The Governor of the British Virgin Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

's overseas territory of British Virgin Islands

British Virgin Islands

The Virgin Islands, often called the British Virgin Islands , is a British overseas territory and overseas territory of the European Union, located in the Caribbean to the east of Puerto Rico. The islands make up part of the Virgin Islands archipelago, the remaining islands constituting the U.S...

. The Governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. The role of the Governor is to act as the de facto head of state

Head of State

A head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...

, and he or she is responsible for appointing the Chief Minister and the Executive Council.

The current Governor is William Boyd McCleary.

The Governor has his own flag, the Union Flag

Union Flag

The Union Flag, also known as the Union Jack, is the flag of the United Kingdom. It retains an official or semi-official status in some Commonwealth Realms; for example, it is known as the Royal Union Flag in Canada. It is also used as an official flag in some of the smaller British overseas...

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

Official residence

An official residence is the residence at which heads of state, heads of government, gubernatorial or other senior figures officially reside...

 of the Governor is Government House

Government House, British Virgin Islands

Government House, located in Road Town, Tortola is the official residence of the Governor of the British Virgin Islands.The original structure dating back to 1899 was destroyed by a hurricane in 1924. The present structure was built on the same site in 1925-26 and was the home of Commissioners,...

 located in Road Town

Road Town

-See also:* Government House, the official residence of the Governor of the British Virgin Islands located in Road Town-External links:*****...

, Tortola

Tortola

Tortola is the largest and most populated of the British Virgin Islands, a group of islands that form part of the archipelago of the Virgin Islands. Local tradition recounts that Christopher Columbus named it Tortola, meaning "land of the Turtle Dove". Columbus named the island Santa Ana...

.

History

The first colonial administration on the Islands was the Dutch

Dutch Empire

The Dutch Empire consisted of the overseas territories controlled by the Dutch Republic and later, the modern Netherlands from the 17th to the 20th century. The Dutch followed Portugal and Spain in establishing an overseas colonial empire, but based on military conquest of already-existing...

. England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 annexed the Islands in 1672. An Administrator was appointed to the Islands from 1887, and replaced by a Governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 in 1971 when the Islands were created a distinct territory.

Prior to this date, the local Council would elect one of their members to be President (see List of Presidents of the British Virgin Islands).

Up until 1971 the Administrators were answerable to the Governors of the Leeward Islands, of which the British Virgin Islands formed a part.

List of Administrators of the British Virgin Islands

• Edward John Cameron (1887–1894)
• Alexander R. Mackay (1894–1896)
• Nathaniel George Cookman (1896–1903)
• Robert Stephen Earl (1903–1910)
• Thomas Leslie Hardtman Jarvis (1910–1919)
• Herbert Walter Peebles (1919–1922)
• R. Hargrove (1922–1923)
• Otho Lewis Hancock (1923–1926)
• Frank Cecil Clarkson (1926–1934)
• Donald Percy Wailling (1934–1946)
• John Augustus Cockburn Cruikshank (1946–1954)
• Henry Anthony Camillo Howard
  Henry Anthony Camillo Howard
  Henry Anthony Camillo Howard was a British journalist, military officer, and colonial leader in the Caribbean.- Early life and family :...
  
   (1954–1956)
• Geoffrey Pole Allesbrook (1956–1959)
• Gerald Jackson Bryan (1959–1962)
• Martin Samuel Staveley (1962–1967)
• Sir John Sutherland (Ian) Thomson (1967–1971)

List of Governors of the British Virgin Islands

• Derek George Cudmore (1971–1974)
• Walter Wilkinson Wallace (1974–1978)
• James Alfred Davidson
  James Alfred Davidson
  James Alfred Davidson, OBE, naval commander and diplomat, was born on March 22, 1922. He died on May 6, 2004, aged 82. During the Second World War James Davidson served in every theatre of the war at sea...
  
   (1978–1982)
• David Robert Barwick (1982–1986)
• J. Mark A. Herdman (1986–1991)
• Peter Alfred Penfold (1991–1995)
• David Mackilligin (1995–1998)
• Frank Savage (1998–2002)
• Elton Georges (acting) (2002)
• Tom Macan
  Tom Macan
  Thomas Townley Macan was educated at Shrewsbury School and the University of Sussex, where he was President of the Student Union. He was Governor and Commander-in-Chief of the British Virgin Islands, an overseas territory of the United Kingdom in the Caribbean Sea, from 14 October 2002 to 10...
  
   (2002–2006)
• Dancia Penn
  Dancia Penn
  Ruth Dancia Penn, OBE, QC is a British Virgin Islands politician and former deputy governor of the British Virgin Islands from September 20, 2004 to April 1, 2007...
  
   (acting) (2006)
• David Pearey
  David Pearey
  David Pearey was the Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 18 April 2006 to 5 August 2010. He was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the British government, to represent the Queen in the territory, and to act as the de facto head of state.Prior to his appointment as Governor,...
  
   (2006–2010)
• Inez Archibald (acting) (2010)
• William Boyd McCleary (2010–present)

External links

• Government of the British Virgin Islands - The Governor's Office