Gordon Geoffrey Wetherell, CMG (born 11 November 1948) is a British diplomat who was the former

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and n ...

. He was appointed on 5 August 2008, replacing

Richard Tauwhare Richard Tauwhare (; born 1 November 1959) was the tenth Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands, serving from 11 July 2005 to 16 July 2008. He succeeded Governor Jim Poston. Originally from Woking, Unite ...

in the position. On 14 August 2009, he assumed direct political control when the British government imposed

direct rule Direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separatists declared independence ...

on the islands in response to a

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * Unit ...

inquiry which found "information in abundance pointing to a high probability of systematic corruption or serious dishonesty" in the islands' administration under former

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

Michael Misick Michael Eugene Misick (; born 2 February 1966) is a Turks and Caicos Islander politician who was the 7th Chief Minister of the Turks and Caicos Islands from 15 August 2003 to 9 August 2006 and was the 1st Premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands ...

.
BBC News report. He was educated at

Bradfield College Bradfield College, formally St Andrew's College, Bradfield, is a public school (English independent day and boarding school) for pupils aged 11–18, located in the small village of Bradfield in the English county of Berkshire. It is note ...

(in Bradfield, Berkshire), at

New College, Oxford New College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as its feeder school, New College is one of the oldest colleges at th ...

and at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. His Foreign Office career has included service in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament House ...

, and

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

. From 1997 to 2000 he was the British ambassador to Ethiopia (and concurrently non-resident ambassador to Eritrea and Djibouti). He served as ambassador to Luxembourg from 2000 to 2004, and High Commissioner to Ghana from 2004 to 2007. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

(CMG) in the 2011 Birthday Honours. Governor Wetherell's last official meeting in office was with the Advisory Council on 11 August 2011, in Grand Turk. Wetherell departed the

Providenciales Providenciales (known locally as Provo) is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the la ...

, Turks and Caicos, on Sunday, 21 August 2011, ending his term as governor.

References

New governor arrives in Turks and Caicos on Monday
1948 births Living people People educated at Bradfield College Alumni of New College, Oxford University of Chicago alumni Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ethiopia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Eritrea Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Djibouti Governors of the Turks and Caicos Islands Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of HM Diplomatic Service High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Ghana 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats {{TurksCaicos-politician-stub