Jonathan Le Tocq


Jonathan Paul Le Tocq is a Guernsey politician who served as Chief Minister of Guernsey from 2014 to 2016.

Early life and career

Born in Guernsey, to an old local family, Le Tocq was educated at Elizabeth College, Guernsey before studying in London and Paris.
After working in London, he was ordained into Christian ministry before returning to Guernsey where he became Senior Pastor of Church on the Rock in 1989.

Life in politics

Elected to the office of Deputy in the Castel district in the general election in 2000, at the age of 36, Le Tocq retained his seat in the 2004 election. He did not stand in the 2008 election, but stood again in 2012, winning the seat with 1,575 votes.
In April 2012 he was nominated for the role of Guernsey's chief minister. To qualify for the position those elected need to have served in the States for four of the last eight years. A few days later he remained the sole candidate after Deputy Lyndon Trott withdrew his nomination. After a change in the rules, there was an election and he became the Deputy Chief Minister after losing out to Peter Harwood.
During his tenure as a deputy he sat on the Board of Education, served as President of Overseas Aid, and as Deputy Minister for the Treasury & Resources Department. From May 2012 to March 2014 he was Guernsey's Home Minister.

Chief Minister

Peter Harwood resigned as Chief Minister on 25 February 2014. An election was held and Le Tocq was elected Chief Minister of Guernsey on 12 March 2014, a post he held until 4 May 2016.
Among more prominent public duties, in June 2014, Le Tocq hosted a meeting of the British–Irish Council in Guernsey. The UK's Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, Taoiseach of Ireland Enda Kenny, First Minister of Northern Ireland Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland Martin McGuinness were amongst those attending. In January 2015, Le Tocq, and the Chief Minister of Jersey, Senator Ian Gorst, signed an agreement with La Manche and Lower Normandy to develop new links and strengthen existing relationships. Le Tocq and Gorst later paid a joint visit to Brussels on 5–7 May 2015, meeting with two EU Commissioners; Pierre Moscovici, the Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, and Lord Hill, the Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Markets and Customs Union.
In September 2015, Le Tocq met the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon. His term as Chief Minister ended on 4 May 2016. He was re-elected as a Deputy in the 2016 election, and was subsequently elected a member of the Policy and Resources Committee.

Self-description of views

In 2013 he stated "True leadership involves having the strength of conviction to engage proactively and positively with alternative views to your own, and not just being tossed about by every wind and whim of public opinion, never mind where it originates from."