Gorst, who succeeds Terry le Sueur as chief minister, defeated Sen Sir Philip Bailhache by getting 27 out of the 51 votes cast. He will be Jersey’s third chief minister.
According to press reports, Gorst said he would choose as his treasury minister either Sen Ian Le Marquand or Deputy John le Fondre. The election represented the first time that Jersey’s chief minister was chosen on the basis of an open vote.
Ministers in the new government will be chosen on Thursday.
Gorst first took office as a deputy of Jersey’s St Clement parish in December, 2005, before subsequently becoming a senator in the most recent election. In 2008 he became minister for Employment and Social Security in the Council of Ministers, where his background as an accountant was seen to have been an asset.
During his time in this role, he oversaw the introduction of a number of measures, including schemes aimed at getting people back to work, and the raising of the pension age to 67.
