He succeeded Bruce Golding as Prime Minister and decided to go to the polls in the 29 December 2011 general election in an attempt to get his own mandate from the Jamaican electorate.

He failed in that bid, however, losing to the People's National Party led by Portia Simpson-Miller, with the PNP gaining 42 seats to the JLP's 21.

Following that defeat, Holness served as Leader of the Opposition from January 2012 to March 2016, when he once again assumed the position of prime minister.

[1] In 2020, the Labour Party won a landslide in another general election, and on 7 September Holness was sworn in for another term as Prime Minister.

During his time at VOUCH, Holness completed a Master of Science (MSc) degree in Development Studies at the University of the West Indies.

[6][7] Holness joined the Premium Group of Companies, led by Seaga, and worked as his special assistant and financial manager.

[10] Holness joined the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) in 1992, and became actively involved from 1993, while a student at the University of the West Indies.

[13] After his election, Morris Cargill commented: "I am glad that Andrew Holness won, not out of any narrow political bias, but because it would be good for the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) to have a new young man in its ranks.

He succeeded Bruce Golding as both leader of the JLP and prime minister on 23 October 2011, making him the ninth person to hold the office.

[20] On 3 September 2020, Holness led the JLP to a second consecutive general election victory, but this time by a much larger margin.

[22][23][24] During the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's tour of Jamaica in March 2022, on behalf of the Jamaican monarch,[25] Queen Elizabeth II, and as part of the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of her accession, Holness told the royal couple that their nation was "moving on and we intend to attain in short order our development goals and fulfil our true ambitions as an independent, developed, prosperous country".