{{Short description|Politician (born 1967)}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Gavin Anthony St Pier | image = Gavin St Pier.jpg | alt = | caption = | office = Member of the States of Guernsey | term_start = 1 May 2012 | term_end = | office2 = Minister of Treasury and Resources | term_start2 = 8 May 2012 | term_end2 = May 2016 | predecessor2 = | successor2 = | office3 = President of the Policy and Resources Committee of Guernsey | term_start3 = 4 May 2016 | term_end3 = 16 October 2020 | predecessor3 = Jonathan Le Tocq (as Chief Minister of Guernsey) | successor3 = Peter Ferbrache | office4 = Leader of Forward Guernsey | term_start4 = 11 April 2025 | term_end4 = | office5 = Political Adviser for Future Guernsey | term_start5 = 28 November 2024 | term_end5 = April 2025 | birth_name = Gavin Anthony St Pier | birth_date = {{Birth year and age|1967|1}} | birth_place = | education = University of Southampton | other_party = Independent (2012–2020)<br/>Guernsey Partnership of Independents (2020–2021)<br/>Future Guernsey (2021, 2024–2025) | profession = Accountant, tax advisor | spouse = Married | children = 3 | website = {{URL|https://gavinstpier.gg/}} }}
'''Gavin Anthony St Pier''' (born January 1967) is an elected deputy in the States of Guernsey and former president of the Policy and Resources Committee. He has been a prominent figure in Guernsey politics since 2012 and is currently the leader of the Forward Guernsey political party.
==Early life and education== St Pier was born in January 1967.<ref name="gov-profile">{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.gg/gavinstpier|title=Deputy Gavin St Pier|publisher=States of Guernsey|access-date=2025-06-09}}</ref> He attended the University of Southampton.<ref name="gov-profile"/>
==Professional career== St Pier qualified as a Chartered Accountant, Chartered Tax Adviser, and barrister.<ref name="gov-profile"/> He worked in the financial services sector before entering politics.<ref name="gov-profile"/>
==Political career==
===Early political career=== St Pier was first elected to the States of Guernsey at the general election on 18 April 2012 as a deputy for St Sampson's District.<ref name="elections">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-guernsey-17990525|title=Guernsey States ministerial elections held|agency=BBC News |date=May 8, 2012}}</ref>
He served as minister of treasury and resources from May 2012 to May 2016, overseeing the island's public finances during a challenging economic period.<ref name="elections" />
===President of Policy and Resources Committee=== St Pier was re-elected at the 2016 general election, though with a reduced vote. After the third secret ballot he was elected in May 2016 as president of the Policy and Resources Committee, effectively becoming the island's Chief Minister.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bailiwickexpress.com/jsy/news/gavin-st-pier-guernseys-new-chief-minister-only-just/#.V_SsIyh7pUQ |title=Gavin St Pier is Guernsey's new Chief Minister - but only just... |publisher=Bailiwick Express |date=4 May 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-guernsey-36168498 |title=Gavin St Pier elected as Guernsey States' President |publisher=BBC |date=4 May 2016}}</ref>
During his tenure as president from 2016 to 2020, St Pier led the States' response to various challenges, including fiscal pressures and later the COVID-19 pandemic. He was known for his direct communication style, particularly during the pandemic when he delivered regular public statements about lockdown measures and government responses.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gov.gg/article/176927/Statement-made-by-Deputy-Gavin-St-Pier---24-March-2020|title=Statement made by Deputy Gavin St Pier - 24 March 2020|publisher=States of Guernsey|date=24 March 2020}}</ref>
St Pier lost his position as president in October 2020 following the 2020 general election, when Peter Ferbrache was elected to succeed him.<ref name="ferbrache-elected">{{Cite web|url=https://guernseypress.com/news/2020/10/17/pr-president-ferbrache-vows-to-be-unifying-force/|title=P&R president Ferbrache vows to be unifying force|publisher=Guernsey Press|date=17 October 2020}}</ref>
===Political party involvement=== In August 2020, St Pier formed the Guernsey Partnership of Independents party with Heidi Soulsby and Lyndon Trott.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guernseypress.com//news/2020/08/18/soulsby-st-pier-trott-form-a-political-group/|title=Soulsby, St Pier, Trott form a political group|first=Will|last=Green|website=guernseypress.com}}</ref> The party won 10 seats in the 2020 election, making it the largest group in the States Assembly, though it later dissolved.
===Future Guernsey and Forward Guernsey=== In December 2021, St Pier launched Future Guernsey as a successor political movement, describing it as "fiscally and environmentally responsible and socially liberal".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bailiwickexpress.com/news-ge/gavin-st-pier-launches-new-political-party/|title=Deputy Gavin St Pier launches new political party|work=Bailiwick Express|date=1 December 2021}}</ref> This first iteration was later de-registered as a political party.
In November 2024, St Pier relaunched Future Guernsey as a policy-focused organisation, serving as Political Adviser alongside former ITN chief executive John Hardie as chairman and communications consultant Lindsey Freeman as CEO.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.itv.com/news/channel/2024-11-28/political-movement-formed-in-guernsey-ahead-of-2025-election|title=Guernsey politician to spearhead new 'political movement' ahead of 2025 election|publisher=ITV News Channel|date=28 November 2024}}</ref> Future Guernsey developed a comprehensive manifesto focusing on six core policy areas but was deliberately structured as an unregistered movement, meaning it could not legally endorse candidates under Guernsey electoral law.
===Electoral law workaround=== To circumvent the legal limitations faced by Future Guernsey, St Pier launched Forward Guernsey on 11 April 2025 as a completely separate registered political party for the upcoming 2025 Guernsey general election.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c3g0g0g0g0g0|title=Forward Guernsey political party launches|publisher=BBC News|date=11 April 2025}}</ref> Forward Guernsey adopted the Future Guernsey manifesto "in its entirety", effectively transferring the policy development work to an electoral vehicle that could legally contest elections.<ref name="press">{{Cite web|url=https://guernseypress.com/opinion/2025/04/14/gavin-st-pier-it-is-time-to-move-guernsey-forward|title=Gavin St Pier: 'It is time to move Guernsey forward'|work=Guernsey Press|date=14 April 2025}}</ref>
St Pier explained the separation was necessary because "Future Guernsey is not permitted by its constitution or electoral law to endorse and support candidates", requiring the creation of Forward Guernsey as a distinct legal entity.<ref name="press" /> Upon launching Forward Guernsey, St Pier resigned his role as Political Adviser to Future Guernsey to become the new party's leader, maintaining the organizations as legally separate entities.
===2025 election campaign=== Forward Guernsey launched with four initial candidates: St Pier, Tom Rylatt, Rhona Humphreys and Ryan Courtney.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guernseypress.com/news/2025/04/18/forward-guernsey-without-st-piers-former-party-allies|title=Forward Guernsey without St Pier's former party allies|work=Guernsey Press|date=18 April 2025}}</ref> The party's structure represents what St Pier described as "nothing like this or as comprehensive as this has ever been tried before in Guernsey", designed to provide policy coherence while working within electoral law constraints.<ref name="press" />
St Pier has been critical of what he describes as the "endemic inertia and indecision" of independent-dominated assemblies, advocating for policy-based party politics as a solution to governmental dysfunction.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://guernseypress.com/news/2024/10/21/st-pier-working-on-forming-new-political-party-for-next-year|title=St Pier working on forming new political party for next year|work=Guernsey Press|date=21 October 2024}}</ref>
==Personal life== St Pier is married with three children and has lived in Saint Sampson, Guernsey, since 1997.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://gavinstpier.gg/|title=Home|website=Gavin St Pier}}</ref> He continues to work as a trust professional alongside his political career.
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{Official website}} * [https://www.gov.gg/article/153108/Gavin-St-Pier States of Guernsey profile]
{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Jonathan Le Tocq|as=Chief Minister of Guernsey}} {{s-ttl|title=President of the Policy and Resources Committee |years=2016–2020}} {{s-aft|after=Peter Ferbrache}} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:St Pier, Gavin}} Category:Living people Category:Members of the States of Guernsey Category:Presidents of the Policy and Resources Committee of Guernsey Category:1967 births Category:Alumni of the University of Southampton