Governor of Pitcairn

The Governor of Pitcairn^[2] 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.

Flag of the governor of Pitcairn

Because of the dependency's small population (it peaked at 233 in the 1930s, and has since dwindled to 35 in 2023^[3]), 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	[4]
3	Sir Harold Smedley (1920–2004)	Governor of Pitcairn		February 1976	1980	[5]
4	Richard Stratton (?–?)	Governor of Pitcairn		September 1980	1984	[6]
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

• List of rulers of the Pitcairn Islands, for local rulers since 1790
• List of governors of Fiji, for governors from 1898 until 1970
• List of high commissioners of the United Kingdom to New Zealand, for governors since 1970

References

1. "Minutes of the Regular council Meeting held at the Pulau school" (PDF). PITCAIRN ISLAND COUNCIL. 24 April 2024. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
2. 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.
3. https://www.immigration.pn/life-on-pitcairn-island
4. From 1 January 1974, Sir David Aubrey Scott.
5. From 31 December 1977, Sir Harold Smedley.
6. From 1982, Sir Richard Stratton.