Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory
Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory | |
---|---|
Coat of arms of the British Indian Ocean Territory | |
Incumbent Paul Candler since 1 July 2021 | |
Appointer | Charles III |
Term length | At His Majesty's Pleasure |
Deputy | Mr Alex Cameron Deputy Commissioner |
The Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory is the head of government in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The Commissioner is appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Commissioner does not reside in the territory, as it has had no native population since the forced depopulation of the Chagossian people in the 1970s, and the only population is the military of the United States and the United Kingdom at the joint base at Diego Garcia.
The Commissioner's role is to administer the territory on behalf of the British government. This involves the passing of any necessary legislation for the territory, usually Orders in Council or Statutory Instruments. The Commissioner is also responsible for liaising with the military of the United States in matters concerning the territory. An Administrator of the British Indian Ocean Territory acts as the Commissioner's assistant. The Commissioner also appoints a representative on the territory, who is the senior British military officer at Diego Garcia.
The current Commissioner is Paul Candler. Since 1998, the Commissioner of the BIOT has also served as Commissioner of the British Antarctic Territory.
Unlike the other governors and commissioners of other British overseas territories, there is no separate flag for the Commissioner of the British Indian Ocean Territory. This is mainly because he is never resident in the territory, and he would be unable to fly any flag from his offices in the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.
List of commissioners
- 1965–1967: The Earl of Oxford and Asquith
- 1967–1969: Sir Hugh Selby Norman-Walker
- 1969–1973: Sir Bruce Greatbatch
- 1973–1976: Colin Hamilton Allan
- 1976: Norman Aspin
- 1976–1979: Philip Robert Aked Mansfield
- 1979–1982: John Adam Robson
- 1982–1985: William Nigel Wenban-Smith
- 1985–1988: William Marsden
- 1988–1991: Richard John Smale Edis
- 1991–1994: Thomas George Harris
- 1994–1996: David Ross MacLennan
- 1996–1998: Bruce Harry Dinwiddy
- 1998: Christopher Edward John Wilton
- 1998–2001: Charles John Branford White
- 2001–2004: Alan Edden Huckle
- 2004–2006: Anthony Campbell Crombie
- 2006–2008: Robert Leigh Turner
- 2008–2012: Colin Roberts
- 2012–2016: Dr Peter Richard Hayes
- 2016–2017: John Kittmer
- 2017–2021: Benjamin Robert Merrick
- 2021–present: Paul Candler
References
- v
- t
- e
Dependencies
territories
- Governor of Anguilla
- Governor of Ascension (Administrator of Ascension)
- Governor of Bermuda
- Commissioner for the British Antarctic Territory
- Commissioner for the British Indian Ocean Territory
- Governor of the Virgin Islands
- Governor of the Cayman Islands
- Governor of the Falkland Islands
- Governor of Gibraltar
- Governor of Montserrat
- Governor of Pitcairn
- Commissioner for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
- Governor of Saint Helena
- Governor of Tristan da Cunha (Administrator of Tristan da Cunha)
- Governor of the Turks and Caicos Islands
(Africa)
- Governor of British Mauritius
- Governor of British Cameroons
- Governor of the Gambia
- Governor of Gold Coast
- Lieutenant Governor of Griqualand West
- Governor of Kenya
- Governor of Lagos Colony
- Governor-General of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
- Governor of Nigeria
- Governor of Senegal
- Governor of the Seychelles
- Governor of Sierra Leone
- Governor-General of South Africa
- High Commissioner for Southern Africa
- Governors of British South African colonies
- Governor of British Somaliland
- Governor of Tanganyika
- Governor of Uganda
- Resident in Zanzibar
(Americas)
- Governor of the Bahamas
- Governor of Barbados
- Lieutenant-Governor of Berbice
- Governor of British Guiana
- Governor of British Honduras
- Governor of Cuba
- Governor of Dominica
- Lieutenant-Governor of Demerara-Essequibo
- Governor of Grenada
- Governor of Jamaica
- Governor of the Leeward Islands
- Governor of St. Lucia
- Governor of St. Vincent
- Governor of Trinidad and Tobago
- Lieutenant governors of Tobago
- Governor of Trinidad
- Governor of Newfoundland
- Governor General of Canada
- Governor of British Columbia
- Governor of New Brunswick
- Governor of Nova-Scotia
- Governor of Prince Edward Island
- Lieutenant Governor of Quebec
- Governor of Saint Christopher, Nevis and Anguilla
- Governor-in-Chief of the Windward Islands
- Governor-General of the West Indies Federation
- Governor of Connecticut
- Governor of Delaware
- Governor of Florida
- Governor of Georgia
- Governor of Maryland
- Governor of Massachusetts-Bay
- Governor of New Hampshire
- Governor of New-Jersey
- Governor of New-York
- Governor of North-Carolina
- Governor of Pennsylvania
- Governor of Rhode-island and Providence Plantations
- Governor of South-Carolina
- Governor of Virginia
(Asia)
- Governor of Aden
- Governor of Burma
- Governor of Ceylon
- High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States
- Senior British representatives in the constituent protected states
- Senior British representatives in the neighbouring Malayan protected states
- Governor of Hong Kong
- Viceroy and Governor-General of India
- Heads of the provinces of British India
- Senior British representatives in neighbouring protected states
- High Commissioner for Iraq
- Governor of Labuan
- Representative in Muscat and Oman
- High Commissioner for Malaya
- Governor of the Malayan Union
- Governor of North Borneo
- Resident Minister in Nepal
- High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan
- Governor of Penang
- Representative in the Raj of Sarawak
- Governor of the Crown Colony of Sarawak
- Governor of Singapore
- Representative in the Trucial States
(Europe)
(Oceania)
former (Australia) |
---|
This British Indian Ocean Territory-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e