Governor of Saint Helena
Coat of arms of Saint Helena
Standard of the Governor of Saint Helena
Incumbent
Nigel Phillips
since 13 August 2022
StyleHis Excellency
ResidencePlantation House, St Helena
AppointerMonarch of the United Kingdom
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
Formation1659
First holderJohn Dutton
WebsiteGovernment of St Helena
Politics of Saint Helena
The Crown
The Monarch

Charles III

Heir Apparent

William, Prince of Wales
Government
Governor

Nigel Phillips

Executive Council

Chief Minister
Julie Thomas

Legislature
Legislative Council

Speaker of Saint Helena
Cyril Gunnell

Judiciary
Citizenship
Other

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.[1]

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.[2]

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[3] 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.

British Crown governors

Following on from St Helena becoming a crown colony in 1834, the first governor was appointed in 1836.

See also

References

  1. ^ "Constitution of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Order 2009". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 25 March 2023.
  2. ^ "St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009, Schedule sections 27 and 28". Retrieved 25 March 2012.
  3. ^ St Helena Independent Archived 2012-03-17 at the Wayback Machine 21 January 2011, see page 8
  4. ^ A framed handwritten calligraphic record on the wall in the Governor's House indicates 1747.
  5. ^ British Magazine 1st Dec 1746, p402
  6. ^ Maj. V. C. P. Hodson, List of the Officers of the Bengal Army, 1758-1834, part III (London: Phillimore & Co. Ltd., 1946), 481.
  7. ^ Brooke, T. H. (1824). History of the Island of St. Helena from its discovery by the Portuguese to the year 1823 (PDF) (second ed.). East-India Company. pp. 336–337. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  8. ^ Brooke, T. H. (1824). History of the Island of St. Helena from its discovery by the Portuguese to the year 1823 (PDF) (second ed.). East-India Company. pp. 336–337. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  9. ^ Stearn, Roger T. "Coffin, John Pine". Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (online ed.). Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/ref:odnb/5809. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  10. ^ "Andrew Wells Sworn in as Acting Governor" (PDF). The St Helena Independent. 21 January 2011. p. 8. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 March 2012. Retrieved 29 May 2023.
  11. ^ "Foreign & Commonwealth Office – Change of Her Majesty's Governor of St Helena". Retrieved 23 January 2016.
  12. ^ "Change of Governor of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha". Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 4 December 2018.
  13. ^ "Arrival of new Governor of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha". St Helena Government. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.

External links

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Governors, civil commissioners and administrators of British dependencies
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