Dr. the Honourable Willard Wheatley MBE, LLD was born in East End on the island of Tortola on 16th July 1915.
After serving as a teacher and Headmaster for 38 years and a short stint in the Public Service, he was elected in 1971 and became the second Chief Minister of the British Virgin Islands from 1971 to 1979.
At the time Dr. Wheatley entered office, the economy was in a deep recession and the Government was running a large deficit.
Economic activity had slowed down considerably after the heroic efforts of the Positive Action Movement forced work to stop on the Wickhams Cay reclamation and Anegada project.
The British Virgin Islands financial situation appeared even more dire as the Government faced repayment of a loan of $5.8 million dollars from the United Kingdom to compensate the British Company Bates-Hill for the return of properties that included most of Anegada and Wickhams Cay which it had acquired from the Government under long-term leases in 1968.
Over the course of Dr. Wheatley’s two terms as Chief Minister, his Administration worked tirelessly to stabilise the economy and repair the public finances, while at the same time improving the quality of life and standard of living of the people of the British Virgin Islands.
Significant progress was made.
In the areas of public administration and public services, among other things, the Ministry of Finance was created in 1977, the BVI Electricity Corporation was established in 1978 and a concerted effort was also made to localize the public service and place British Virgin Islanders in key leadership positions.
In the education sector, the Wheatley Administration completed several new schools to improve the learning environment for students. These institutions by their present names include the Francis Lettsome Primary School, Isabella Morris Primary School, Claudia Creque Educational Centre and the Enid Scatliffe Pre-Primary School.
Legislatively, a number of significant pieces of legislation were passed during the Wheatley years. These included,
The Labour Code 1975;
The Education Act 1977;
The Immigration and Passport Ordinance 1977; and
The Public Health Act 1977.
Currently, the Public Health Act remains the legal basis of the elected Government’s authority to respond to pandemics’ such as COVID-19.
Most notably, Dr. Wheatley and his Government agreed a new constitution with the United Kingdom in 1976 that expanded self-governance and local democratic representation. Upon the constitution coming into force in 1977, Dr. Wheatley became the British Virgin Islands’ First Minister of Finance as the elected Government assumed responsibility for the public finances, which was previously a subject under the portfolio of the Governor.
The crowning achievement of the Willard Wheatley Administration was the Government’s success in balancing the budget in 1978 for the very first time in British Virgin Islands history, which eliminated the need for further British financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid.
The end of grant-in-aid meant that the United Kingdom would no longer dictate British Virgin Islands spending priorities.
Nearly 8 years after Dr. Wheatley took the helm in the middle of a deep recession and the Government books in the red, the Treasury recorded a surplus of $1.5 million in 1978.
His Administration’s hard work had paid off which gave the British Virgin Islands full control of its financial affairs.
Dr. Wheatley is said to have commented on this milestone saying, “it was the BVI’s finest hour.”
Since 1978, the Government has received no foreign aid to balance its budget and constitutional responsibility for finance remains one of the cornerstones of British Virgin Islands autonomy.
The people of the British Virgin Islands can be proud of the high standards set by Dr. Wheatley as Chief Minister and the accomplishments of his Administration that improved the lives of the people and gave the British Virgin Islands greater control in shaping its own destiny.