The Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory is the head of government in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

overseas territory A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or an ...

of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The Commissioner is appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Commissioner does not reside in the territory, as it has had no native population since the forced depopulation of the Chagossian people in the 1970s, and the only population is the military of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and the

at the joint base at

Diego Garcia Diego Garcia is an island of the British Indian Ocean Territory, a disputed overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It is a militarised atoll just south of the equator in the central Indian Ocean, and the largest of the 60 small islands of ...

. The Commissioner's role is to administer the territory on behalf of the British government. This involves the passing of any necessary legislation for the territory, usually

Orders in Council An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council (''King ...

or Statutory Instruments. The Commissioner is also responsible for liaising with the

military of the United States The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is th ...

in matters concerning the territory. An

Administrator of the British Indian Ocean Territory Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

acts as the Commissioner's assistant. The Commissioner also appoints a representative on the territory, who is the senior British military officer at Diego Garcia. The current Commissioner is

Ben Merrick Benjamin Robert Merrick is a British civil servant who was Director of Overseas Territories at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office from August 2017 until July 2021. He held the position of Commissioner of the British Antarctic Ter ...

. Since 1998, the Commissioner of the BIOT has also served as Commissioner of the British Antarctic Territory. Unlike the other governors and commissioners of other British overseas territories, there is no separate flag for the Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory. This is mainly because he is never resident in the territory, and he would be unable to fly any flag from his offices in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.

List of commissioners

* 1965–1967: The Earl of Oxford and Asquith * 1967–1969: Sir Hugh Selby Norman-Walker * 1969–1973: Sir Bruce Greatbatch * 1973–1976: Colin Hamilton Allan * 1976:

Norman Aspin Norman Aspin CMG (11 November 1922 – 25 July 2011) was a British diplomat who served as British High Commissioner to Malta from 1976 to 1979 and oversaw the transition of Rhodesia into the modern day state of Zimbabwe. Early life Born in ...

* 1976–1979: Philip Robert Aked Mansfield * 1979–1982: John Adam Robson * 1982–1985: William Nigel Wenban-Smith * 1985–1988: William Marsden * 1988–1991: Richard John Smale Edis * 1991–1994: Thomas George Harris * 1994–1996:

David Ross MacLennan David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

* 1996–1998: Bruce Harry Dinwiddy * 1998: Christopher Edward John Wilton * 1998–2001: Charles John Branford White * 2001–2004: Alan Edden Huckle * 2004–2006: Anthony Campbell Crombie * 2006–2008: Robert Leigh Turner * 2008–2012: Colin Roberts * 2012–2016: Dr Peter Richard Hayes * 2016–2017:

John Kittmer John Kittmer (born 6 July 1967) is a British former diplomat. He was formerly the Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory jointly with the British Antarctic Territory. Education Kittmer was born in Sussex in 1967. From the years 197 ...

* 2017–2021: Benjamin Robert Merrick * 2021–present:

Paul Candler Paul Candler is a British civil servant. Since 2021, he serves as the Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territory (succeeding Ben Merrick), Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory (succeeding Ben Merrick), and Director, Oversea ...

References

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