Andrew Fahie

Andrew Alturo Fahie (/fɔɪ/, born 7 August 1970) is the current Premier of the British Virgin Islands.[1] He is also the current Chairman of the Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands.[2] He is currently the elected member for the First District, a position which he has held since the 1999 general election.[3] He was appointed as Chairman of the Virgin Islands Party on 30 November 2016 after winning a leadership contest with incumbent leader, Julian Fraser.[4] On 6 February 2017 he was officially appointed as Leader of the Opposition.[5] On 25 February 2019 Fahie led his party to victory in the 2019 British Virgin Islands general election, and was sworn in as Premier the following day.[6]

The Honourable

Andrew Fahie
Premier of the British Virgin Islands
Assumed office
26 February 2019
MonarchElizabeth II
GovernorAugustus Jaspert
Preceded byOrlando Smith
Leader of the Opposition
In office
6 February 2017 – 21 December 2018
MonarchElizabeth II
GovernorJohn Duncan
Augustus Jaspert
Preceded byJulian Fraser
Succeeded byRonnie Skelton
Personal details
Born (1970-08-07) 7 August 1970
Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Political partyVirgin Islands Party
Spouse(s)Sheila Elaine Fahie
Children2

He is often referred to by his nickname, the Brown Bomber.[7]

Early life and education

Andrew Fahie was born in 1970 to Ernest Alturo Fahie and Iris Dorene Romney.[8]

After graduating from the BVI High School in 1986, Fahie attended the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, and then earned a BSc in Education from Florida A & M University, graduating in 1991.[3]

After that he initially taught as a Maths teacher at Elmore Stoutt High School.

Fahie is married to Sheila Fahie (née Herbert-Forbes). Together they have had three children, one of whom died in infancy.[8]

Political career

Fahie was first elected as the 1st District representative in 1999 at the age of 28, and he has held that seat continuously since then.[3] He has previously served as Minister for Education and Culture from 2007 to 2011, and as Minister for Health, Education and Welfare from 2000 to 2003. Since 1999 he has dominated the voting in his 1st District - his smallest margin of victory has been 27.6% of the vote (2015).

Leader of the Opposition

In the 2015 general election only two members of the Virgin Islands Party won their seats - Julian Fraser and Fahie. Subsequently, Fraser and Fahie argued over who should be named as leader of the opposition, as Fraser believed that he should take over as the incumbent party leader following the general election defeat.[9] Fahie disagreed as he believed the majority of party members would prefer him to take over as leader following the party's disastrous electoral defeat. As the Constitution required that the Leader of the Opposition commanded a support of the "majority" of the opposition members, and the only two opposition members disagreed, there was an impasse. Governor John Duncan gave the men a month to resolve their differences, but they were unable to do so, and eventually the Governor appointed Fraser as the official Leader of the Opposition.[10] Fahie would later oust Fraser as party leader, and would then be appointed as Leader of the Opposition in his stead.[5]

Fahie was later succeeded by Ronnie Skelton as opposition leader on 22 December 2018 after the ruling Government party split, and the Skelton led faction became the largest opposition party.[11]

Premier

Fahie led his party to victory in the 2019 British Virgin Islands general election, and was sworn in as Premier the following day.[6]

Shooting incident

In 2007 Fahie suffered a gunshot wound to his left foot during an attempted bank robbery.[12] The wound was not described as serious. Fahie later tried to sue the bank for the injuries he received. He lost at trial, and the case was settled before the appeal was heard.[13]

Controversy

In 2003 Offshore Alert reported that Fahie was under investigation in relation to allegations of money laundering.[14] Fahie has never denied that such an investigation took place, but has always contended that no action was taken against him as a result of the investigation.[15] He has referred to the allegations as "outdated, unproven, and unsubstantiated".[16]

Electoral history
Andrew Fahie electoral history
YearDistrictPartyVotesPercentageWinning/losing marginResult
19951st DistrictIndependent19727.5%-292Lost
L. Stoutt
19991st DistrictVirgin Islands Party52876.9%+387Won
20031st DistrictVirgin Islands Party55870.9%+335Won
20071st DistrictVirgin Islands Party61174.1%+406Won
20111st DistrictVirgin Islands Party61165.8%+294Won
20151st DistrictVirgin Islands Party65265.4%+375Won
20191st DistrictVirgin Islands Party74281.0%+601Won

References
  1. "Andrew Fahie sworn in as Premier". BVI News. 26 February 2019.
  2. "Hon. Andrew A. Fahie, MLC" (PDF). legco.gov.vg. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  3. "Hon. Andrew A. Fahie". VI Government. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  4. "Fahie beats Fraser". BVI News. 30 November 2016. Archived from the original on 1 December 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  5. "BREAKING NEWS: Fahie Appointed Opposition Leader". BVI Platinum. 6 February 2017.
  6. "Election results, VIP wins! Walwyn not elected". BVI News. 26 February 2019.
  7. "D-Day: Who Will Clinch VIP Leadership?". BVI Platinum. 30 November 2016. Hon. Fahie, who has earned the boxing legend Joe Louis' moniker as the 'Brown Bomber'.
  8. "The Forbes/Fahie/Romeny of Tortola, BVI:Information about Andrew Alturo Fahie". Genealogy.com. Retrieved 7 February 2017.
  9. "Two-man opposition deadlocked over leadership". BVI Beacon. 22 June 2015. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 February 2017.
  10. "Fraser Appointed Opposition Leader". BVI Platinum. 21 July 2015.
  11. "Skelton Appointed Opposition Leader". BVI Government. 22 December 2018.
  12. "Two men charged in BVI bank robbery". Virgin Islands Daily News. 20 August 2007. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017.
  13. "Hollow Victory – Fahie appears in court, settles shooting case with bank". BVI News. 30 April 2014. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  14. David Marchant (31 October 2003). "Ex-BVI Gov't minister Andrew Fahie investigated for money laundering". Offshore Alert. Retrieved 6 February 2017. A United States federal court has appointed a Commissioner to collect evidence for a criminal investigation in the British Virgin Islands into a former member of the BVI Government and his banking officer wife. The targets of the investigation are Andrew Alturo Fahie, 33, who was the BVI's Minister of Education & Culture until a change of government in June of this year, and his wife, Sheila E. Fahie, a.k.a. Sheila Fannie, Sheila Romney, 36, who is an officer with Banco Popular in BVI.
  15. "Fahie gets tough question about his past". BVI News. 19 March 2015. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2017. I am not going to be afraid to tackle these issues and to deal with them head on, because the best person to talk about anything is the one who tested and tried in it, and came out as I say as good as you could come out after something like that.
  16. "The Aim Is To Hijack Next Election--Fahie Addresses Old Money Laundering Allegations". BVI Platinum. 10 August 2018.
Political offices
Preceded by
Orlando Smith		 Premier of the British Virgin Islands
2019–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
Preceded by
Julian Fraser		 Leader of the Opposition
2017–2018		 Succeeded by
Ronnie Skelton
Preceded by
Angel Smith		 House of Assembly Member, 1st District
1999–present		 Succeeded by
Incumbent
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