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History and Government
History: None of the Arawak Indians, who occupied the islands when Columbus first discovered them, survived the 16th century. Until the 19th century, the islands were a source of salt for the American mainland, with slaves being used as labour. During the 19th century, control of the islands changed hands several times. In 1962, having been a Jamaican dependency for some 75 years, the Turks & Caicos Islands became a separate British Colony – a status that it retains to this day.
The islands held their first general election in 1976, the winning party, the People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), pursuing a policy of full independence for the islands. The next election, in 1980, was effectively a referendum on the independence issue and was won by the anti-independence Progressive National Party (PNP), which claimed victory again four years later. A major political scandal erupted in 1985, in which the Chief Minister, the Minister of Development & Commerce and a leading PNP member were implicated in illegal drug trafficking. Since then, the islands have also come under external pressure to clamp down on money laundering, which is alleged to be conducted through local banks. The Turks & Caicos government has since struggled with a dilemma familiar to many small island states seeking to boost their economies by promoting themselves as offshore financial havens – how to stamp out criminal activity without deterring investors looking for financial privacy.
In the wake of the corruption scandal, a new political party, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), was formed. However, it failed in make an impact; instead, a revitalised Progressive Nationalist Party, under new leader Washington Missick, won the 1991 election. The last two polls have shown, however, that this was no more than an aberration, as the PDM was comfortably returned to office in both 1995 and 1999. Derek Taylor is the current Chief Minister.
Government: The British monarch is head of state, represented locally by a governor who is responsible for defence and foreign affairs as well as internal security. The internal government comprises legislative and executive councils. The former consists of a speaker, three ex-officio members of the Executive Council, three appointees, and 11 members elected by universal adult suffrage. The Executive Council consists of a Chief Minister and four other ministers drawn from the Legislative Council, plus three appointees to the posts of Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary and Attorney-General.
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