Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, LLB, BA (Hons), JP, MP
Deputy Premier
Minister for Education, and District Administration & Lands
Elected Representative for Cayman Brac East
Minister for Education, District Administration and Lands, the Honourable Juliana Yvonne O’Connor-Connolly, was elected to the Legislative Assembly (now Parliament) for the first time in November 1996 to represent the District of Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. In doing so, she became the first lady to represent that district in the Legislative Assembly.
In 1997, Mrs. O’Connor-Connolly became Cayman’s first female Minister and served until 2000 as the Minister of Community Affairs, Sports, Women, Youth and Culture.
She was an opposition backbencher for a short period before becoming the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly in 2001, making her the first female member of the Legislative Assembly to do so.
From 2005 to 2009, Hon. O’Connor-Connolly served as a formidable Member of the Opposition.
Before her second period of service as Speaker, she was a Member of Cabinet for four years from 2009 to 2013, first as Minister of District Administration, Works, Lands and Agriculture and then with the responsibility of Minister of Finance added to that Portfolio.
She was later Speaker of the House for another extended period from 2013 to 2017 and served as Minister for Education, Youth, Sports, Agriculture and Lands from 2017 to early 2021.
Now in her seventh consecutive term as Member of Parliament, Hon. O’Connor-Connolly is the longest-serving female member and the first woman to become Deputy Premier and Premier of the Cayman Islands.
She has served in numerous Parliamentary and Government Boards & Committees. Notable among those are the three years she served as an Executive Member of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
Further, she has served faithfully as a member of the Church of God (Holiness) for over 45 years and currently assists with preaching at the Cayman Islands Church of God.
Prior to entering politics, Hon. O’Connor-Connolly enjoyed a successful career as a Teacher, Accounts Assistant and Attorney at Law, having graduated from the University of Saint Leo with the highest cumulative GPA and later the Cayman Islands Law School/the University of Liverpool, where she completed her Bachelor of Laws.
A proud Cayman Bracker and mother of two, her interests include; reading, cooking, farming, meeting people and learning new cultures.
The annual Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference (CWP) marked the launch of the 45th Annual General Meeting, with the Deputy Premier, Hon. Juliana O’Connor-Connolly, JP, MP, and the Speaker, Hon. Katherine Ebanks-Wilks, MP, representing the Cayman Islands. Sessions included discussions on the critical role of women in democratic governance, youth crime, the CWP constitution, and roundtable discussions on the experiences of current female parliamentarians.
“The Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Conference sparked a number of innovative ideas for how I can empower women in my community for the next women’s month” said the Speaker. “More women should be encouraged to enter into leadership roles in politics, so I intend to give women an opportunity to learn how to debate by spending the day at Parliament with myself and other female politicians.”
Following the CWP sessions, delegates held sessions on biodiversity and food security preparedness, adapting to climate change, preparing for national disasters, promoting democracy, crime and security, banking standards, and health care. Mr. Christopher Saunders, MP, was a panelist for the session on banking standards, and provided delegates with best practices from Cayman’s financial management and legislation.
A strong contingent of nearly two-dozen youth parliamentarians gathered on 26th July for the 16th Regional Youth Parliament. The two Caymanian delegates were selected for the top two positions, with Mr. Amani Ebanks as the YP Premier, and Mr. Alex Harris as the YP Leader of the Opposition.
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