Lieutenant Governor of Jersey
The Lieutenant Governor of Jersey is the representative of the British monarch in the Bailiwick of Jersey, a Crown dependency of the British Crown.
The Lieutenant Governor has his own flag in Jersey, the Union Flag defaced with the Bailiwick's coat of arms. The Lieutenant Governor's official residence in St. Saviour was depicted on the Jersey £50 note 1989–2010.
Duties
The duties are primarily diplomatic and ceremonial. The role of the Lieutenant Governor is to act as the de facto head of state in Jersey. The Lieutenant Governor also liaises between the Governments of Jersey and the United Kingdom. The holder of this office is also ex officio a member of the States of Jersey but may not vote and, by convention, speaks in the Chamber only on appointment and on departure from post.The Lieutenant Governor exercises certain executive functions relating broadly to citizenship. Jersey passports are British passports issued on behalf of the Lieutenant Governor, in the exercise of the royal prerogative, through the Passport Office which the States fund and from which the States retain any revenue generated. Deportation from Jersey is ordered by the Lieutenant Governor. Certificates of naturalization as a British citizen are issued by the Lieutenant Governor.
History
The office of Lieutenant Governor has its origins in the Norman administration of the Channel Islands. The functions of the bailiff and the official who was later to become known as Lieutenant Governor became separate in the aftermath of the division of Normandy in 1204. However, the respective responsibilities of the two officials were only clearly defined in the 17th century as a result of a power struggle between bailiff and governor. An Order in Council dated 18 February 1617 laid down that "the charge of military forces be wholly in the Governor, and the care of justice and civil affairs in the Bailiff"When the monarchy was restored, King Charles II who had escaped to Jersey on his way to exile in France rewarded Jersey with the power to levy customs duties. This power, exercised by the Assembly of Governor, Bailiff and Jurats, was finally taken over by the States of Jersey in 1921, thereby enabling the States to control the budget independently of the Lieutenant Governor.
The post of Governor of Jersey became a titular sinecure, and a Lieutenant Governor was appointed to actually carry out the functions of the office. William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, was the last titular Governor of Jersey; since his death in 1856 the Crown has been formally and constitutionally represented in Jersey by the Lieutenant Governor.
The States of Jersey Law 2005 abolished any power of the Lieutenant Governor to veto a resolution of the States.
In 2010 it was announced that the next Lieutenant Governor would be recommended to the Crown by a Jersey panel, thus replacing the previous system of the appointment being made by the Crown on the recommendation of UK ministers.
List of Governors of Jersey
Governors have been:Date | Governor |
1204–1206 | Peter de Preaux |
1470–1483 | Richard Harliston |
1486–1494 | Matthew Baker |
1494–1500 | Thomas Overay |
1500–1502 | Jean Lempriere |
1502–1531 | Sir Hugh Vaughan |
1532–1534 | Sir Anthony Ughtred |
1534–1536 | Sir Arthur Darcy |
1536–1537 | Sir Thomas Vaux, Lord Vaux |
1537–1550 | Sir Edward Seymour |
1550–1574 | Sir Hugh Paulet |
1547–1590 | Sir Amyas Paulet |
1590–1600 | Sir Anthony Paulet |
1600–1603 | Sir Walter Raleigh |
1603–1630 | Sir John Peyton |
1631–1643 | Sir Thomas Jermyn |
1644–1651 | Sir Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans |
1651–1654 | Colonel James Heane |
1655–1659 | Colonel Robert Gibbon |
1659–1660 | Colonel John Mason |
1660 | Colonel Carew Raleigh |
1660–1665 | Sir Henry Jermyn, 1st Earl of St Albans |
1665–1679 | Sir Thomas Morgan, 1st Baronet |
1679–1684 | Sir John Lanier |
1684–1704 | Thomas Jermyn |
1704–1722 | General Henry Lumley |
1723–1749 | Richard Temple, 1st Viscount Cobham |
1749–1761 | Lieutenant General John Huske |
1761–1772 | George Keppel, 3rd Earl of Albemarle |
1772–1795 | Field Marshal Henry Seymour Conway |
1795–1796 | Field Marshal Sir George Howard |
1796–1807 | George Townshend, 1st Marquess Townshend |
1807–1820 | John Pitt, 2nd Earl of Chatham |
1820–1854 | William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford |
List of Lieutenant Governors of Jersey
Lieutenant Governors of Jersey have been:Title | Appointed | Name |
1634 | Sir Philippe de Carteret | |
26 August 1643 | Major Lydcott | |
24 November 1643 | Sir George Carteret | |
3 March 1695 | Col. Thomas Collier | |
29 July 1715 | Robert Wilson | |
1723 | Magnus Kempenfelt | |
23 October 1727 | Col. George Howard | |
1732 | Peter Bettesworth | |
1738 | Maj-Gen. Jean Cavalier | |
1741 | Francis Best | |
1747 | Gregory Beake | |
12 August 1749 | William Deane | |
26 June 1753 | George Colingwood | |
Lieutenant Governor and Colonel on Staff: | 7 July 1770 | Lt-Col. Rudolph Bentinck |
4 April 1771 | Major Moses Corbet | |
6 January 1781 | Major Francis Peirson | |
5 October 1797 | Lt-Gen. Andrew Gordon | |
21 June 1806 | Gen. Sir George Don, GCB, GCH | |
8 October 1814 | Gen. Sir Tomkyns Hilgrove Turner, GCH | |
9 May 1816 | Lt-Gen. Hugh Mackay Gordon | |
23 July 1821 | Gen. Sir Colin Halkett, GCB, GCH, GCTE | |
26 November 1830 | Lt-Gen. Sir William Thornton, KCB | |
22 April 1835 | Maj-Gen. Archibald Campbell, CB | |
14 September 1838 | Lt-Gen. Sir Edward Gibbs, KCB | |
16 January 1847 | Maj-Gen. Sir James Henry Reynett, KCB, KCH | |
30 April 1852 | Gen. Sir James Frederick Love, GCB, KH | |
30 January 1857 | Maj-Gen. Godfrey Charles Mundy | |
18 September 1860 | Maj-Gen. Sir Robert Percy Douglas | |
5 October 1862 | B. Loch | |
23 October 1863 | Lt-Gen. Sir Burke Douglas Cuppage, KCB | |
1 October 1868 | Maj-Gen. Philip Melmoth Nelson Guy, CB | |
1 October 1873 | Lt-Gen. Sir William Sherbrooke Ramsay Norcott, KCB | |
1 October 1878 | Lt-Gen. Lothian Nicholson, CB | |
1 October 1883 | Maj-Gen. Henry Wray, CMG | |
1 November 1887 | Lt-Gen. Charles Brisbane Ewart, CB | |
Lieutenant Governor and Commanding the Troops: | 1 November 1892 | Lt-Gen. Sir Edwin Markham, KCB |
10 May 1895 | Lt-Gen. Sir Edward Hopton, KCB | |
1 November 1900 | Maj-Gen. Henry Richard Abadie, CB | |
1904 | Maj-Gen. Hugh Sutlej Gough, CB, CMG | |
16 June 1910 | Maj-Gen. Sir Alexander Nelson Rochfort, KCB, CMG | |
7 October 1916 | Maj-Gen. Sir Alexander Wilson, KCB | |
29 October 1920 | Maj-Gen. Sir William Douglas Smith, KCB, KCVO | |
1924 | Maj-Gen. Sir Francis Richard Bingham, KCB, KCMG, JP | |
28 May 1929 | Maj-Gen. Edward Henry Willis, CB, CMG | |
28 May 1934 | Maj-Gen. Sir Horace de Courcy Martelli, KBE, CB, DSO | |
1939 | Maj-Gen. James Murray Robert Harrison, CB DSO | |
Head of the British Military Government: | 12 May 1945 | L.A. Freeman |
Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief: | 25 August 1945 | Lt-Gen. Sir Arthur Edward Grasett, KBE, CB, DSO, MC |
16 October 1953 | Adm. Sir Randolph Stewart Gresham Nicholson, KBE, CB, DSO, DSC | |
15 November 1958 | Gen. Sir George Erskine, GCB, KBE, DSO | |
15 January 1964 | Vice-Adm. Sir John Michael Villiers, KCB, OBE | |
30 June 1969 | Air Chf Mshl Sir John Gilbert Davis, GCB, OBE, MA | |
2 September 1974 | Gen. Sir Geoffrey Richard Desmond Fitzpatrick, GCB, DSO, MBE, MC | |
26 November 1979 | Gen. Sir Peter John Frederick Whiteley, GCB, OBE | |
9 January 1985 | Adm. Sir William Thomas Pillar, GBE, KCB | |
1990 | Air Mshl Sir John Matthias Dobson Sutton, KCB | |
September 1995 | Gen. Sir Michael John Wilkes, KCB, OBE | |
24 January 2001 | Air Chf Mshl Sir John Cheshire, KBE, CB | |
1 April 2006 | Lt-Gen Sir Andrew Ridgway, KBE, CB | |
26 September 2011 | Gen. Sir John McColl, KCB, CBE, DSO | |
13 March 2017 | Air Chf Mshl Sir Stephen Dalton, GCB |