The Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's

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 ...

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha including Gough Island. Its name wa ...

. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the official advice of

His Majesty's Government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

(HMG). The role of the governor is to act as the ''

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with ''de jure'' ("by la ...

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...

as well as the ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' ( ; , "by law") describes practices that are legally recognized, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. In contrast, ("in fact") describes situations that exist in reality, even if not legally ...

head of government The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...

and commander-in-chief of the territory, which consists of the islands of Saint Helena and Ascension and the group of islands of

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint Helena a ...

. The governor's responsibilities include internal security, external affairs, the administration of justice, finance, shipping and employment, as well as disciplinary action in respect of any public officer. The governor is based on Saint Helena and is represented by resident administrators, appointed by HMG, on both Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha. The governor also appoints three members to Saint Helena's Executive Council (the balance being popularly elected); the officeholder, with some exceptions, is bound to seek and act in accordance with their advice. The governor's flag in Saint Helena is the

Union Flag The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. ...

defaced with the territory's coat of arms. The official residence,

Plantation House A plantation house is the main house of a plantation, often a substantial farmhouse, which often serves as a symbol for the plantation as a whole. Plantation houses in the Southern United States and in other areas are known as quite grand and e ...

, is located near the capital Jamestown. The Governor's Office is located within The Castle, along with the office of the Chief Secretary of Saint Helena, who runs the day-to-day administrative part of the government. Before 2009 the territory was known as Saint Helena, of which Ascension and Tristan da Cunha were dependencies. A new constitution that came into force in 2009 changed the name of the territory to Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha; however, the Governor's title remained as the "Governor of Saint Helena". The Governor of Saint Helena nonetheless is the British monarch's representative across the territory. The current Governor of Saint Helena has been Nigel Phillips since 13 August 2022.

Acting Governor and the Governor's Deputy

Unde
the St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009
an Acting Governor is appointed when the office of Governor is vacant or the Governor is unable to fulfill his or her duties long term. The Acting Governor is appointed by His Majesty The King. If the governor is off the island for a short time (including visits to Ascension or Tristan da Cunha) or is ill for a short period), the governor may appoint anyone on St Helena to be Deputy. The Deputy must follow any instructions issued by the Governor. It is current practice to appoint an Acting Governor when the Governor is away from the island of Saint Helena, even if visiting either Ascension Island or Tristan da Cunha. In recent years the Chief Secretary (or the Attorney General) has taken on this temporary role in the Governor's absence, the most recent times being in January 2011 when the Governor travelled to Tristan da Cunha and the Chief Secretary became Deputy Governor and then later in 2011 when Kenneth Baddon, the Attorney General, became Deputy Governor.

List of governors of Saint Helena

East India Company governors

The territory was governed by the

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and South ...

from its initial colonization in 1659 to the end of Company rule in 1834. *

Capt. Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

John Dutton 1659–1660 * Capt. Robert Stringer 1660–1669 * Capt. Richard Coney 1669–1672 * Capt. Anthony Beal 1672–73 * ''Dutch East India Company interregnum'' – ''January to May 1673'' * Capt. Richard Keigwin 1673–1674 (interim) * Capt. Gregory Field 1674–1678 * Maj.

John Blackmore John Blackmore was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1654. Blackmore was the son of John Blackmore of Exeter, Devon. He matriculated at Exeter College, Oxford on 12 December 1634, aged 18. He was awarded BA on 16 January ...

1678–1690 * Capt. Joshua Johnson 1690–1693 – ''assassinated, whilst Governor, on the island'' * Capt. Richard Keling 1693–1697 * Capt. Stephen Poirier 1697–1707 * Capt.

John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...

1708–1711 * Capt. Benjamin Boucher 1711–1713 * Capt. Isaac Pike 1713–1718 * Edward Johnson 1718–1722 * Capt. John Smith 1722–1726 * Edward Byfiel 1727–1731 * Capt. Charles Hutchinson 1746–1764 * Sir Robert Brooke 1788–1800 * Francis Robson 13 Jul 1801 – 11 Mar 1802, Acting Governor and East India Company officer * Colonel Robert Patton Mar 1802 – July 1807 * Mark Wilks 1813–1816 *

Major-General Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of a ...

Sir Hudson Lowe 1816–1821 *

John Pine Coffin Major-general (United Kingdom), Major-General John Pine Coffin (1778 – 1830) was an English army officer and colonial administrator who served as Governor of Saint Helena, Governor of St. Helena 1821–23. Life Napoleonic Wars John Pin ...

1821–1823 * Brigadier General Alexander Walker 1823–1828 * Charles Dallas 1828–1834

British Crown governors

Following on from St Helena becoming a crown colony in 1834, the first governor was appointed in 1836. * 1836 – Major General George Middlemore * 1842 – Colonel Hamelin Trelawny * 1846 – Major General Sir Patrick Ross * 1851 – Colonel Sir

Thomas Gore Browne Colonel Sir Thomas Robert Gore Browne, (3 July 1807 – 17 April 1887) was a British colonial administrator, who was Governor of St Helena, Governor of New Zealand, Governor of Tasmania and Governor of Bermuda. Early life Browne was born o ...

* 1856 – Sir Edward Drummond-Hay * 1863 – Admiral Sir

Charles Elliot Admiral Sir Charles Elliot (15 August 1801 – 9 September 1875) was a British Royal Navy officer, diplomat, and colonial administrator. He became the first Administrator of Hong Kong in 1841 while serving as both Plenipotentiary and Chief Su ...

* 1870 – Vice Admiral

Charles George Edward Patey Admiral Charles George Edward Patey (27 February 1811 – 25 March 1881) was a British Royal Navy officer. Born at Chivelstone in Devon, England, Patey was the eldest son of Commander Charles Patey. The young Charles followed his father into the ...

* 1873 –

Hudson Ralph Janisch Hudson Ralph Janisch (died 1890) was Governor of St Helena from 1873 until his death in 1890. He is the only St Helena-born governor of the island. During his tenure as Governor, he was forbidden to reside at Plantation House A plantation hou ...

* 1890 – Sir

William Grey-Wilson Sir William Grey-Wilson (7 April 1852 – 14 February 1926) was a British colonial administrator. He was born William Wilson, the son of Andrew Wilson, Inspector-General of Hospitals, Honorable East India Company and his wife Catherine Grey. H ...

* 1897 – Robert Armitage Sterndale * 1903 – Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry Galway * 1912 – Major Sir Harry Cordeaux * 1920 – Colonel Robert Peel * 1925 – Lieutenant-Colonel

Harold Iremonger Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Edward William Iremonger, DSO (20 September 1882 – 9 November 1937) was an officer in the Royal Marine Artillery who later served as acting Governor of Saint Helena. Early life Harold Iremonger, eldest son of the Rev. ...

(Acting Governor) * 1925 – Sir Charles Harper * 1932 – Sir

Spencer Davis Spencer Davis (born Spencer David Nelson Davies; 17 July 193919 October 2020) was a Welsh singer and musician. He founded The Spencer Davis Group, a band that had several hits in the 1960s including "Keep On Running", "Gimme Some Lovin'", and ...

* 1938 – Sir Guy Pilling * 1941 – Major William Bain Gray * 1947 – Sir George Joy * 1954 – Sir

James Harford Sir James Dundas Harford (7 January 1899 – 26 November 1993) was a British diplomat who served as Governor of Saint Helena from 1954 to 1958. Biography A direct descendant of John Scandrett Harford of Blaise Castle, he was educated at R ...

* 1958 – George Albert Lewis (Acting Governor) * 1960 – Sir

Robert Alford Robert J. Alford (born December 10, 1950 in Edson, Alberta) is a Canadian politician. He married in 1975 and raised two daughters. Education Alford graduated from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (S.A.I.T.) in 1971 with a diploma i ...

* 1963 – Sir John Field * 1969 – Sir Dermod Murphy * 1971 – Sir Thomas Oates * 1976 – Geoffrey Colin Guy * 1981 – John Dudley Massingham * 1984 – Francis Eustace Baker * 1988 – Robert F Stimson * 1991 – Alan Hoole * 1995 – David Leslie Smallman * 1999 – David Hollamby * 2004 –

Michael Clancy Michael John Clancy (31 March 1949 – 23 February 2010)Profile
ukwhoswho.com; accessed 1 M ...

* 2004 – Martin Hallam (Acting Governor) * 2007 – Andrew Gurr * 2011 – Kevin Baddon (Acting Governor) * 2011 – Mark Andrew Capes * 2016 – Lisa Honan * 2019 – Louise MacMorran (Acting Governor) * 2019 – Dr Philip Rushbrook * 2022 – Greg Gibson (Acting Governor) * 2022 – Nigel Phillips

References

External links