Oswald Skippings

Who is Oswald Skippings?

Oswald O'Neal Skippings was born on Grand Turk on 19 February 1953 and became a central figure in Turks and Caicos Islands politics across four decades. After training as a teacher at Mico University College and briefly attending the University of the West Indies, he joined the newly formed People's Democratic Movement (PDM) in 1975 and won a legislative seat in the 1976 election, going on to serve as Minister of Health and Education and Deputy Chief Minister under the territory's first Chief Minister, JAGS McCartney. Following McCartney's death in 1980, Skippings served as acting Chief Minister before narrowly losing that year's general election to Norman Saunders. He returned to the role of Chief Minister after leading the PDM to the largest landslide in the islands' political history in the 1988 election, in which the party won eleven of thirteen seats, and he held responsibility for tourism, communications, and transportation until 1991. He later stepped back from politics in 2005, returned in 2007 out of concern over the islands' economic direction, was elected PDM leader in 2012, briefly led a splinter Progressive Democratic Alliance from 2015, and rejoined the PDM in 2020 as chair of its Grand Turk branch. Outside politics, Skippings is a recording gospel artist and has written and performed poetry and songs, including material for the PDM.

Sources: Wikipedia, "Oswald Skippings" (accessed 2026) · Turks and Caicos House of Assembly, gov.tc/hoa/hon-oswald-oneal-skippings