List of governors of the Straits Settlements explained

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.^[1]

List of British governors (1826–1946)

style=background:silver colspan=9
No.	Portrait	Name	Term of office	Origin	Background or previous appointment	Monarch
Took office	Left office	width=80px	Duration
1		Robert Fullerton	27 November 1826	12 November 1830		Edinburgh, Scotland	Second Member of Council, and President of the Board of Trade	George IV
								William IV
2		Robert Ibbetson	12 November 1830	7 December 1833		England	Resident Councillor of Prince of Wales Island
3		Kenneth Murchison	7 December 1833	17 November 1836		Scotland	Resident Councillor of Straits Settlements
4		Sir Samuel George Bonham	18 November 1836	January 1843	~	Kent, England	Resident Councillor of Straits Settlements
								Victoria
style=background:gainsboro colspan=8
5		Major General William John Butterworth	August 1843	21 March 1855	~	Unknown	Lieutenant-Colonel of the 38th Madras Regiment
6		Edmund Augustus Blundell	21 March 1855	6 August 1859		Somerset, England	Resident Councillor of Penang
style=background:gainsboro colspan=8
7		Major General Sir William Orfeur Cavenagh	6 August 1859	16 March 1867		Kent, England	British Indian Army
style=background:gainsboro colspan=8
8		Major General Sir Harry St. George Ord	16 March 1867	4 March 1871		Kent, England	Special Commissioner to West Africa
—		Major General Edward Archibald Harbord Anson	4 March 1871	22 March 1872		London, England	Lieutenant Governor of Penang
8		Major General Sir Harry St. George Ord	22 March 1872	3 November 1873		Kent, England	Colonial administrator
—		Major General Edward Archibald Harbord Anson	3 November 1873	4 November 1873	day	London, England	Lieutenant Governor of Penang
9		Sir Andrew Clarke	4 November 1873	8 May 1875		Hampshire, England	Director of Works at the Admiralty
10		Sir William Jervois	8 May 1875	3 April 1877		Isle of Wight, England	Colonel of the Royal Engineers
—		Major General Edward Archibald Harbord Anson	3 April 1877	August 1877	~	London, England	Lieutenant Governor of Penang
11		Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson	August 1877	10 February 1879	~	County Westmeath, Ireland	Governor of Western Australia
—		Major General Edward Archibald Harbord Anson	10 February 1879	16 May 1880		London, England	Lieutenant Governor of Penang
12		Sir Frederick Weld	16 May 1880	17 October 1887		Dorset, England	Governor of Tasmania
13		Sir Cecil Clementi Smith	17 October 1887	30 August 1893		London, England	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
—		William Edward Maxwell	30 August 1893	1 February 1894		unknown	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
14		Sir Charles Mitchell Died while in office	1 February 1894	7 December 1899		London, England	Governor of Natal
—		James Alexander Swettenham	7 December 1899	5 November 1901		Derbyshire, England	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
								Edward VII
15		Sir Frank Swettenham	5 November 1901	16 April 1904		Derbyshire, England	Resident-General of the Federated Malay States
16		Sir John Anderson	16 April 1904	2 September 1911		Aberdeenshire, Scotland	Colonial administrator
								George V
17		Sir Arthur Henderson Young	2 September 1911	17 February 1920		unknown	Resident-General of the Federated Malay States
18		Sir Laurence Guillemard	17 February 1920	3 June 1927		unknown	Colonial administrator
19		Sir Hugh Clifford	3 June 1927	21 October 1929		London, England	Governor of British Ceylon
—		Sir John Scott	21 October 1929	5 February 1930		unknown	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
20		Sir Cecil Clementi	5 February 1930	17 February 1934		Cawnpore, British India	Governor of Hong Kong
—		Sir Andrew Caldecott	17 February 1934	9 November 1934		Kent, England	Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
		Sir Shenton Thomas	9 November 1934	15 February 1942		London, England	Governor of the Gold Coast
21
								Edward VIII
								George VI
style=background:gainsboro colspan=9	Japanese occupation of Singapore From 15 February 1942 to 12 September 1945.
style=background:gainsboro colspan=8	British Military Administration of the Straits Settlements From 12 September 1945 to 31 March 1946.	George VI
—			Lord Louis Mountbatten	12 September 1945	31 March 1946		Berkshire, England	Supreme Allied Commander of the Southeast Asia Theatre
style=background:gainsboro colspan=8
21			Sir Shenton Thomas	12 September 1945	31 March 1946		London, England	Colonial administrator
style=background:gainsboro colspan=8	Singapore became a separate Crown Colony

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)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Past and present leaders of Singapore. Singapore National Library Board.