From the 17th century until 1967, Nevis along with its sister island St. Christopher (also known as St. Kitts), were governed by England as part of the colony of the Leeward Islands, and later, the West Indies Federation. In the early part of 1960's, Britain created the Federation of St. Kitts, Nevis and Anguilla and granted it statehood in the form of a limited self-government. The seat of the Federation was placed in St. Kitts. In 1967, Anguilla seceded from the Federation to remain as a colony of Britain, and Nevis remained part of the Federation but was given constitutional rights to secede if there were a 2/3 public referendum.
On 19th September 1983, St. Kitts and Nevis achieved full political independence from Britain. Accordingly, the Federation ceased being an Associated State and attained the status of a Sovereign and Democratic Federal State, which is an independent participant of the British Commonwealth. The Federation also has representation at the United Nations.
The system of government of the Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis was modeled from the Westminster Parliamentary System. However, the Federation has a very unique political structure. Although St. Kitts and Nevis is a Federation, there is an independent Nevis Island Government and an independent St. Kitts Island Government. Nevis therefore has its own unicameral legislature and its own island administration that has the authority to formulate economic policies.
POLITICAL STABILITY
Since attaining independence in 1983, the Federation has had a history of political stability and a continuity of sound national policy. The Federation has also been consistently adjudged as one of the world's freest nations by Freedom House, an independent and highly respected research organization in the USA.
