State House (formerly Government House) located in Georgetown, is the

official residence An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless of whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either their own or that of th ...

of the

president of Guyana The president of Guyana is the head of state and the head of government of Guyana, as well as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces of the Republic, according to the Constitution of Guyana. The president is also the chancellor of the Orde ...

. It was previously the official residence of the

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

British Guiana British Guiana was a British colony, part of the mainland British West Indies. It was located on the northern coast of South America. Since 1966 it has been known as the independent nation of Guyana. The first known Europeans to encounter Guia ...

before the colony gained independence and became

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

. The original structure was built in 1823 on a small piece of land belonging to the first Anglican Bishop to British Guiana, William Piercy Austin. It was then purchased by the British government in 1853, and described as "a two-storey timber structure with a double stairway facing Carmichael Street, which stood on two-metre (eight feet)-high brick pillars". Additional improvements were made to the building in the early 20th century, and the entrance was relocated to Main Street It was the residence of the Governor General and in 1970, the country's first president,

Arthur Chung Arthur Raymond Chung (10 January 1918 – 23 June 2008) was a Guyanese politician who served as the first president of Guyana from 17 March 1970 to 6 October 1980.

, resided there. Former presidents

Forbes Burnham Linden Forbes Sampson Burnham (20 February 1923 – 6 August 1985) was a Guyanese politician and the leader of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana from 1964 until his death in 1985. He served as Prime Minister of Guyana, Premier of British Guia ...

and Hugh Desmond Hoyte resided instead in Castellani House, which now houses the Guyana National Art Gallery. In 1992, Dr. Cheddi Jagan, after being elected president, moved into State House and since then it has served as the official residence of the President of Guyana. This building is a collection of additions, but there are a few distinctive characteristics such as the Georgian six-paned windows and the Demerara windows. To its east is Promenade Gardens (across Carmichael Street). The building has been designated as one of Guyana's 9 national monuments. A repainting of the State House in 2015 became highly politicized as the residing president,

David A. Granger David Arthur Granger (born 15 July 1945) is a Guyanese former politician and retired military officer who served as the ninth president of Guyana from 2015 to 2020. A member of the People’s National Congress (PNC), he previously served as Com ...

, changed the color from white to green. The decision was seen as infringing on the authority of the National Trust of Guyana, which was founded in 1972 to preserve places of historical interest.

References

{{Buildings in Guyana British Guiana Government buildings completed in 1853 Government Houses of the British Empire and Commonwealth National monuments in Guyana Official residences in Guyana Presidential residences

See also

References