Christian was born and raised on Pitcairn[1] and is the daughter of former island political leader Ivan Christian and his wife Verna Carlene "Dobrey" Young. She lived in the United Kingdom for a time, but returned to the island around 1999 and has served as the island's sole police officer. Except for 2003, she has been a member of the Island Council continuously since 2000.[2]
She stood for election in her own right,[3] but in the special election held on 15 December, she was defeated by Jay Warren, the former Magistrate (whose office was renamed Mayor in 1999 following a constitutional revision). Her stated goal as mayor of the Pitcairn Islands was to make the islands a more attractive destination for tourism.
In 2004 Brenda Christian served the territory as its first female Mayor from 8 November[1] to 15 December 2004. She was appointed to the Mayoralty in an interim capacity by the Island Council, following her brother Steve Christian's dismissal by the colonialGovernor, in the wake of his child rape convictions on 30 October 2004.
