The governor of Tristan de Cunha is the representative of the monarch in Tristan da Cunha, 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 role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state. Prior to 2009 Tristan de Cunha was a dependency 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 Island, and Tristan da Cunha equal constituent parts of the territory with their own governments and established the position of Governor of Tristan da Cunha. Per Section 208 of the Constitution Order the person appointed as Governor of Saint Helena is ex officio Governor of Tristan da Cunha. However, as Tristan da Cunha is 1350 mi away from Saint Helena, an administrator of Tristan da Cunha is appointed to act as the governor's representative on the Island. This arrangement predates the current constitutional structure and the first Administrator was appointed in the 1940s. Previously the administrator also acted as the local magistrate, but the appointment is to be transferred to a non-member of the executive or legislative branches of government.

History

The first administrator, appointed during World War II, was Surgeon Lieutenant Commander E. J. S. Woolley, the head of the 16-man British naval garrison on the island which was charged with monitoring German submarines and intercepting their communications. The first appointee to the post was Sir Hugh Elliott in 1949, when commercial development began of the local crayfish catch, for export markets. There was then no currency on Tristan da Cunha: local trade was by barter. Elliott's activities included the island's first postal service and discovery of a new species of flea, which he named for his wife Elizabeth. The governor has his own flag, a Union Jack with the addition of the territory's coat of arms in the centre of the flag.

List of administrators

The following is a complete list of administrators of Tristan da Cunha: 1950–1952: Sir Hugh Elliott 1952–1954: John Philip Lennox Scott 1954–1957: Patrick Richard Forsyth-Thompson 1957–1959: Godfrey Francis Harris 1959–1961: Peter Andrew Day 1961: Peter Wheeler 1963–1965: Peter Andrew Day 1965–1966: Gordon Henry Whitefield 1966–1969: Brian Watkins 1969–1974: James Ian Hendry Fleming 1974–1975: William Sandham (acting) 1975–1978: Sir Stanley Graham Trees 1978–1981: Edward Charles Brooks 1981–1984: Colin Frank Redston 1984–1989: Roger Perry 1989–1992: Bernard Edward Pauncefort 1992–1994: Philip Hughes Johnson 1994–1997: Brendan G. P. Dalley 1995–1996: Alan Victor Waters (acting) 1997–1998: Brian Walter Money (acting) 1998–2001: Brian Paul Baldwin 2001–2004: William Andrew Dickson 2004–2007: Michael Joseph Hentley 2007–2010: David John Morley 2010–2013: Sean Gilbert Peter Burns (First time) 2013–2016: Richard Alexander John Mitham 2016–2020: Sean Gilbert Peter Burns (Second time) 2020–2022: Fiona Kilpatrick and Steve Townsend – jointly and served rotationally every 3 months. 12 September 2022 – 8 November 2022: Jason Ivory 8 November 2022 – 1 December 2022: James Glass (Chief Islander acting as Administrator) 1 December 2022 – 16 March 2023: Sean Gilbert Peter Burns (Third time) (died in office) 22 March 2023 – 4 July 2023: Lorraine Repetto (Acting) 4 July 2023 – 26 September 2023: James Glass (Acting) 26 September 2023 – : Philip Kendall

List of governors

Prior to 2009 Tristan da Cunha was a dependency of Saint Helena and therefore directly represented by the governor of Saint Helena.