List of colonial and departmental heads of Réunion

This is a list of colonial and departmental heads of Réunion. Réunion is a French overseas department and region with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, approximately 200 km southwest of Mauritius, the nearest island. The chief of state is the French President, who is represented by a Prefect. The president of the General Council acts as head of the government. Elections held in Réunion include the French presidential vote. A prefect is appointed by the president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior. The presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by members of those councils.

List of officeholders

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

Term	Incumbent	Notes
French Suzerainty
Annexed for France, named Île Bourbon; under the French East India Company rule
December 1649 to 5 August 1665	No central administration
5 August 1665 to 8 May 1671	Étienne Regnault, Commandant
11 May 1671 to 22 November 1674	Jacques de La Heure dit La Hure, Commandant
22 November 1674 to 1 December 1674	Jacob de la Haye, de facto Commandant
French colony; under the French East India Company rule
1 December 1674 to 17 June 1678	Henry Esse d'Orgeret, Commandant
18 June 1678 to January 1680	Germain de Fleurimont Moulinier, Commandant
January 1680 to 30 November 1686	F. Bernardin de Quimper, Commandant
2 December 1686 to 9 December 1689	Jean-Baptiste Drouillard, Commandant
11 December 1689 to 26 November 1690	Henry Habert de Vauboulon, Commandant
4 March 1691 to 29 April 1694	Michel Firélin, Commandant
1694	Prades + Lemayeur, acting Commandants
May 1694 to 2 July 1696	Directory of Saint Paul
	Athanase Touchard, President; leader "naturel de l'île"
	Louis Caron
	René Hoarau
	François Mussard
	François Mussard
	Antoine Payet
1 August 1696 to 6 June 1698	Joseph Bastide, Commandant
21 October 1699 to 13 May 1701	Jacques de La Cour de La Saulais, Commandant
12 June 1701 to 5 March 1709	Jean-Baptiste de Villers, Commandant
7 March 1709 to 24 March 1710	François Michel Des Bordes, sieur de Charanville, Commandant
22 April 1710 to 14 November 1715	Pierre Antoine Parat de Chaillenest, Commandant
4 December 1715 to 14 February 1718	Henri de Justamond, Commandant
6 September 1718 to 22 August 1723	Joseph Beauvollier de Courchant, Commandant
23 August 1723 to 1 December 1725	Antoine Labbé dit Desforges-Boucher, Commandant
2 December 1725 to 28 May 1727	Hélie Dioré de Périgny, Commandant
21 July 1727 to 11 July 1735	Pierre Benoît Dumas, Commandant
12 July 1735 to 1 October 1735	Bertrand François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais, Commandant
Part of the French Mascarene Islands colony; under French East India Company rule
2 October 1735 to 30 September 1739	Charles L'Emery Dumont, Commandant
11 November 1739 to 12 December 1743	Pierre-André d'Héguerty, Commandant
13 December 1743 to 8 May 1745	Didier de Saint-Martin, Commandant	1st time
15 May 1745 to 31 October 1745	Jean-Baptiste Azéma, Commandant
1 November 1745 to 18 December 1745	Didier de Saint-Martin, Commandant	2nd time
Separate colony; under French East India Company rule
29 December 1745 to 28 March 1747	Gérard Gaspard de Ballade, Governor	1st time
14 April 1747 to 11 November 1748	Didier de Saint-Martin, Governor	3rd time
22 November 1748 to 17 March 1749	Gérard Gaspard de Ballade, Governor	2nd time
24 May 1749 to 23 August 1749	Antoine Marie Desforges-Boucher, Governor	1st time
6 September 1749 to 16 October 1750	Joseph Brénier, Governor	1st time
16 October 1750 to 14 December 1752	Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, Governor	1st time
14 December 1752 to 14 January 1756	Joseph Brénier, Governor	2nd time
12 July 1757 to 15 October 1757	Antoine Marie Desforges-Boucher, Governor	2nd time
19 October 1757 to 6 September 1763	Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, Governor	2nd time
7 September 1763 to 14 October 1763	Jean Sentuary, Governor
5 November 1763 to 1764	François Jacques Bertin d'Avesnes, Governor
French crown colony
1764 to 30 March 1767	François Jacques Bertin d'Avesnes, Governor
31 March 1767 to 4 November 1767	Martin Adrien Bellier, Governor
4 November 1767 to 4 October 1773	Guillaume Léonard de Bellecombe, Governor
15 December 1773 to 15 October 1776	Jean Guillaume Steinauer, Governor
26 October 1776 to 30 April 1779	François de Souillac, Governor
25 May 1779 to 22 August 1781	Joseph Murinay, comte de Saint-Maurice, Governor
25 August 1781 to 21 April 1785	André Joseph François Chalvet, baron de Souville, Governor
2 May 1785 to 15 February 1788	Claude Élie Dioré de Périgny, Governor
21 February 1788 to 15 August 1790	David Charpentier de Cossigny, Governor
8 September 1790 to 18 October 1792	Dominique Prosper de Chermont, Governor
19 October 1792 to 19 March 1793	Jean-Baptiste Vigoureux du Plessis, Governor
Île Bourbon renamed Île de la Réunion (sometimes called Réunion des Patriotes)
19 March 1793 to 11 April 1794	Jean-Baptiste Vigoureux du Plessis, Governor
12 April 1794 to 1 November 1795	Pierre Alexandre Roubaud, Governor
2 November 1795 to 3 February 1803	Philippe Antoine Jacob de Cordemoy, Governor
Part of the French colony of Indes-Orientales
3 February 1803 to 7 October 1803	Philippe Antoine Jacob de Cordemoy, Governor
10 November 1803 to 31 December 1805	François Louis Magallon, comte de la Morlière, Governor
9 January 1806 to 15 August 1806	Nicolas Ernault des Bruslys, Governor
Île de la Réunion renamed Île Bonaparte
15 August 1806 to 25 September 1809	Nicolas Ernault des Bruslys, Governor
9 October 1809 to 8 July 1810	Jean-Chrysostôme Bruneteau de Sainte-Suzanne, Governor
Occupation of Île Bonaparte by United Kingdom
9 July 1810 to 7 August 1810	Robert Townsend Farquhar, Governor	1st time
Île Bonaparte renamed Île Bourbon
7 August 1810 to 20 December 1810	Robert Townsend Farquhar, Governor	1st time
20 December 1810 to 26 April 1811	Henry Sheehy Keating, Governor	1st time
26 April 1811 to 10 July 1811	Robert Townsend Farquhar, Governor	2nd time
10 July 1811 to 5 April 1815	Henry Sheehy Keating, Governor	2nd time
French Suzerainty
6 April 1815 to 30 June 1817	Athanase Hyacinthe Bouvet de Lozier, Governor
1 July 1817 to 9 September 1818	Hilaire Urbain Lafitte de Courteil, Governor
13 September 1818 to 14 February 1821	Pierre Bernard de Milius, Governor
15 February 1821 to 14 October 1826	Louis Henri de Saulces de Freycinet, Governor
20 October 1826 to 4 July 1830	Achille Guy Marie de Penfentenio, comte de Cheffontaines, Governor
5 July 1830 to 7 November 1832	Étienne-Henri Mengin du Valdailly, Governor
8 November 1832 to 4 May 1838	Jacques Philippe Cuvillier, Governor
5 May 1838 to 14 October 1841	Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell, Governor
15 October 1841 to 4 June 1846	Charles Louis Joseph Bazoche, Governor
5 June 1846 to 6 September 1848	Emmanuel François Joseph Graeb, Governor
Île Bourbon renamed Réunion
6 September 1848 to 13 October 1848	Emmanuel François Joseph Graeb, Governor
13 October 1848 to 7 March 1850	Joseph Napoléon Sarda-Garriga, Governor
9 March 1850 to 14 February 1851	Marie-Bon-Ézéchial Barolet de Puligny, Governor
15 February 1851 to 8 August 1852	Louis Isaac Pierre Hilaire Doret, Governor
8 August 1852 to 8 January 1858	Louis Henri Hubert Delisle, Governor
11 January 1858 to 27 March 1858	Lefevre, Governor
28 March 1858 to 19 September 1864	Rodolphe Augustin, baron Darricau, Governor
4 January 1865 to 23 September 1869	Marie Jules Dupré, Governor
27 September 1869 to 18 September 1875	Louis Hippolyte de Lormel, Governor
19 November 1875 to 29 April 1879	Pierre Aristide Faron, Governor
6 May 1879 to 23 March 1886	Pierre Étienne Cuinier, Governor
23 March 1886 to 11 October 1886	Jean Baptiste Antoine Lougnon, interim Governor	1st time
11 October 1886 to 16 December 1887	Étienne Antoine Guillaume Richaud, Governor
16 December 1887 to 21 August 1888	Jean Baptiste Antoine Lougnon, Governor	2nd time
22 August 1888 to 10 July 1893	Louis Evenor Édouard Manès, Governor
11 July 1893 to 21 June 1895	Henri Eloi Danel, Governor
22 June 1895 to 12 August 1895	Henri Charles Roberdeau, Governor
13 August 1895 to 19 May 1896	Benedict Jacob de Cordemoy, Governor
19 May 1896 to 30 October 1900	Laurent Marie Émile Beauchamp, Governor
30 October 1900 to 19 February 1901	Charles Albert Madre, Governor
19 February 1901 to 29 July 1905	Paul Samary, Governor
29 July 1905 to 30 August 1906	Fernand Theron, Governor
30 August 1906 to 7 November 1906	Marius Verignon, Governor
8 November 1906 to 27 December 1907	Adrien Jules Jean Bonhoure, Governor
1 January 1908 to 19 March 1908	Henri Cor, Governor
19 March 1908 to 18 January 1910	Camille Lucien Xavier Guy, Governor
18 January 1910 to 17 September 1910	Philippe Émile Jullien, Governor
18 September 1910 to 28 July 1912	François Pierre Rodier, Governor
30 August 1912 to 22 November 1913	Hubert Auguste Garbit, Governor
23 November 1913 to 1 June 1919	Pierre Louis Alfred Duprat, Governor
2 June 1919 to 26 July 1920	Victor Jean Brochard, Governor
27 July 1920 to 5 September 1922	Frédéric Estèbe, Governor
6 September 1922 to 21 August 1923	Henri Cleret de Langavant, Governor
22 August 1923 to 2 October 1924	Maurice Pierre Lapalud, Governor
31 March 1925 to 28 November 1932	Jules Vincent Repiquet, Governor
29 November 1932 to 13 June 1934	Louis Fabre, Governor
14 June 1934 to 29 May 1936	Alphonse Paul Albert Choteau, Governor
29 May 1936 to 16 August 1936	Charles Victor Allard, interim Governor
17 August 1936 to 27 October 1938	Léon Hippolyte Truitard, Governor
28 October 1938 to 29 December 1939	Joseph Urbain Court, Governor
30 December 1939 to 1 December 1942	Pierre Émile Aubert, Governor	Deposed after the liberation of Réunion by the Free French forces
1 December 1942 to 19 March 1946	Jean Charles André Capagorry, Governor
French overseas département
19 March 1946 to 17 July 1947	Jean Charles André Capagorry, Governor
16 August 1947 to 1 June 1950	Paul Demange, Prefect
1 June 1950 to 4 July 1952	Roland Luc Béchoff, Prefect
4 July 1952 to 14 May 1956	Pierre Philip, Prefect
12 June 1956 to 1 March 1963	Jean François Pierre Perreau-Pradier, Prefect
1 March 1963 to 1 September 1966	Alfred Diefenbacher, Prefect
11 September 1966 to 22 October 1969	Jean Vaudeville, Prefect
29 October 1969 to 21 August 1972	Paul Cousseran, Prefect
28 August 1972 to 14 April 1975	Claude Edmond Vieillescazes, Prefect
14 April 1975 to 12 May 1977	Robert Lamy, Prefect
16 May 1977 to 22 May 1980	Bernard Landouzy, Prefect
29 May 1980 to 1 August 1981	Jacques Seval, Prefect
1 August 1981 to 10 May 1982	Michel Francis Levallois, Prefect
10 May 1982 to 15 March 1984	Michel Francis Levallois, Commissioner of the Republic
26 March 1984 to 9 April 1986	Michel Blangy, Commissioner of the Republic
9 April 1986 to 25 April 1986	Jean-Marc Rebière, acting Commissioner of the Republic
25 April 1986 to 24 February 1988	Jean Anciaux, Commissioner of the Republic
24 February 1988 to 11 September 1989	Jean Anciaux, Prefect
11 September 1989 to 18 July 1991	Daniel Constantin, Prefect
18 July 1991 to December 1992	Jacques Dewatre, Prefect
2 December 1992 to 2 January 1995	Hubert Fournier, Prefect
9 January 1995 to 27 November 1995	Pierre Steinmetz, Prefect
27 November 1995 to 29 November 1995	Yves Dassonville, acting Prefect	1st time
29 November 1995 to 15 July 1998	Robert Pommies, Prefect
15 July 1998 to 5 August 1998	Yves Dassonville, acting Prefect	2nd time
5 August 1998 to 2 July 2001	Jean Daubigny, Prefect
2 July 2001 to 31 July 2001	Vincent Bouvier, acting Prefect
31 July 2001 to 28 March 2003	Gonthier Friederici, Prefect
French overseas region
28 March 2003 to 13 August 2004	Gonthier Friederici, Prefect
13 August 2004 to 16 August 2004	Franck-Olivier Lachaud, acting Prefect	1st time
16 August 2004 to 4 June 2005	Dominique Vian, Prefect
4 June 2005 to 16 July 2005	Franck-Olivier Lachaud, acting Prefect	2nd time
16 July 2005 to 22 August 2006	Laurent Cayrel [fr], Prefect
22 August 2006 to 28 August 2006	Franck-Olivier Lachaud, acting Prefect	3rd time
28 August 2006 to 20 January 2010	Pierre-Henry Maccioni, Prefect	Nominated Prefect of Val-d’Oise
20 January 2010 to 27 August 2012	Michel Lalande [fr], Prefect	Former Prefect of Saône-et-Loire
27 August 2012 to 2 September 2014	Jean-Luc Marx, Prefect	Former Prefect of Allier
2 September 2014 to 24 May 2017	Dominique Sorain, Prefect	Former Prefect of Eure
24 May 2017 to 17 June 2019	Amaury de Saint-Quentin, Prefect	Former Prefect of Guadeloupe
17 June 2019 to present	Jacques Billant, Prefect	Former Prefect of Guadeloupe

See also

• Politics of Réunion
• History of Réunion

External links

• World Statesmen – Réunion