List of Governors of Malta
The Governor of Malta (Maltese: Gvernatur ta' Malta) was an official who ruled Malta during the British colonial period between 1813 and 1964. This office replaced that of the Civil Commissioner. Upon the end of British rule and the creation of the State of Malta in 1964, this office was replaced by the Governor-General, who represented the British Monarch and not the Government of the United Kingdom as did the Governor. The office of Governor-General was itself abolished in 1974 and replaced by the post of President when Malta became a Republic.
| Governor of Malta | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms of the Governor of Malta | |
 | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Residence | Grandmaster's Palace in Valletta |
| Appointer | King/Queen of the United Kingdom |
| Precursor | Civil Commissioner of Malta |
| Formation | 5 October 1813 |
| First holder | Sir Thomas Maitland |
| Final holder | Sir Maurice Dorman |
| Abolished | 21 September 1964 |
| Succession | Governor-General of Malta |
The Governor
The Governor, appointed by the British monarch (on the advice of the prime minister), maintained executive power in Malta throughout British rule. He was head of the executive council and the pre-independence government of Malta.
The Governor was the most powerful official in Malta.
The Governor was initially supported by a Lieutenant-Governor. For example, from ca.1813 to ca.1820, Major-General Sir William Hutchinson served as Lieutenant Governor.[1] After the death of the Marquess of Hastings in 1826, the British government decided to downgrade the post of Governor to Lieutenant-Governor, with a reduced allowance. Sir Frederick Ponsonby was formally designated Lieutenant-Governor and Commander of the Malta Garrison.[2]
List of Governors (1801–1964)
| Name (Birth–Death) |
Portrait | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Maitland (1759–1824) | | 5 October 1813[3] | 17 January 1824 |
| General The 1st Marquess of Hastings (1754–1826) |  | 22 March 1824 | 28 November 1826 |
| Major-General Alexander George Woodford (1782–1870) Acting Governor |  | 28 November 1826 | 15 February 1827 |
| Major-General Sir Frederick Cavendish Ponsonby (1783–1837) | .jpg) | 15 February 1827 | May 1835 De jure until 30 September 1836 |
| George Cardew (1785–1857) Acting Governor |  | May 1835 | 4 July 1836 |
| Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Evans (1776–1863) Acting Governor | | 4 July 1836 | 30 September 1836 |
| Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Bouverie (1783–1853) | | 1 October 1836 | 1843 |
| General Sir Patrick Stuart (1777–1855) | | 1843 | October 1847 |
| Richard More O'Ferrall (1797–1880) |  | October 1847 | 13 May 1851 |
| General Robert Ellice (1784–1856) Acting Governor | | 13 May 1851 | 27 October 1851 |
| Major-General Sir William Reid (1791–1858) | | 27 October 1851 | 1858 |
| Lieutenant-General Sir John Le Marchant (1803–1874) |  | 1858 | 15 November 1864 |
| Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Knight Storks (1811–1874) |  | 15 November 1864 | 15 May 1867 |
| General Sir Patrick Grant (1804–1895) |  | 15 May 1867 | 3 June 1872 |
| General Sir Charles van Straubenzee (1812–1892) |  | 3 June 1872 | 13 May 1878 |
| General Sir Arthur Borton (1814–1893) |  | 10 June 1878 | April 1884 |
| General Sir Lintorn Simmons (1821–1903) |  | April 1884 | 28 September 1888 |
| Lieutenant-General Sir Henry Torrens (1823–1889) | _-_(Lieutenant-Colonel_Torrens)_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg) | 28 September 1888 | 1 December 1889 |
| General Sir Henry Augustus Smyth (1825–1906) |  | 1890 | 1893 |
| General Sir Arthur Lyon Fremantle (1835–1901) |  | 1893 | 6 January 1899 |
| General Sir Francis Grenfell (The 1st Baron Grenfell from July 1902) (1841–1925) |  | 6 January 1899 | 1903 |
| General Sir Charles Clarke, 3rd Bt. (1839–1932) | .svg.png){kind=small} | 1903 | 1907 |
| General Sir Henry Grant (1848–1919) | | 1907 | 1909 |
| General Sir Leslie Rundle (1856–1934) |  | 1909 | February 1915 |
| Field Marshal The 3rd Baron Methuen (1845–1932) |  | February 1915 | May 1919 |
| Field Marshal The 1st Baron Plumer (1857–1932) |  | 1919 | 1924 |
| General Sir Walter Norris Congreve (1862–1927) |  | 29 June 1924 | 28 February 1927 |
| General Sir John Philip Du Cane (1865–1947) | | 28 February 1927 | 1931 |
| General Sir David Campbell (1869–1936) |  | June 1931 | 12 March 1936 |
| General Sir Charles Bonham-Carter (1876–1955) | | 12 March 1936 | 1940 |
| Lieutenant-General Sir William Dobbie (1879–1964) |  | April 1940 | May 1942 |
| Field Marshal The 6th Viscount Gort (1886–1946) |  | May 1942 | 26 September 1944 |
| Lieutenant-General Sir Edmond Schreiber (1890–1978) |  | 26 September 1944 | 10 July 1946 |
| Sir Francis Douglas (1889–1980) | .svg.png){kind=small} | 10 July 1946 | 16 September 1949 |
| Sir Gerald Creasy (1897–1983) | | 16 September 1949 | 3 August 1954 |
| Major-General Sir Robert Laycock (1907–1968) |  | 3 August 1954 | 13 February 1959 |
| Admiral Sir Guy Grantham (1900–1992) | | 13 February 1959 | 2 July 1962 |
| Sir Maurice Dorman (1902–1993) | | 2 July 1962 | 21 September 1964 |
Lieutenant Governors of Malta
- Public Secretary
- Arthur Baynes 1801
- Alexander Macauley 1801
- Samuel Taylor Coleridge 1804–1805
- E.F. Chapman 1805
- Rev. Francis Laing 1811–1813
- Chief Secretary
- Rev. Francis Laing 1813–1815
- Alexander Wood 1815–1817
- Richard Plasket 1817–1824
- Colonel Sir Frederick Hankey 1824–1837
- Sir Hector Greig 1837–1847
- Henry Lushington 1847–1855
- Sir Victor Houlton 1855–1883
- Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson 1883–1884
- Lieutenant Governor
- Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson 1884–1889 (as Lieutenant Governor)
- Sir Gerald Strickland 1889–1902 (as Chief Secretary)
- Sir Edward Marsh Merewether 1902–1910 (as Lieutenant Governor and Chief Secretary)
- Chief Secretary
- Major John Eugene Clauson 1911–1914
- Horace Archer Byatt 1914–1916
- Sir William C. F. Robertson 1917–1925
- Sir Thomas Alexander Vans Best 1925–1930
- Sir Harry Charles Luke 1930–1938
- John Adams Hunter 1938–1940
- Sir Edward St. John Jackson 1940–1943
- Sir David Campbell 1943–1952
- Trafford Smith 1952–1959
- Archibald Campbell 1959–1962
Flag of the Governor
- Flag used from 1813 to 1875
.svg.png)
Flag used from 1875 to 1898- Flag used from 1898 to 1943
- Flag used from 1943 to 1964
References
- Bulletins of State Intelligence, Etc., 1820, p.203. London, UK: R.G. Clarke
- Malta Government Gazette 1826
- Grech, Chris (27 October 2013). "Sir Hildebrand Oakes' resignation as Governor of Malta in 1813". Times of Malta. Retrieved 12 March 2020.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Governors of Malta. |
Civil Commissioners, Governors and Governors-General of Malta | |
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| Civil Commissioners (1799–1813) | |
| Governors (1813–1964) | |
Governors-General (1964–1974) .svg.png){kind=small} | |
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