Deputy Kirsten Morel named Deputy Chief Minister

Tuesday 19 July 2022

Economic Development Minister Kirsten Morel has been appointed Deputy Chief Minister.

Chief Minister Kristina Moore announced this morning that the St. John, St. Lawrence and Trinity poll-topper would take the reins of the government when she is unavailable.

It is understood that the role of Deputy Chief Minister is currently being clarified and may be expanded after a review into ‘democratic accountability’ by a group of politicians in the last Assembly raised some concerns.

The sub-committee, which included Deputy Morel, found that there was a lack of transparency over the role of Deputy Chief Minister, which “undermined accountability for the areas for which the DCM is given responsibility”.

It recommended that the law governing the business of the States should be amended to expand the role of the DCM and “clarify that he or she is the authorised substitute for an executive decision whenever the Chief Minister is out of the island or is otherwise indisposed.”

Deputy Morel was first elected to the States in 2018 and was appointed Assistant Economic Development Minister two years later.

He also sat on the Planning Committee, Assemblée Parlementaire de la Francophonie and a number of other panels.

The previous Deputy Chief Minister, Deputy Lyndon Farnham, was also Economic Development Minister.

He made a number of key decisions while Deputy Chief Minister, including the decision to lift some travel restrictions last summer while the Chief Minister was on holiday.