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House of Representatives 2008 - 2013
Hon. Dean O. Barrow
Prime Minister and
Minister of Finance
Queen's Square
Hon. Gaspar Vega
Deputy Prime Minister andMinister of Natural Resources and the Environment
Orange Walk North
Hon. Bernard Q. A. Pitts
Attorney General
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Hon. Douglas Singh
Minister of Police and Public Safety
UDP (Leader of Government Business)
Hon. Wilfred Elrington
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
Pickstock
Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.
Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Culture
Belize Rural South
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Hon. Melvin Hulse
Minister of Transport, Communications and National Emergency Management
Stann Creek West
Hon. Pablo Marin
Minister of Health
Corozal Bay
Hon. Carlos Perdomo
Minister of Defense and Immigration
Caribbean Shores
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Hon. Patrick Faber
Minister of Education and Youth
Collet
Hon. Rene Montero
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries
Cayo Central
Hon. Michael Finnegan
Minister of Housing and Urban Development
Mesopotamia
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Hon. Peter Eden Martinez
Minister of Human Development and Social Transformation
Toledo East
Hon. Anthony "Boots" Martinez
Minister of Works
Port Loyola
Hon. John Saldivar
Minister of the Public Service, Governance Improvement, Elections & Boundaries and Sports
Belmopan
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Hon. Erwin Contreras
Minister of Economic Development, Commerce, Industry and Consumer Protection
Cayo West
Hon. Gabriel Martinez
Minister of Labour, Local Gov't and Rural Development
Corozal South West
Hon. Elvin Penner
Minister of Public Utilities and Information and Broadcasting
Cayo North East
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Hon. Juan Coy
Minister of State/Ministry of Human Development and Social Transformation
Toledo West
Minister of State/Ministry of Works
Hon. Michael Hutchinson
Minister of State/Ministry of Local Gov't and Rural Develop
Belize Rural Central
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Hon. Arthur William Roches
Minister of State/Ministry of Health
Dangriga
Hon. Marco Pech
Minister of State/Ministry of Natural Resources
Orange Walk South
Hon. Salvador Fernandez
Cayo North
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Hon. Nemencio Acosta
Corozal North
Hon. Marcel Cardona
Orange Walk East
Hon. Ramon Witz
Cayo South
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Hon. Edmund George Castro
Belize Rural North
Hon. John Briceno
Leader of Opposition
Orange Walk Central
Hon. Said MusaFort George
Hon. Francis Fonseca
Freetown
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Hon. Mark Espat
Albert
Hon. Cordel Hyde
Lake Independence
Hon. Florencio Marin Jr.
Corozal South East
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Mr. Emil Arguelles
Speaker of the House of Representatives
Cabinet 2008 - 2013
Hon. Dean O. Barrow
Prime Minister andMinister of Finance
Queen's Square
Hon. Gaspar Vega
Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister of Natural
Resourcesand the Environment
Orange Walk North
Hon. Bernard Q. A. Pitts
Attorney General
Hon. Douglas Singh
Minister of Police and Public
Safety
UDP (Leader of Government
Business)
Hon. Wilfred ElringtonMinister of Foreign Affairs
and Foreign Trade
Pickstock
Hon. Manuel Heredia Jr.Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation
and Culture
Belize Rural South
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Hon. Melvin Hulse
Minister of Transport,
Communications and NationalEmergency Management
Stann Creek West
Hon. Pablo Marin
Minister of Health
Corozal Bay
Hon. Carlos Perdomo
Minister of Defense andImmigration
Caribbean Shores
Hon. Patrick Faber
Minister of Education and Youth
Collet
Hon. Rene Montero
Minister of Agriculture and
Fisheries
Cayo Central
Hon. Michael Finnegan
Minister of Housing and Urban
Development
Mesopotamia
Hon. Peter Eden Martinez
Minister of Human Developmentand Social Transformation
Toledo East
Hon. Anthony "Boots"
Martinez
Minister of Works
Port Loyola
Hon. John Saldivar
Minister of the Public Service,Governance Improvement, Elections
& Boundaries and Sports
Belmopan
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Hon. Erwin Contreras
Minister of EconomicDevelopment, Commerce,
Industry and Consumer
Protection
Cayo West
Hon. Gabriel Martinez
Minister of Labour, LocalGov't and Rural
Development
Corozal South West
Hon. Elvin Penner
Minister of Public Utilities and
Information and Broadcasting
Cayo North East
Hon. Juan CoyMinister of State/
Ministry of Human Developmentand Social Transformation
Toledo West
Hon. Michael HutchinsonMinister of State/Ministry of
Local Gov't and RuralDevelop
Belize Rural Central
Hon. Arthur William Roches
Minister of State/Ministry of Health
Dangriga
Hon. Marco Pech
Minister of State/Ministry of
Natural Resources
Minister of State/Ministry of
Works
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Orange Walk South
Our Constitution provides for the appointment of a Prime Minister by the Governor-General fromamong members of the House of Representatives who in his/her opinion is considered the leader of
the political party which commands the support of the majority of the members of the House. If it
happens that no political party has an overall majority, the Governor-General appoints a member ofthe House who appears to him/her most likely to command the support of the majority of the
members in the House.
The Cabinet, which is the chief policy-making body in the Government machinery, is made up of
persons who formulate the policy and programme of the Government and is headed by the Prime
Minister. These persons are drawn from the National Assembly, which comprises both the Houseof Representatives and the Senate.
The Prime Minister holds discussions with various elected members of his party and then submitsa list of names of Representatives and/or Senators he wants to serve on his Cabinet. The Governor-
General then appoints the persons the Prime Minister desires, and makes them responsible for theMinistries which the Prime Minister has decided on.
The Government then is really the Cabinet and consists of the Prime Minister and other Ministers,all of whom are collectively responsible for every part of the Government's administration. Each
Minister is given certain departments, for which he is responsible to the Prime Minister and the
National Assembly. It is the Prime Minister then that actually appoints the other Ministers and whomay also require them to resign. All Ministers must be members of either the House of
Representatives or the Senate and a Minister may speak only in the House of which he is a
member.
The Minister must be prepared to speak on behalf of his own Ministry or for any part of the
Government's field of responsibility. They must all defend the policy of the Government in both of
the Houses. They may disagree inside the Cabinet but once a vote is taken each and everyone isobliged to defend that policy and it is never known, or should never be known, that any of them
did not agree with this or that policy. In the event that a Minister feels so strongly against a policy
that he does not intend to defend it in the National Assembly or in private and public, it is normalfor him to resign as a Minister of the Cabinet. If not, the Prime Minister may call on him to do so.
In theory, the Cabinet is responsible to the National Assembly, and through the National Assembly
to the people, who may call it to account at the next general election by giving a majority to theother party.
The Cabinet works in great secrecy. No outside person is allowed to see any Cabinet papers untilthey have become only of historical interest, and no member of the Cabinet may refer outside to
the discussions that have taken place in the Cabinet. This rule is strictly observed, and if it can be
proved that a Minister has made known to outsiders any of the secret discussions he is liable toprosecution, and if found guilty by the Court can be sent to prison.
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