The Governor of Saint Helena is the representative of the monarch in Saint Helena, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The current governor of Saint Helena has been Nigel Phillips since 13 August 2022.
The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state and commander-in-chief of Saint Helena. 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 appoints the Chief Minister of Saint Helena and four other members of the Executive Council; the officeholder, with some exceptions, is bound to seek and act in accordance with their advice.
The governor is based on Saint Helena and appointed by the British Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. The governor also appoints three members to Saint Helena's Executive Council (the balance being popularly elected)
The governor's flag in Saint Helena is the Union Flag defaced with the territory's coat of arms. The official residence, Plantation House, 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.
Prior to 2009, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha were dependencies of Saint Helena and therefore directly represented by the Governor of Saint Helena. The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 made Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha equal constituent parts of the territory. Each constituent part has its own government; however, the constitution order states that the Governor of Saint Helena is ex officio also the Governor of Ascension and the Governor of Tristan da Cunha.
Acting governor and the governor's deputy Under 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 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 governorSt Helena Independent 21 January 2011, see page 8 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 from its initial colonization in 1659 to the end of company rule in 1834.
Capt. 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 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 1708–1711 Capt. Benjamin Boucher 1711–1713 Capt. Isaac Pike 1713–1718 Edward Johnson 1718–1722 Capt. John Smith 1722–1726 Edward Byfield 1727–1731 Capt. Isaac Pyke - 1731–1738 John Goodwin - 1738–1741 Capt. Robert Jenkins - 1741–1742 Maj. Thomas Lambert - 1742–1744 Col. David Dunbar - 1744-1746 A framed handwritten calligraphic record on the wall in the Governor's House indicates 1747. Capt. Charles Hutchinson 1746–1764British Magazine 1st Dec 1746, p402 John Skottowe - 1764–1782 Daniel Corneille - 1782–1787 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 1807Maj. V. C. P. Hodson, List of the Officers of the Bengal Army, 1758-1834, part III (London: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., 1946), 481. Colonel William Lane July 1807 - July 1808 Beatson July 1808 - 1813 Mark Wilks 1813–1816 Major-General Sir Hudson Lowe 1816–1821 John Pine Coffin 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 1856 – Sir Edward Drummond-Hay 1863 – Admiral Sir Charles Elliot 1870 – Vice Admiral Charles George Edward Patey 1873 – Hudson Ralph Janisch 1884 – Lieutenant-Colonel Grant Blunt, RE (acting) 1887 – William Grey-Wilson (acting) 1889 – R. L. Antrobus (acting) 1890 – William Grey-Wilson 1897 – Robert Armitage Sterndale 1902 – Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Henry Galway 1912 – Major Sir Harry Cordeaux 1920 – Colonel Robert Peel 1925 – Lieutenant-Colonel Harold Iremonger (Acting Governor) 1925 – Sir Charles Harper 1932 – Sir Spencer Davis 1938 – Sir Guy Pilling 1941 – Major William Bain Gray 1947 – Sir George Joy 1954 – Sir James Harford 1958 – George Albert Lewis (Acting Governor) 1960 – Sir Robert Alford 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 1996 - Brian Walter Money 1999 – David Hollamby 2004 – Michael Clancy 2004 – Martin Hallam (Acting Governor) 2007 – Andrew Gurr 2011 - Andrew Wells (Acting Governor) 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
See also Administrator of Ascension Island Administrator of Tristan da Cunha
References
External links Saint Helena Government
A complete list of the Governors of St. Helena