Andrew Fahie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Andrew Fahie
Fahie in 2021
Premier of the British Virgin Islands
In office 26 February 2019 – 5 May 2022
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	Augustus Jaspert John Rankin
Preceded by	Orlando Smith
Succeeded by	Natalio Wheatley
Leader of the Opposition
In office 6 February 2017 – 21 December 2018
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	John Duncan Augustus Jaspert
Preceded by	Julian Fraser
Succeeded by	Ronnie Skelton
Personal details
Born	(1970-08-07) 7 August 1970 (age 54) Tortola, British Virgin Islands
Political party	Virgin Islands Party
Spouse	Sheila Elaine Forbes-Fahie
Children	2
Alma mater	Florida A&M University

Andrew Alturo Fahie (born 7 August 1970) is a politician from the British Virgin Islands. He served as the Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2019 to 2022. He was also the chairman of the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) from 2016 to 2022.

Fahie was an elected member of the House of Assembly of the British Virgin Islands for the First District. He held this position from 1999 until November 2022. He became the chairman of the Virgin Islands Party in November 2016. This happened after he won a leadership contest against the previous leader, Julian Fraser.

In February 2017, he was officially named Leader of the Opposition. On 25 February 2019, Fahie led his party to victory in the 2019 British Virgin Islands general election. He became Premier the very next day. He was removed from his role as Premier on 5 May 2022. This happened after a vote in the House of Assembly. He is sometimes known by his nickname, the Brown Bomber.

Early Life and Education

Andrew Fahie was born in 1970. His parents were Ernest Alturo Fahie and Iris Dorene Romney.

He finished high school at BVI High School in 1986. After that, he went to the University of the Virgin Islands in St. Thomas. He then earned a degree in Education from Florida A&M University in 1991.

After college, he worked as a Maths teacher. He taught at Elmore Stoutt High School.

Fahie is married to Sheila Fahie (whose maiden name was Herbert-Forbes). They have two children.

Political Career

Fahie first became a representative for the 1st District in 1999. He was 28 years old at the time. He kept this seat continuously until 2022.

He has held important government positions before. From 2007 to 2011, he was the Minister for Education and Culture. From 2000 to 2003, he served as the Minister for Health, Education and Welfare. Since 1999, he has been very popular in his district. His smallest win margin was 27.6% of the vote in 2015.

Becoming Leader of the Opposition

In the 2015 British Virgin Islands general election, only two members of the Virgin Islands Party won their seats. These were Julian Fraser and Andrew Fahie. After the election, Fraser and Fahie disagreed about who should be the Leader of the Opposition. Fraser thought he should be the leader because he was the current party leader. Fahie believed that most party members wanted him to lead after their election loss.

The Constitution states that the Leader of the Opposition must have the support of the "majority" of opposition members. Since there were only two opposition members and they disagreed, there was a problem. Governor John Duncan gave them a month to sort things out. However, they could not agree. In the end, the Governor appointed Fraser as the official Leader of the Opposition.

Later, Fahie took over from Fraser as the party leader. He was then appointed Leader of the Opposition instead of Fraser.

Ronnie Skelton later became the opposition leader on 22 December 2018. This happened after the ruling government party split. The group led by Skelton became the largest opposition party.

When Fahie was Leader of the Opposition, he often said that an investigation was needed into government activities in the BVI.

Serving as Premier

Fahie led his party to win the 2019 British Virgin Islands general election. He was sworn in as Premier the very next day.

He was removed from his position as Premier on 5 May 2022. This happened after the House of Assembly voted against his government.

Resigning from Office

He officially resigned from his seat as the representative for the First District on 24 November 2022. In his resignation letter, he stated that he was leaving politics.

Shooting Incident

In 2007, Fahie was shot in his left leg during an attempted bank robbery. His injury was not serious. Fahie tried to sue the bank for his injuries. He lost the case at trial. The case was settled before an appeal could be heard.

Electoral History