Christie is believed to have been the youngest Bahamian ever appointed to the Senate. Named as a Senator by Prime Minister
Lynden Pindling in November 1974, Christie served in that capacity until June 1977 and continued to be a protege of his. In January 1977 he was appointed chairman of the Gaming Board, which regulates casinos in The Bahamas. Receiving the PLP nomination for the
Centreville constituency in the
1977 general election, Christie was elected Member of Parliament for that constituency, and shortly afterward appointed
Minister of Health and National Insurance, and held that position until 1982. During the June 1982 general election, he was re-elected Member of Parliament for
Centreville, and was once again appointed to the Prime Minister's Cabinet, but as Minister of Tourism. In 1984, however, he was dismissed from the cabinet, and during the 1987 general election ran as an independent candidate. He retained his seat in the Centreville constituency. Three years later – in March 1990 – Christie returned to the Progressive Liberal Party, and was appointed minister of agriculture, trade and industry by the prime minister. Christie's ministerial responsibilities included the ministry of agriculture, trade and industry; mining, geological surveys, petroleum, fuel, oils and petrochemicals, industries encouragement, manufacturing, relations with The Bahamas Agricultural and Industrial Corporation, relations with The Bahamas National Trust, Andros reef and blue holes, and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Co-operatives. By 1992, Christie and the PLP had begun a relationship with
Peter Nygard, supporting each other until at least 2017. In a 2021
CBC News article, Christie denied there being any inappropriate behavior on his part in that relationship. He also served as the Minister of finance.
Events since 2007 Christie's party, the
Progressive Liberal Party (PLP), was defeated in the
May 2007 general election, taking 18 seats against 23 for the
Free National Movement (FNM), and Christie conceded defeat in a phone call to FNM leader
Hubert Ingraham. After the new FNM government was sworn in, Christie was sworn in as
leader of the opposition. In November 2009, Christie was elected, and returned as Leader of the PLP at its Annual General Convention, garnering more than 80% of the vote over Dr.
Bernard Nottage. Christie was
re-elected as Prime Minister of the Bahamas on 7 May 2012. Christie also introduced Value Added Tax at a rate of 7.5%. The money raised from VAT was slated to pay off National Debt. In 2014, Christie was inducted into the
International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, becoming the fourth person from the Bahamas inducted. Multiple human rights violations have been investigated under his leadership, none of which have been solved as of 2015 according to
Tribune 242. In March 2015, that the Prime Minister expressed frustration with the media while navigating these controversies.
10 May 2017 General Elections After a victory by the Free National Movement (FNM), the PLP was defeated in the 10 May 2017 general elections with the FNM winning 35 seats, and the PLP winning only 4 seats. Allegations of corruption and high unemployment were central themes in the campaign, The win also resulted in the unseating of Perry Christie from his Centerville seat by a mere four votes, a constituency which he had represented for 40 consecutive years. ==Cabinet members (2012–2017)==