# Norman Saunders (politician)

Norman Benjamin Saunders Sr. (born 27 October 1943) is a Turks and Caicos Islander former politician who served as the 3rd Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 4 November 1980 to 28 March 1985. Saunders is also the longest-serving Member of the House of Assembly in the Turks and Caicos Islands, nearing 50 years of service, the first Chief Minister to win consecutive elections in 1980 and 1984, the only politician in the nation to win as an independent candidate, and the first Leader of the Opposition.

## Initial political career

In 1967, Saunders was elected as a Member of the Legislative Council for South Caicos under the Progressive National Party at the age of 23, making him the youngest elected official at the time.
In 1976, after a 5–4–2 result in the election, and the two independent candidates siding with the People's Democratic Movement, Saunders became the first Leader of the Opposition in the Turks and Caicos Islands.
However, after 4 years, Saunders lead the Progressive National party to an 8–3 victory which resulted in the party getting re-elected as the government in 1985. At this point, Saunders led the party to both the largest mandate, and the first consecutive victory in the nation, which has only happened two other times in history.

## Conspiracy conviction

Saunders was arrested in March 1985 together with Commerce and Development Minister Stafford Missick. Saunders was alleged by the US Drug Enforcement Administration to have accepted $30,000 from undercover agents to ensure safe passage of drugs by permitting safe stopover refuelling of drug flights from Colombia to the United States. Video evidence showed Saunders accepting $20,000 from an agent. Saunders was convicted in July 1985 of conspiracy, though he was acquitted of the charge of conspiring to import drugs into the United States (which Missick was also convicted of). He was sentenced to eight years in prison and fined $50,000.

## Later political career

After completing his prison sentence, in January 1995, Saunders was elected back to the Legislative Council as an independent candidate representing South Caicos South. Saunders wife, Emily, represented the South Caicos North seat.
In 2003, Saunders ran as a member of the Progressive National Party which formed the government.
In 2007, Saunders was a part of, at the time, the largest mandate in the Turks and Caicos Islands' House of Assembly history, when the Progressive National Party won 13-2 seats.
Saunders ran as a member of the Progressive National Party and held his seat upon retirement in 2016.

## Norman B. Saunders Sr. International Airport

On May 24, 2024, the Turks and Caicos Islands Airports Authority (TCIAA) honoured the legacy of Honourable Norman B. Saunders Sr. with a ceremony marking the official renaming of the South Caicos International Airport to the Norman B. Saunders Sr. International Airport.
On March 15, 2025, American Airlines' inaugural direct flight from Miami to South Caicos (Flight AA 3815) landed at the Norman B. Saunders Sr. International Airport. Hon. Saunders brought remarks at the event stating,
   "South Caicos is seeing a new day today, and I’m proud to be in the midst of it… But I would like to remind the audience that this is not the first international flight for South Caicos. We’ve had Southeastern Airlines fly here many, many years ago when there was only one international airport in the whole Turks and Caicos Islands. So, this is a return to our past days.
   But truly, we are looking forward to a bright and prosperous future because I think this flight, and others that will follow, will do a lot to boost the economy of South Caicos. So, we take this opportunity to welcome all of you here. We hope you enjoy this day, and we trust that you will cooperate with the government and all other entities within the country that will be boosting tourism.
   We want to do it right. That was what I told the Premier several weeks ago. We don’t want to mess it up… so all of us have a responsibility to do what is right to make sure we control what is happening."