Team and Contact Information

The Honorable Michael B. Halkitis was born on February 1st, 1969, in Nassau, Bahamas. He attended St Augustine’s College and began his post-secondary education at the College of the Bahamas and earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario. Mr. Halkitis qualified as a Chartered Financial Analyst in 1995.

Mr. Halkitis was elected to The Parliament of The Bahamas in 2002, 2012 and 2026; and served as Parliamentary Secretary in the Ministry of Finance (2002 -2007), Minister of State for Finance (2012 -2017) and Minister of Economic Affairs (2021-2026). He currently serves as Minister of Finance.

His portfolio responsibilities include Government Finance (Treasury Department and Customs Department) and Borrowings Revenue, Inland Revenue (Department of Inland Revenue), Budgeting & Planning, Banks and Trust Companies, Auctions, Central Bank of the Bahamas, Bahamas Development Bank, Bank Banks and Trust Companies, Post Office Savings Bank, Credit Unions, Auctions, Business Licenses and Valuations Guarantee Loans (Tourism Development), First-Time Homeowners Tax Exemption Program, Relations with the Insurance Commission, Bank of The Bahamas, Public Procurement, Relations and Multilateral Financial Institutions, Administration of Tax Information, Exchange Agreements, Relations with the Securities Commission, National Investment Fund and Financial Intelligence Unit .

Under his many years of leadership, the Bahamas’ Ministry of Finance was not only brought into the modern age through the digitization of its operations, but also through the implementation of major taxation reforms which have been applauded for their seamless integration. He managed the nation’s trade, financial services industry, with an aim to improve our country’s ease of doing business, and directed our country’s digitization efforts. As Minister of Finance he will develop policies and manage resources to maximize sustainable socio-economic growth and stability, and will continue to work with the private sector to improve the ease of doing business and facilitate private sector involvement in economic development.

Mr. Wilson was appointed Financial Secretary on January 1, 2016. He holds a
Bachelors of Science degree (Hons.) in Economics from the University of the West
Indies and a Master’s degree in Economics from Florida State University.

Mr. Wilson has over 30 years of experience in the Ministry of Finance having
served in various capacities including Deputy Financial Secretary and Head of the
Economics Unit.

Ms. Cartwright was appointed to the post of Budget Director with effect from 1st October, 2018. She holds a Bachelors of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Western Ontario, Canada.

Ms. Cartwright has more than 30 years of experience in the Ministry of Finance, and previously held the position of Senior Director of Finance in the Revenue and Budget Sections.

Ms. Christine M. Thompson graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Master of Science in
Finance from Golden Gate University in San Francisco and was bestowed the
distinguish Graduate Finance Award. She also graduated Summa Cum Laude from
State University of New York (SUNY) at Buffalo with a Bachelor of Science in
Economics and Business.

Ms. Thompson begun her illustrious career in the Ministry of Finance in 1993 were she
matriculated from Assistant Economist to her present day positon as Senior Deputy
Director of the Economic Unit. Her duties in this position includes providing policy
advice to the Minister of Finance on the many and varied issues under the purview of
the Ministry of Finance, liaising with the international development institutions and debt
management.

During her career at the Ministry of Finance, Ms. Thompson has sat on numerous
committees that had responsibility for achieving many milestones for Government. One
of particular note is the committee responsible for bringing a second
telecommunications company to The Bahamas. Ms. Thompson has also been a
member of the Board of Directors at the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) for the
past 7 years and a member of the Board of Directors at the Inter-American
Development Bank (IDB) for 3 years.

Joycelyn Gilbert is an experienced professional with over 20 years of expertise in Government Financial matters.

In her most recent role as the Director of Revenue, Gilbert has consistently delivered results by implementing coordinated revenue activities that ensure revenue projections are achieved.

Gilbert served as Senior Director of Finance, Macro Fiscal Unit, after serving in the Budget
Section for many years. She holds a Master of Business Administration Degree, specializing in Financial Management, City University, Seattle, Washington, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Bethune Cookman University, formerly known as Bethune Cookman College.

She is a certified youth leader and has a Taylor University Trauma Informed Care Certificate in collaboration with the Government. Joycelyn Gilbert is a Certified Grief Counselor by The
American Academy of Grief Counseling, a division of the American Institute of Health Care
Professional and she is a published author.

Please direct mail to:

Cecil Wallace-Whitfield Centre,

West Bay Street

P.O.Box N-3017

Nassau, N.P., Bahamas