MLAs

Premier of the Cayman Islands, Hon Alden M McLaughlin, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2000 and has been a legislator ever since.

He served as the Minister of Education, Training, Employment, Youth, Sports and Culture from 2005-2009. Under his leadership the ministry was responsible for the creation of the new Education Modernisation Law and piloted its passage through the Legislative Assembly in early 2009. This new law raised the mandatory age for school attendance from 16 to 17 and set in place the framework for what is now being called the Year 12 programme in the government high-school system.

For his contribution to constitutional development in the Cayman Islands, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II awarded him the M.B.E. in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 2010.

In February 2011 he became Political Leader of the Progressives, of which he is a founding member. He was subsequently sworn in as Leader of The Opposition in the Legislative Assembly of the Cayman Islands.

He was named Premier following the General Elections of the Cayman Islands in May 2013, where the Progressives won the majority of seats.

Mr. McLaughlin is a lawyer of 25 years standing and a former partner in the Cayman Islands law firm of Charles Adams, Ritchie and Duckworth. He is a past president of the Caymanian Bar Association and The Lions Club of Grand Cayman.

He and his wife Kim have two sons, Daegan, 21, at university in the UK, and Caelan, 18, at high school in Grand Cayman.

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Moses Kirkconnell Deputy Premier of the Cayman Islands is a respected civic leader and businessman.  First elected to the Legislative Assembly in 2005, Mr. Kirkconnell has served the Cayman Islands on both the Government and Opposition benches, and in May 2013, he was appointed by H.E the Governor as Minister with responsibility for District Administration, Tourism and Transport. 

A businessman involved in retail, tourism, and the construction industry, Mr. Kirkconnell was named Ambassador of Economic Development for the Sister Islands during the Cayman Islands 2005 Quincentennial celebrations.  With a passion for tourism, he and has served three times as President of the Sister Islands Tourism Association (SITA).

Highlights of his public service record include his appointment in 2011 to chair the Public Accounts Committee of the Legislative Assembly.  In 2012 he was named Deputy Leader of the Opposition (PPM) by the Governor.

Mr. Kirkconnell is a founding member of the National Trust, a Paul Harris Fellow of Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, and a proud member of the Veteran’s and Seaman’s Society of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman.  He is also a devoted supporter of youth-related sports and activities.

He and his wife, Kathy, enjoy fishing, walking and reading.

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In 1997 Mrs. O'Connor-Connolly became Cayman's first woman minister when she was chosen to fill a vacancy on Executive Council as the Minister of Community Affairs, Sports, Women, Youth and Culture. From October 2003 to April 2005 she served as Minister for Planning, Communications, District Administration and Information Technology.

Speaker of the House from November 2001 to October 2003, she followed the Hon. Sybil McLaughlin and the Hon. Capt. Mabry Kirkconnell (also from Cayman Brac) to become the third Caymanian speaker.

Mrs. O'Connor-Connolly has been elected to the Legislative Assembly since 1996; she is the first woman to represent the Sister Islands. 

Born and raised on Cayman Brac, she first pursued a career in teaching but later received a law degree from the University of Liverpool and was a practicing attorney before entering politics.

She is the mother of Kamaal Connolly and Kimberly Walton, her foster child.

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Barbara Conolly was born in George Town and is the daughter of Sidney and Daphne Gomez.  She graduated from Triple “C” in 1977. She currently holds the STEP designation (TEP).

Her political experience goes back to 2002 when she became a member of The Progressives.  She is currently the General Secretary of the Team. 

In 2005, Ms. Conolly went to work with the former Leader of Government Business, Hon. D. Kurt Tibbetts as his Political Analyst.  Her primary function was working with his constituents seeking employment, educational opportunities, health care and other family life issues.  

She is currently the Manager of Fiduciary Services at Alexandria Bancorp Limited, where she has gained tremendous insight into the importance of the financial services industry to the economy of the Cayman Islands.

Barbara loves to exercise and has walked her constituency of George Town South for many years.

She has two children, Erika and Alexander and two grandchildren, Arianna and Ciara. 

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As the Managing Director and Chief Operations Officer of his family’s group of companies, that include Hew’s Hotel & Restaurant Supplies, Restaurant Depot, Bon Vivant, Macdonald’s, the Office Bar, and Hew’s Janitorial, Joseph “Joey” Hew brings a wealth of successful business experience to public life.

Mr. Hew is a past President of the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, and headed the Cayman Islands Restaurant Association for five years until it’s amalgamation into the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, where he continued to serve as a Director. In addition he has been Deputy Chairman of the Trade and Business Licensing Board, as well as the Port Authority of the Cayman Islands.

In 2013 he sought office as a George Town candidate under the banner of the Progressives and in winning his seat was named Councillor to the Ministry of District Administration, Tourism and Transport.

He and his wife Cynthia are the parents of two sons.

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Roy grew up on Crewe Road, the son of Bill ('Uncle Bill') and Carlene McTaggart. He was educated in our local public high school and obtained his Certified Public Accountant qualification overseas.

He had a very successful career spanning almost thirty years with KPMG, the last nine as Managing Partner. While there, Roy's contributions to the community were many, including: four years as Chairman of the Board for Cayman Airways Ltd., eight years with the Cayman Islands Chamber of Commerce, including two years as President, three years with the Commission for Standards in Public Life and fourteen years as a Director of the Young Caymanian Leadership Foundation, the last six as Chairman. He retired from the firm in 2012 to pursue election to public office.

In his first term as an MLA, Roy has served as Councilor to the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development, Ministry of Financial Services, Commerce and Environment and Ministry of Health and Culture. He also chaired the Public Accounts Committee and was a member of the Legislative Oversight Committee for the Office of the Complaints Commissioner.

Roy is married and has three grown children, Jessica, Jodie and Jamie-Lauren.

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David Wight is the son of Derek and Marguerite Wight, born and raised in the Cayman Islands. He is one of 10 children (5 boys and 5 girls), has one daughter, Delecia Wight, and three grandchildren. Mr. Wight attended high school in Hertfordshire, England until the age of 17 when he returned to his beloved home and started working in the family business. 

Having worked in a successful business for over 40 years, Mr. Wight has the expertise and knowledge to lead the people of George Town West to a strong future. Outside of business, Mr. Wight is also an established athlete representing Cayman in cricket for over 30 years. He has also dedicated his time and passion to coaching cricket to young Caymanians.

Mr. Wight has been heavily involved in Cayman politics from before the 1984 elections and has been a member of The Progressives Team since its inception in 2002. 

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