Saluting black leaders: Hon. Mark Brantley

0
920

Hon. Mark A. G. Brantley

In 2013 Hon. Mark Brantley was lauded as someone with the caliber and experience to help lead the island of Nevis at a critical point in its development.

Hon. Mark Brantley is a lawyer by profession who received his Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of the West Indies – Cave Hill Campus in 1992 and his Legal Education Certificate from the Norman Manley Law School in 1994. He was awarded the Certificate of Merit from the Norman Manley Law School, only the 4th such award in the then history of the law school, and graduated First in Class. He also holds a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford (1995), having won the Winter Williams Commonwealth Scholarship to attend that prestigious English university.

Hon. Mark Brantley

Having been called to the St. Kitts-Nevis Bar in 1994, he has practiced extensively before the High Courts and Court of Appeal and has appeared in courts as far as Singapore as an expert witness on Nevis Commercial Law. He is a Bar in Anguilla, Grenada, Antigua & Barbuda, and Dominica. He holds membership in several international professional associations such as the Commercial Bar Association (ComBar) and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP). He is also the Senior Partner in the law firm Daniel Brantley.

Hon Brantley entered politics in 2006 as a senator in the Nevis Island Assembly for then Opposition Party, the Concerned Citizens Movement (CCM), and was named Deputy Leader of the party in that same year. The following year, 2007, he was elected to the Federal Parliament of St. Kitts and Nevis. He became the Leader of Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition following the untimely death of the Hon. Malcolm Guishard. He held that position until January 2015.

In the January 2013 Nevis Island elections, Hon Brantley was elected and became a part of the CCM-led Nevis Island Administration (NIA). He was named Deputy Premier and Minister for Tourism, Health, Gender, Social Affairs, Social Development, Youth, Sports, Culture, Community Development, and Information. He also took a sabbatical at that time from practice and his law firm – Daniel Brantley – to pursue his career in government.

When Federal Elections were called in February 2015, the Opposition members, which comprised of three (3) political parties, contested the elections under the banner of Team Unity. Hon Brantley again won his seat in the Federal Parliament and assumed the position of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation in the new UNITY Government of St. Kitts and Nevis.

In October 2017, Hon. Vance Amory stepped down as leader of the Concerned Citizens Movement and the Hon. Mark Brantley was named leader of the 30-year-old party. He led the party into an election on December 18, 2017. His party triumphed over the Nevis Reformation Party with a resounding 4 – 1 victory at the polls making him the 4th named Premier of the island of Nevis.

On June 5, 2020, Federal elections were held in the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis. Premier Brantley led the Concerned Citizens Movement to victory on Nevis, where they won all three of the seats contested on that island. This was the first time in the Concerned Citizens Movement that the party was able to win all of the seats on the island. He continues to be Minister of Foreign Affairs and Aviation in the Team Unity Government.

Premier Brantley has been leading the island during this unprecedented time of COVID-19. In March 2020, he announced that he would forego his

salary and benefits as Premier of Nevis until the pandemic is over. He continues to forego his salary as Premier of Nevis, 22 months after his initial announcement.

He has been and continues to provide exemplary service to his country, where he has always upheld our motto, Country Above Self.

Premier Brantley is married and has two (2) daughters.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here