Governor of Pitcairn explained

The Governor of Pitcairn^[1] 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.

Because of the dependency's small population (it peaked at 233 in the 1930s, and has since dwindled to 50), 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
align=center rowspan="2"		Name	Title	Portrait	Tenure		Notes	Monarch
From	Until
align=center	1	Sir Arthur Norman Galsworthy	Governor of Pitcairn		October 1970	January 1973		Elizabeth II
align=center	2	Sir David Aubrey Scott	Governor of Pitcairn		January 1973	1975	^[2]
align=center	3	Sir Harold Smedley	Governor of Pitcairn		February 1976	1980	^[3]
align=center	4	Richard Stratton	Governor of Pitcairn		September 1980	1984	^[4]
align=center	5	Terence Daniel O'Leary	Governor of Pitcairn		July 1984	1987
align=center	6	Robin Byatt	Governor of Pitcairn		December 1987	1990
align=center	7	David Moss	Governor of Pitcairn		September 1990	1994
align=center	8	Robert John Alston	Governor of Pitcairn		August 1994	10 February 1998
align=center	9	Martin Williams	Governor of Pitcairn		April 1998	2001
align=center	10	Richard Fell	Governor of Pitcairn		10 December 2001	April 2006
align=center	11	George Fergusson	Governor of Pitcairn		2 May 2006	18 May 2010
align=center	–	Mike Cherrett	Acting Governor of Pitcairn		19 May 2010	3 June 2010
align=center	12	Victoria "Vicki" Treadell	Governor of Pitcairn		3 June 2010	July 2014
align=center	13	Jonathan Sinclair	Governor of Pitcairn		15 August 2014	9 December 2017
align=center	–	Robin Shackell	Acting Governor of Pitcairn		9 December 2017	25 January 2018
align=center	14	Laura Clarke	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

Notes and References

1. 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 .
2. From 1 January 1974, Sir David Aubrey Scott.
3. From 31 December 1977, Sir Harold Smedley.
4. From 1982, Sir Richard Stratton.