Albert Bryan

Albert Bryan Jr. (born February 21, 1968) is an American politician serving since 2019 as the ninth governor of the United States Virgin Islands.

Bryan was born on the island of St. Thomas, to Albert Sr. and Genevieve (Pilgrim) Bryan, the oldest of five sons.

He grew up in the Savan neighborhood of Charlotte Amalie, the territory’s capital.

As a teenager, Bryan moved to St. Croix, where he graduated from St. Dunstan's Episcopal High School in 1985.

Bryan earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics from Wittenberg University in 1989.

He is the second Democrat to unseat a sitting governor since Charles W. Turnbull in 1998.

Bryan launched his reelection bid on May 11, 2022.

In the August 6 primary, he defeated Kent Bernier Sr. with 65.04% of the vote.

He won the November 8 general election, defeating Senator Kurt Vialet and two other candidates with 56% of the vote.

He received a Master of Business Administration from the University of the Virgin Islands St. Croix Campus in 2003.

In 2007, Governor John de Jongh appointed Bryan as Commissioner of the Virgin Islands Department of Labor.

When de Jongh's term ended in 2015, he returned to the private sector.

Bryan was CEO and President of Aabra Group, a consulting firm, and Master Strategies, a recruiting firm.

He also was executive director of the Virgin Islands chapter of Junior Achievement.

Bryan launched the Envision Tomorrow program to assist homeowners and landlords whose properties were damaged by two hurricanes in 2017.

A member of the National Governors Association, Bryan was appointed in February 2021 to co-chair the NGA Task Force on Community Renewal.

On August 27, 2021, he sued to prevent the implementation of Act 8472, which reduces the WAPA board from nine members to seven.

In April 2018, Bryan officially announced his candidacy for governor and chose Tregenza Roach as his running mate.

They won the August 4 Democratic primary with 39.23% of the vote, defeating former Finance commissioner Angel E. Dawson Jr. and former Senator Allison "Allie" Petrus.

The team campaigned on restoring trust to government, stabilizing the economy, modernizing infrastructure, education, healthcare, reducing crime and poverty, affordable housing, and attracting rum distilleries to rescue GERS.

Bryan led the 2018 general election with 38% of the vote and defeated incumbent governor Kenneth Mapp in a runoff with over 55% of the vote.

Bryan was sworn in as the 9th governor of the United States Virgin Islands by Rhys Hodge, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands on January 7, 2019, at the David Monsanto Bandstand, which was built by his grandfather Ulric “Sappy” Pilgrim in Emancipation Gardens on St. Thomas.

Before the ceremony, Bryan and his family attended a inaugural mass at Saints Peter and Paul Cathedral.

The inauguration proceed with military parades and inaugural balls held on all three islands.

Bryan requested an extension to the Sheltering and Temporary Essential Power (STEP) program, which FEMA approved.

Due to shortage of psychiatrists, he issued an executive order declaring a mental healthcare state of emergency in the territory.

In April 2019, Bryan said a new major hotel would be built on St. Croix during his first term.

Bryan paid off all outstanding debt to the Virgin Islands Water & Power Authority for 2019 and prior years, making the government up to date on payments.

In August 2019, Bryan faced criticism from Senators Kurt Vialet and Janelle Sarauw following his response ahead of Hurricane Dorian.

On April 8, Bryan postponed in-person public school classes for remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.

A month after transitioning from "Safer at Home" to the "Open Doors" phase, Bryan required travelers entering the territory from several states such as Arizona, Texas, Florida to show a negative Covid test taken within 72 hours.

He also moved to close beaches early at 4pm starting July 3 to July 5, ahead of the holiday weekend while bars and nightclubs closed at midnight until further notice.

On August 4, Bryan requested the legislature to extend the current State of Emergency order through October 9.

Amid Covid surge, Bryan reinstated his “Stay at Home” phase which shuttered non-essential businesses including churches and school campuses for two weeks.

On September 8, he said that all inbound travelers must provide a negative PCR test upon arrival or face a mandatory 14-day quarantine.

On November 24, Bryan ordered a soft two-week shutdown for government agencies.

On February 1, 2021, he requested from the legislature a 30-day extension of the State of Emergency to March 8.

On March 13, 2020, Bryan declared a state of emergency with the arrival of coronavirus.

On March 19, Bryan lowered gatherings to 10.

Effective March 25, Bryan ordered all non-essential businesses to close and residents stay at home.