John Rankin | |
---|---|
Governor of the British Virgin Islands | |
In office 29 January 2021 –18 January 2024 | |
Monarchs | Elizabeth II Charles III |
Premier | Andrew Fahie Natalio Wheatley |
Preceded by | Augustus Jaspert |
Succeeded by | Daniel Pruce |
Governor of Bermuda | |
In office 5 December 2016 –12 December 2020 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Premier | Michael Dunkley Edward David Burt |
Preceded by | Ginny Ferson (acting) |
Succeeded by | Rena Lalgie |
United Kingdom High Commissioner to Sri Lanka | |
In office 2011–2015 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Preceded by | Peter Hayes |
Succeeded by | James Dauris |
United Kingdom Consul-General in Boston | |
In office 2003–2007 | |
Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Preceded by | George Fergusson |
Succeeded by | Phil Budden |
Personal details | |
Born | John James Rankin 12 March 1957 United Kingdom |
Alma mater | University of Glasgow McGill University |
John James Rankin, CMG (born 12 March 1957) is a British diplomat and a former ambassador to Nepal. He served as the Governor of the British Virgin Islands from January 2021 to January 2024. [1] He was the Governor of Bermuda from December 2016 to December 2020. [2]
Rankin was born on 12 March 1957. He was educated at Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School,a private school in Glasgow,Scotland. He studied Scots law at the University of Glasgow,graduating with a first class honours Bachelor of Laws degree. He later studied international law at McGill University,graduating with a Master of Laws degree. [3] [4]
Rankin qualified and practised as a solicitor in Scotland;he was a member of the Law Society of Scotland. He was additionally a lecturer in public law at the University of Aberdeen from 1984 to 1988. [3]
Rankin joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1988. Between posts at the FCO,he served at the embassy in Dublin and was the consul-general at Boston. He took up his appointment as High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and non-resident High Commissioner to the Maldives in February 2011. [5] In 2015,he was appointed Ambassador to Nepal. [6]
He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2016 New Year Honours. [7]
Rankin was sworn in as Governor of Bermuda on 5 December 2016. [8] In February 2018,signed into law the Domestic Partnership Act 2018,which effectively reversed the right of gay couples to marry. This made Bermuda the first jurisdiction to legalise and then repeal same-sex marriage rights. [9] The law relating to same-sex marriage in Bermuda could change again,as the Supreme Court stated in June 2018 that repealing same-sex marriage rights was discriminatory and thus contrary to section 12 of the Bermudian Constitution.
In September 2020,it was announced that Rankin would be replacing Gus Jaspert as Governor of the British Virgin Islands in 2021. [10] As such,he was replaced in December 2020 by Rena Lalgie as Governor of Bermuda.
Rankin was sworn in as Governor of the British Virgin Islands on 29 January 2021,after arriving in the territory and observing the mandatory 14-day quarantine due to COVID-19.[ citation needed ]
Rankin was married to Lesley Marshall from 1987 until they divorced in 2019. They have a son and two daughters. [3]
Sir Oswald Raynor Arthur was a British diplomat and colonial administrator.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) persons in the British Virgin Islands face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in the British Virgin Islands since 2001.
Lesbian,gay,bisexual,and transgender (LGBT) people in Bermuda,a British Overseas Territory,face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Homosexuality is legal in Bermuda,but the territory has long held a reputation for being homophobic and intolerant. Since 2013,the Human Rights Act has prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.
BVI Airways is a defunct airline of the British Virgin Islands. Its headquarters were located at its hub at Terrance B. Lettsome International Airport serving the territory's main island of Tortola with the capital,Road Town. It suspended inter-island operations in late 2014,shortly after a change of ownership to concentrate on a non-stop schedule directly to the United States. The company slogan was Your Caribbean Airline.
Sir Brian James Proetel Fall is a retired British diplomat who was the UK's Special Representative for the South Caucasus 2002–12.
John Stewart Duncan OBE is a British diplomat. He was Ambassador for Multilateral Arms Control and Disarmament and UK Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament,Geneva,2006–11. In June 2013,he was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the British government,to represent the Queen as Governor of the British Virgin Islands,and to act as the de facto head of state in the Territory. Duncan arrived at the Islands on 14 August 2014 and was sworn in the following day and his term would last until 8 August 2017 when he was succeeded by Robert A. Mathavious.
Among the fourteen British Overseas Territories,eight –Akrotiri and Dhekelia,the British Antarctic Territory,the British Indian Ocean Territory,the Falkland Islands,Gibraltar,the Pitcairn Islands,Saint Helena,Ascension and Tristan da Cunha,and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands –recognise and perform same-sex marriages. In the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia,only British military and civilian personnel can enter into same-sex marriages and civil partnerships.
Marvie Elton Georges was a British Virgin Islander politician and businessman. Georges served in a number of public offices,but most notably as the Deputy Governor of the British Virgin Islands from 1983 to 2003,and then again more briefly from 2007 to 2008.
Sir John Sutherland Thomson,known throughout his life as Ian Thomson and with his knighthood as Sir Ian Thomson,was a British colonial administrator who served in Fiji for 40 years and was also Administrator of the British Virgin Islands.
Andrew Alturo Fahie is a British Virgin Islands politician who served as Premier of the British Virgin Islands from 2019 to 2022. He was also the chairman of the Virgin Islands Party in the British Virgin Islands from 2016 to 2022. He was convicted of a range of charges relating to conspiracy to import cocaine into the United States in 2024.
Same-sex marriage is currently not recognised nor performed in Bermuda,a British Overseas Territory,but it was legal between 2017 and 2022. However,marriages performed during that period remain valid.
Augustus James Ulysses "Gus" Jaspert is a British diplomat who was previously the Governor of the British Virgin Islands. He was sworn into office on 22 August 2017. He left office on 23 January 2021,and was succeeded by John Rankin who was sworn in after completing a 14-day COVID-19 quarantine.
Events from the year 2017 in the British Virgin Islands.
The British Overseas Territories (BOT) or alternatively,United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs),are 14 territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom. They are the parts of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British territories. These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom. Most of the inhabited territories are internally self-governing,with the UK retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations. The rest are either uninhabited or have a transitory population of military or scientific personnel.
Events from the year 2019 in the British Virgin Islands.
Alison Mary Blake,is a British diplomat who is currently serving as Governor of the Falkland Islands and Commissioner of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. She previously served as High Commissioner to Bangladesh and Ambassador to Afghanistan.
Events from the year 2020 in the British Virgin Islands.
Events from the year 2021 in the British Virgin Islands.
Events from the year 2022 in the British Virgin Islands.
The British Virgin Islands 2021 Commission of Inquiry was a public inquiry commissioned by the then Governor of the British Virgin Islands,Augustus Jaspert. The terms of reference were to make "a full,faithful and impartial inquiry into whether there was information that corruption,abuse of office or other serious dishonesty in relation to officials,whether statutory,elected or public,may have taken place in recent years;if there were such information,to consider the conditions which allowed such conduct to take place and whether they may still exist;and,if appropriate,to make independent recommendations with a view to improving the standards of governance and the operation of the agencies of law enforcement and justice in the Territory".