John James Rankin, (born 12 March 1957) is a British diplomat and a former ambassador to Nepal. He is the current

Governor of the British Virgin Islands The Governor of the Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Virgin Islands. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The r ...

. He was

Governor of Bermuda The Governor of Bermuda (fully the ''Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the Somers Isles (alias the Islands of Bermuda)'') is the representative of the British monarch in the British overseas territory of Bermuda. For the purposes of this a ...

from December 2016 to December 2020.

Early life and education

Rankin was born on 12 March 1957. He was educated at Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School, an

independent school An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British Eng ...

in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied

Scots law Scots law () is the legal system of Scotland. It is a hybrid or mixed legal system containing civil law and common law elements, that traces its roots to a number of different historical sources. Together with English law and Northern Ireland l ...

at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, graduating with a first class honours

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

degree. He later studied

international law International law (also known as public international law and the law of nations) is the set of rules, norms, and standards generally recognized as binding between states. It establishes normative guidelines and a common conceptual framework for ...

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, graduating with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

degree.

Career

Legal career

Rankin qualified and practised as a

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

in Scotland; he was a member of the

Law Society of Scotland The Law Society of Scotland is the professional governing body for Scottish solicitors. It promotes excellence among solicitors through the support and regulation of its members. It also promotes the interests of the public in relation to the ...

. He was additionally a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

public law Public law is the part of law that governs relations between legal persons and a government, between different institutions within a state, between different branches of governments, as well as relationships between persons that are of direct ...

at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

from 1984 to 1988.

Diplomatic career

Rankin joined the

Foreign and Commonwealth Office The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is a Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom, department of the Government of the United Kingdom. Equivalent to other countries' Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ministries of fore ...

(FCO) in 1988. Between posts at the FCO, he served at the embassy in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

and was the consul-general at

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. He took up his appointment as High Commissioner to

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and non-resident High Commissioner to the

Maldives Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...

in February 2011. In 2015, he was appointed

Ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

. 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

2016 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 2016 were appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms to various orders and honours to recognise and reward good works by citizens of those countries. The New Year Honours are awarded as part of the New Year celebrati ...

Governor

Rankin was sworn in as Governor of Bermuda on 5 December 2016. In February 2018, signed into law the Domestic Partnership Act 2018, which effectively reversed the right of gay couples to marry. This made Bermuda the first jurisdiction to legalise and then repeal same-sex marriage rights. The law relating to same-sex marriage in Bermuda could change again, as the Supreme Court stated in June 2018 that repealing same-sex marriage rights was discriminatory and thus contrary to section 12 of the Bermudian Constitution. In September 2020, it was announced that Rankin would be replacing

Gus Jaspert Augustus James Ulysses "Gus" Jaspert (born 1979) is a British diplomat who was previously the Governor of the British Virgin Islands. He was sworn into office on 22 August 2017. He left office on 23 January 2021, and was succeeded by John Ran ...

in 2021. As such, he was replaced in December 2020 by Rena Lalgie as Governor of Bermuda. Rankin was sworn in as Governor of the British Virgin Islands on 29 January 2021, after arriving in the territory and observing the mandatory 14-day quarantine due to COVID-19.

Personal life

Rankin was married to Lesley Marshall from 1987 until they divorced in 2019. He has a son and two daughters.

Publications

''The Right of Self-determination: Its Nature, Content and Beneficiaries in International Law''
McGill University, 1984

References

John Rankin
gov.uk
RANKIN, John James
''Who's Who 2013'', A & C Black, 2013; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2012 {{DEFAULTSORT:Rankin, John James 1957 births Living people People educated at Hutchesons' Grammar School Alumni of the University of Glasgow McGill University Faculty of Law alumni Academics of the University of Aberdeen High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Sri Lanka High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to the Maldives Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Nepal Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Governors of Bermuda Governors of the British Virgin Islands