, the attorney general, having no vote), and up to five elected members of the Legislative Council, including the Chief Minister, who serve as ministers. The monarch is the reigning monarch of theUnited Kingdom and is hereditary; the governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of theBritish government. The chief secretary is the main advisor to the governor on the island and runs the administrative side of the government, which is based atThe Castle in the capital,Jamestown.
Currently, the elected members of the Legislative Council who now serves on the Executive Council are:
TheLegislative Council has 15 members, 12 members elected for a four-year term by popular vote and 3 membersex officio. This arrangement gives the governing of Saint Helena an aspect ofrepresentative democracy.
Saint Helena, along with bothAscension Island andTristan da Cunha, does not have any active political parties, although no law forbids their formation; hence, the territory is a de factonon-partisan democracy. TheSaint Helena Labour Party andSaint Helena Progressive Party existed until 1976.
In the mostrecent general election, the twelve elected members are:[1]
The territory has four courts of its own:
TheJudicial Committee of the Privy Council, in London, is the final court of appeal for the territory however, as is the case with all other British overseas territories.
