Governor of Pitcairn

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Politics of the Pitcairn Islands
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The Governor of Pitcairn[1] is the representative of the British monarch in the Pitcairn Islands, the last remaining British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. Despite technically being under the authority of the colonial governor, Pitcairn has local autonomy.

Because of the dependency's small population (it peaked at 233 in the 1930s, and has since dwindled to 50), the British never considered it worthwhile to station a resident governor on Pitcairn. Instead, the Governor of Fiji doubled as governor of Pitcairn from 1898 onward. When Fiji became independent in 1970, the governorship of Pitcairn was transferred to the British high commissioner to New Zealand. The office is currently held by Iona Thomas.

Throughout the island's history, the authority of the British governor was almost never used. An exception was Governor Richard Fell's dismissal of Mayor Steve Christian, who was convicted in the Pitcairn sexual assault trial of 2004.

List of governors since 1970

Pitcairn Islands
No. Name
(Birth–Death) 		Title Portrait Tenure Notes Monarch
From Until
1 Sir Arthur Norman Galsworthy
(1916-1986) 		Governor of Pitcairn October 1970 January 1973
Elizabeth II
2 Sir David Aubrey Scott
(1919–2010) 		Governor of Pitcairn January 1973 1975 [2]
3 Sir Harold Smedley
(1920–2004) 		Governor of Pitcairn February 1976 1980 [3]
4 Richard Stratton
(?–?) 		Governor of Pitcairn September 1980 1984 [4]
5 Terence Daniel O'Leary
(1928–2006) 		Governor of Pitcairn July 1984 1987
6 Robin Byatt
(1930–2019) 		Governor of Pitcairn December 1987 1990
7 David Moss
(born 1938) 		Governor of Pitcairn September 1990 1994
8 Robert John Alston
(born 1938) 		Governor of Pitcairn August 1994 10 February 1998
9 Martin Williams
(born 1941) 		Governor of Pitcairn April 1998 2001
10 Richard Fell
(born 1948) 		Governor of Pitcairn 10 December 2001 April 2006
11 George Fergusson
(born 1955) 		Governor of Pitcairn 2 May 2006 18 May 2010
– Mike Cherrett
(?–?) 		Acting
Governor of Pitcairn[citation needed] 		19 May 2010 3 June 2010
12 Victoria "Vicki" Treadell
(born 1959) 		Governor of Pitcairn 3 June 2010 July 2014
13 Jonathan Sinclair
(born 1970[citation needed]) 		Governor of Pitcairn 15 August 2014 9 December 2017
– Robin Shackell
(?–?) 		Acting
Governor of Pitcairn[citation needed] 		9 December 2017 25 January 2018
14 Laura Clarke
(born 1978) 		Governor of Pitcairn 25 January 2018 7 July 2022
15 Iona Thomas Governor of Pitcairn 9 August 2022 Incumbent

Charles III

See also

References

  1. ^ While the territory is commonly called 'Pitcairn Islands', the official title of the office of her governor is 'Governor of Pitcairn' under section 27(1) of the Pitcairn Constitution Order, 2010 Archived 10 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine.
  2. ^ From 1 January 1974, Sir David Aubrey Scott.
  3. ^ From 31 December 1977, Sir Harold Smedley.
  4. ^ From 1982, Sir Richard Stratton.
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