List of prime ministers of Saint Kitts and Nevis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Coat of arms of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Incumbent Terrance Drew since 6 August 2022
Style	Mr Prime Minister (informal) The Honourable (informal) The Right Honourable (within the Commonwealth) His Excellency (diplomatic)
Appointer	Governor-General
Term length	No term limit
Formation	19 September 1983; 41 years ago (1983-09-19)
First holder	Kennedy Simmonds
Deputy	Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Salary	EC$137,280/US$ 50,844 annually

The Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis is the main leader of the government for the country. This person is also known as the head of government for the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis. The current Prime Minister is Terrance Drew. He has held this important role since August 6, 2022.

How the Prime Minister's Job Works

The job of Prime Minister is set up by the country's constitution of Saint Kitts and Nevis. This is like the rulebook for the country. Section 52 of the constitution says that the Governor-General chooses the Prime Minister. The Governor-General must pick someone from the National Assembly. This person needs to have the support of most of the other elected representatives.

If the National Assembly votes that they no longer trust the Prime Minister, this is called a no-confidence motion. If this vote passes, the Prime Minister has three days to do one of two things:

• They can resign from their job.
• They can ask the Governor-General to close the assembly. This means a new general election will be held.

If the Prime Minister does not do either of these things, the Governor-General must remove them. The Prime Minister also loses their job if they stop being a member of the National Assembly. This can happen if parliament is dissolved for an election.

Chief Ministers (1960–1967)

Before Saint Kitts and Nevis became fully independent, its top leader was called the Chief Minister. This was during the time when Elizabeth II was the Queen. Here are the people who held this position:

Leaders Under Queen Elizabeth II (1960–1967)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Paul Southwell (1913–1979)	1 January 1960	July 1966	6 years, 6 months	SKNLP	1961
2		Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw (1916–1978)	July 1966	27 February 1967	7 months	SKNLP	1966

Premiers (1967–1983)

After the Chief Minister role, the leader was called the Premier. This was still before full independence. The country was a self-governing state, but the Queen was still the head of state.

Leaders Under Queen Elizabeth II (1967–1983)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Robert Llewellyn Bradshaw (1916–1978)	27 February 1967	23 May 1978 †	11 years, 85 days	SKNLP	1971 1975
2		Paul Southwell (1913–1979)	23 May 1978	18 May 1979 †	360 days	SKNLP	—
3		Lee Moore (1939–2000)	20 May 1979	21 February 1980	277 days	SKNLP	—
4		Kennedy Simmonds (born 1936)	21 February 1980	19 September 1983	3 years, 210 days	PAM	1980

Prime Ministers (1983–present)

Saint Kitts and Nevis became a fully independent country in 1983. From this point on, the leader of the government has been called the Prime Minister.

Leaders Under Queen Elizabeth II (1983–2022)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Kennedy Simmonds (born 1936)	19 September 1983	7 July 1995	11 years, 291 days	PAM	1984 1989 1993
2		Denzil Douglas (born 1953)	7 July 1995	18 February 2015	19 years, 226 days	SKNLP	1995 2000 2004 2010
3		Timothy Harris (born 1964)	18 February 2015	6 August 2022	7 years, 169 days	PLP	2015 2020
4		Terrance Drew (born 1976)	6 August 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 317 days	SKNLP	2022

Leaders Under King Charles III (2022–present)

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Political party	Election
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
4		Terrance Drew (born 1976)	6 August 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 317 days	SKNLP	2022

Timeline of Prime Ministers

This is a visual timeline showing how long each Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis has lived and served in office. The first leader, Paul Southwell, is shown from when he first became Chief Minister.

See also

• Governor-General of Saint Kitts and Nevis - Learn about the country's head of state.
• Deputy Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis - Find out about the second-in-command.
• Premier of Nevis - Discover the leader of the island of Nevis.