List of governors of the Straits Settlements

The governor of the Straits Settlements was appointed by the British East India Company until 1867, when the Straits Settlements became a Crown colony. Thereafter the governor was appointed by the Colonial Office. The position existed from 1826 to 1946. Between 1942 and 1945 the office was not filled, as the Straits Settlements was under Japanese occupation. From the late 19th century onward, the governor of the Straits Settlements was usually also British High Commissioner in Malaya and Brunei and British Agent for Sarawak and British North Borneo.

List of British governors (1826–1946)

File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1904–1925).svg British Straits Settlements File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
No.	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of office			Origin	Background or previous appointment	Monarch
			Took office	Left office	Duration
1	File:Robert fullerton.jpg	Robert Fullerton (1773–1831)	27 November 1826	12 November 1830		Edinburgh, Scotland	Second Member of Council, and President of the Board of Trade	File:George IV 1821 color.jpg George IV
								File:William IV crop.jpg William IV
2	File:Robert Ibbetson.jpg	Robert Ibbetson (1789–1880)	12 November 1830	7 December 1833	Template:Age in years and days	England	Resident Councillor of Prince of Wales Island
3		Kenneth Murchison (1794–1854)	7 December 1833	17 November 1836		Scotland	Resident Councillor of Straits Settlements
4	File:Sir samuel george bonham.gif	Sir Samuel George Bonham (1803–1863)	18 November 1836	January 1843	~	Kent, England	Resident Councillor of Straits Settlements
								File:Queen Victoria by Bassano.jpg Victoria
File:Flag of the British East India Company (1801).svg British East India Company File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
5	File:William John Butterworth.jpg	Major General William John Butterworth (1801–1856)	August 1843	21 March 1855	~	Unknown	Lieutenant-Colonel of the 38th Madras Regiment
6		Edmund Augustus Blundell (1804–1868)	21 March 1855	6 August 1859		Somerset, England	Resident Councillor of Penang
File:British Raj Red Ensign.svg India Office File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
7	File:Sir Orfeur Cavenagh.jpg	Major General Sir William Orfeur Cavenagh (1820–1891)	6 August 1859	16 March 1867		Kent, England	British Indian Army
File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Colonial Office File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
8	File:HarryStGeorgeOrd-1867-1873.jpg	Major General Sir Harry St. George Ord (1819–1885)	16 March 1867	4 March 1871		Kent, England	Special Commissioner to West Africa
—	File:Archibald Edward Harbord Anson.jpg	Major General Edward Archibald Harbord Anson (1826–1925) 1st time Acting	4 March 1871	22 March 1872		London, England	Lieutenant Governor of Penang
8	File:HarryStGeorgeOrd-1867-1873.jpg	Major General Sir Harry St. George Ord (1819–1885)	22 March 1872	3 November 1873		Kent, England	Colonial administrator
—	File:Archibald Edward Harbord Anson.jpg	Major General Edward Archibald Harbord Anson (1826–1925) 2nd time Acting	3 November 1873	4 November 1873	day	London, England	Lieutenant Governor of Penang
9	File:Sir Andrew Clarke (1873) by G R Lambert.jpg	Sir Andrew Clarke (1824–1902)	4 November 1873	8 May 1875		Hampshire, England	Director of Works at the Admiralty
10	File:William Jervois.jpg	Sir William Jervois (1821–1897)	8 May 1875	3 April 1877		Isle of Wight, England	Colonel of the Royal Engineers
—	File:Archibald Edward Harbord Anson.jpg	Major General Edward Archibald Harbord Anson (1826–1925) 3rd time Acting	3 April 1877	August 1877	~	London, England	Lieutenant Governor of Penang
11	File:Williamrobinson.jpg	Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson (1834–1897)	August 1877	10 February 1879	~	County Westmeath, Ireland	Governor of Western Australia
—	File:Archibald Edward Harbord Anson.jpg	Major General Edward Archibald Harbord Anson (1826–1925) 4th time Acting	10 February 1879	16 May 1880		London, England	Lieutenant Governor of Penang
12	File:Frederick Weld.jpg	Sir Frederick Weld (1823–1891)	16 May 1880	17 October 1887		Dorset, England	Governor of Tasmania
13	File:Cecil Clementi Smith.jpg	Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (1840–1916)	17 October 1887	30 August 1893		London, England	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
—	File:Sir-William-Edward-Maxwell-1.jpg	William Edward Maxwell (1846–1897) Acting	30 August 1893	1 February 1894		unknown	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
14	File:Charles Mitchell.jpg	Sir Charles Mitchell (1836–1899) Died while in office	1 February 1894	7 December 1899		London, England	Governor of Natal
—	File:James Alexander Swettenham.jpg	James Alexander Swettenham (1846–1933) Acting	7 December 1899	5 November 1901		Derbyshire, England	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
								File:Edward VII in coronation robes.jpg Edward VII
15	File:Sir Frank Swettenham by John Singer Sargent 1904.jpg	Sir Frank Swettenham (1850–1946)	5 November 1901	16 April 1904		Derbyshire, England	Resident-General of the Federated Malay States
16	File:Sir john anderson.gif	Sir John Anderson (1858–1918)	16 April 1904	2 September 1911		Aberdeenshire, Scotland	Colonial administrator
								File:King George 1923 LCCN2014715558 (cropped).jpg George V
17	File:Sir Arthur Henderson Young.png	Sir Arthur Henderson Young (1854–1938)	2 September 1911	17 February 1920		unknown	Resident-General of the Federated Malay States
18	File:Sir Laurence Guillemard.png	Sir Laurence Guillemard (1862–1951)	17 February 1920	3 June 1927		unknown	Colonial administrator
19	File:Hugh Charles Clifford (The Straits Times, 15 October 1929).jpg	Sir Hugh Clifford (1866–1941)	3 June 1927	21 October 1929		London, England	Governor of British Ceylon
—		Sir John Scott (1878 – 1946) Acting	21 October 1929	5 February 1930		unknown	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
20	File:SIRCECILCLEMENTIHKU.jpg	Sir Cecil Clementi (1875–1947)	5 February 1930	17 February 1934		Cawnpore, British India	Governor of Hong Kong
—	File:Sir Andrew Caldecott.jpg	Sir Andrew Caldecott (1884–1951) Acting	17 February 1934	9 November 1934		Kent, England	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
	File:Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas.png	Sir Shenton Thomas (1879–1962)	9 November 1934	15 February 1942		London, England	Governor of the Gold Coast
21
								File:HRH The Prince of Wales No 4 (HS85-10-36416).jpg Edward VIII
								File:King George VI of England, formal photo portrait, circa 1940-1946 - edit.jpg George VI
File:Flag of Japan (1870–1999).svg Japanese occupation of Singapore File:War flag of the Imperial Japanese Army (1868–1945).svg From 15 February 1942 to 12 September 1945.
File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg British Military Administration of the Straits Settlements File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1925–1946).svg From 12 September 1945 to 31 March 1946.								File:King George VI of England, formal photo portrait, circa 1940-1946 - edit.jpg George VI
—	File:Lord Mountbatten 4 Allan Warren.jpg	Lord Louis Mountbatten (1900–1979) British High Command	12 September 1945	31 March 1946		Berkshire, England	Supreme Allied Commander of the Southeast Asia Theatre
File:Flag of the British Straits Settlements (1904–1925).svg British Straits Settlements File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
21	File:Sir Thomas Shenton Whitelegge Thomas.png	Sir Shenton Thomas (1879–1962)	12 September 1945	31 March 1946		London, England	Colonial administrator
File:Flag of Singapore (1952–1959).svg Singapore became a separate Crown Colony File:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg

See also

• Colonial Secretary, Straits Settlements
• List of Chief Secretaries of Singapore
• Legislative Council of the Straits Settlements
• Governors of Singapore
• History of Singapore
• History of Malaysia
• Governor of Penang

Further reading

• WorldStatesmen - Singapore
• Historical Dictionary of Singapore (Justin Corfield) Template:ISBN