Juan Watterson

Juan Paul Watterson MHK BA (Hons) ACA (born 4 July 1980^[1]) is a Manx politician, who is a Member of the House of Keys for Rushen, in the Isle of Man.,^[1] He is currently the youngest MHK in the House of Keys.

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Early life

Born in 1980 to John David Watterson and Alison (née Qualtrough). He was educated at Rushen Infants School, Rushen Junior School and Castle Rushen High School.

Career

Watterson is currently the Minister for Home Affairs, Chairman of the Communications Commission and Armed Forces Champion. Formerly he has been a political member of the Department of Local Government and the Environment and Chairman of the Island's Planning Authority,^[2] Until May 2009, he had special responsibility for Housing (DoLGE) and Social Security within the Department of Health and Social Security (DHSS), these roles being the Manx equivalent of a junior minister in the UK. After 10 months as Chairman of the Planning Committee, he was appointed to the Department of Economic Development^[3] with special responsibility for the Island's financial services sector.

He was re-elected in the 2011 General Election with 3,080 votes, the highest number of votes in the island, and the largest in Rushen since the 1986 boundary changes.

At 31 years 102 days, he became the youngest ever member of the Council of Ministers on his appointment as Minister of Home Affairs on 14 October 2011.

• 2001: 1st class degree in Management from the University of Lincoln^[2]
• 2005: Chartered Accountant
• 2006: Elected to House of Keys
• 2011: Re-elected to the House of Keys, appointed Minister for Home Affairs and Chairman of the Communications Commission

Watterson joined the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme^[4] where he is a postgraduate (2012) and Honorary Commander (RN)

Personal life

Watterson has been married to Helena (née Perry) since March 2010, they have 1 daughter together and live in Port St. Mary, Isle of Man.

In December 2011 he infamously vomited on a public bus after attending his Department's (Department of Home Affairs (Isle of Man)) Christmas party, shortly after giving a talk about a need for a "responsible attitude" towards drinking over the festive period. This was featured in a January 2012 edition of Private Eye, as a nominee of the "Don't Do What I Do, Do What I Say" Rotten Borough award. He later apologised for his "lapse of judgement" in "getting a little bit drunk".^[5]

References