Governor of Saint Helena

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Governor of Saint Helena
Coat of Arms of Saint Helena.svg
Coat of arms of Saint Helena
Flag of the Governor of Saint Helena.svg
Standard of the Governor of Saint Helena
Nigel Phillips.jpg
Incumbent
Nigel Phillips
since 13 August 2022
Style His Excellency
Residence Plantation House, St Helena
Appointer Monarch of the United Kingdom
Term length At His Majesty's pleasure
Formation1659
First holderJohn Dutton
Website Government of St Helena

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.

Contents

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

Related Research Articles

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Politics of Saint Helena takes place in a framework of limited self-government as a dependent territory of the United Kingdom, whereby the governor is the head of government. Saint Helena, an island in the southern Atlantic Ocean, is a part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.

Tristan da Cunha is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha and has a history going back to the beginning of the 16th century. It was settled by men from military garrisons and ships, who married native women from Saint Helena and the Cape Colony. Its people are multi-racial, descended from European male founders and mixed-race and African women founders.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flag of Saint Helena</span>

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Ascension Island is an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the wider British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Like other British Overseas Territories, it issues its own postage stamps, which provide a source of income for the island from sales to overseas collectors, as well as being used for domestic and international postage.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Governor of Ascension</span>

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Andrew Murray Gurr is a British retired politician who served as the Governor of Saint Helena from 2007 to 2011 and the Governor of Ascension and Tristan da Cunha from 2009 to 2011. He took up office on 11 November 2007 in a ceremony in Jamestown at which he declared his commitment to Saint Helena and dependencies in his inaugural speech. He took over from Michael Clancy with Chief Secretary Martin Hallam serving as acting Governor in the interim.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha</span> British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic Ocean

Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha. Its name was Saint Helena and Dependencies until 1 September 2009, when a new constitution came into force, giving the three islands equal status as three territories, with a grouping under the Crown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Postage stamps and postal history of Tristan da Cunha</span>

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Same-sex marriage has been legal in Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha since 2017. An ordinance to open marriage to same-sex couples in Saint Helena was passed by the Legislative Council in a 9–2 vote on 19 December 2017. It went into force the following day, and the first same-sex marriage was performed on 31 December 2018. Same-sex couples have also been able to marry in Ascension Island since 1 January 2017 and in Tristan da Cunha since 4 August 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigel Phillips</span> Governor of the Saint Helena

Air Commodore Nigel James Phillips, is a British diplomat, former Royal Air Force officer and former Governor of the Falkland Islands and Commissioner of the South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. He has served as Governor of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha since 13 August 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009</span> United Kingdom legislation

The St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha Constitution Order 2009 is a Statutory Instrument of the Parliament of the United Kingdom direct from the Privy Council of the United Kingdom that made legal provision for a new Constitution for the British Overseas Territory of St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. Before the Constitution came into force, the territory was formally known as St Helena and Dependencies under the provisions of the St. Helena Constitution Order 1988, which the 2009 Order replaces. The new Constitution gave each of the main islands equal status, ending the status of Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha as dependencies of Saint Helena within the territory. However, it retains a single Governor who is based in Jamestown, a single legal system and Administrators for Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. It came into force on 1 September 2009.

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.