Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands

The Chief Executive of the Falklands Islands is head of the public service responsible for the efficient and effective management of the Falkland Islands Government. The appointment, role and powers of the Chief Executive are set out in the Constitution of the Falkland Islands.

Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands
Arms of Her Majesty's Falkland Islands Government
Incumbent Barry Rowland since 3 October 2016
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor of the Falkland Islands
Term length	At the Governor's pleasure
Formation	December 1983
First holder	David G. P. Taylor
Website	Office of the Chief Executive

History

Since the re-establishment of British rule on the Falkland Islands in the 19th century, the Governor, through consultation with the elected Legislative Council of the Falkland Islands, had almost complete control over executive power on the Falklands.

Following the Falklands War in 1982, Lord Shackleton published a report on the Government of the Falkland Islands which recommended many modernisations, including the creation of the office of the Chief Executive to which many powers of the Governor were delegated. In 1983 David G. P. Taylor became the first Chief Executive of the Falkland Islands and in 1985 the Constitution of the Falklands came into force, formalising the office. In 2009 a new constitution was established which further defined the role and powers of the Chief Executive.

Appointment and powers

The Chief Executive is a civil service position, appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Executive Council. The Executive Council normally makes its selection through the use of a committee and the Chief Executive serves a term of three years, which can be extend a further two years at the request of the Executive Council.

Under Section 83 of the constitution, the Chief Executive is officially the head of the public service on the islands and the Governor can delegate some of the powers of his or her office to the Chief Executive. This normally means that the Chief Executive becomes the islands' head of government in a role similar to that of the Prime Minister in countries which use the Westminster system. In this role, the Chief Executive is responsible for the implementation of decisions across Government, and the efficient and effective management of the Government. This includes the generation and analysis of strategy and policy options for the consideration of the Legislative Assembly.

The Chief Executive is an ex officio member of the Legislative Assembly, the Executive Council and the Advisory Committee on the Prerogative of Mercy, and also acts as Stanley's returning officer during general elections.

List of Chief Executives

Name	Entered office	Left office
David G. P. Taylor	December 1983	April 1987
Brian Cummings	April 1987	May 1988
Colin Redston (acting)	June 1988	August 1988
Rex Browning (acting)	August 1988	September 1988
David G. P. Taylor (interim) (2nd time)	September 1988	April 1989
Ronald Sampson	April 1989	September 1994
Andrew Gurr	September 1994	November 1999
Michael Blanch	January 2000	March 2003
Chris Simpkins	March 2003	12 September 2007
Michael Blanch (interim) (2nd time)	12 September 2007	3 January 2008
Tim Thorogood	3 January 2008	1 February 2012
Keith Padgett	1 February 2012	3 October 2016
Barry Rowland	3 October 2016	Present

See also

• List of current heads of government in the United Kingdom and dependencies

References

• "Falkland Islands Government Website". falklands.gov.fk. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
• "Falkland Islands (British Overseas Territory)". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Archived from the original on 2012-09-25. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
• "The Falkland Islands Constitution Order 2008" (PDF). falklands.gov.fk. 1 January 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 23, 2009. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
• "Falkland Islands info". falklands.info. Archived from the original on 2010-05-02. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
• "World Statesmen - Falkland Islands". worldstatesmen.org. Retrieved 2010-06-14.