List of Governors General of Jamaica
Tabular list of the Governors General of Jamaica :
All the governors and governors-general of Jamaica since 1661 are listed here. Between the occupation in 1654 and 1661, the island's administration was headed by the highest ranking officer present.
Colony (1661–1866)
Unless otherwise stated, the title was governor .
| Surname | Life dates | Term of office | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Edward Doyley | 1661 | Military commander | |
| Thomas Hickman-Windsor, Lord Windsor | 1662 | Military commander | |
| Sir John Lyttelton | 1662-1664 | Deputy Governor | |
| Colonel Thomas Lynch | 1664 | provisional | |
| Colonel Edward Morgan | 1664 | provisional | |
| Sir Edward Morgan | 1664 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| Sir Thomas Modyford | 1620-1679 | 1664-1671 | |
| Sir Thomas Lynch | 1671-1674 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| John Vaughan | 1675-1678 | ||
| Sir Henry Morgan | around 1635 - August 25, 1688 | 1678 | Lieutenant Governor (1st Term) |
| Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle | 1629 - February 24, 1685 | 1678-1680 | |
| Sir Henry Morgan | s. O. | 1680-1682 | Lieutenant Governor (2nd Term) |
| Sir Thomas Lynch | 1682-1684 | (2nd term of office) | |
| Colonel Hender Molesworth | 1684-1687 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| Christopher Monck, 2nd Duke of Albemarle | August 14, 1653 - October 6, 1688 | 1687-1688 | |
| Sir Francis Watson | 1688-1690 | ||
| William O'Brien, 2nd Earl of Inchiquin | 1690-1692 | ||
| John White | 1692 | provisional | |
| John Bourden | 1692-1693 | provisional | |
| Sir William Beeston | 1693-1702 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| General William Selwyn | 1702 | ||
| Peter Beckford | 1702 | ||
| Colonel Thomas Handasyd | 1702-1704 | ||
| Sir Thomas Handasyd | 1704-1711 | ||
| Lord Archibald Hamilton | 1673 - April 5, 1754 | 1711-1716 | |
| Peter Heywood | 1716-1718 | ||
| Sir Nicholas Lawes | 1718-1722 | 1718-1722 | |
| Henry Bentinck, 1st Duke of Portland | March 17, 1682 - July 4, 1726 | 1722-1726 | |
| John Ayscough | 1726-1728 | provisional | |
| Major General Robert Hunter | 1664-1734 | 1728-1734 | |
| John Ayscough | 1734-1735 | provisional | |
| John Gregory | 1735 | provisional | |
| Henry Cunningham | 1735-1736 | ||
| John Gregory | 1736-1738 | ||
| Edward Trelawny | 1738-1752 | Namesake of the Trelawny Parish | |
| Admiral Charles Knowles | 1704 - December 9, 1777 | 1752-1756 | |
| Henry Moore | 1713 - September 11, 1769 | 1756-1759 | Lieutenant Governor |
| General George Haldane | 1759 | ||
| Henry Moore | 1760-1762 | Lieutenant Governor (2nd Term) | |
| William Henry Lyttelton | 1762-1766 | ||
| Roger Hope Elletson | 1766-1767 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| Sir William Trelawny | 1767-1772 | ||
| Colonel John Dalling | around 1731 - January 16, 1798 | 1772-1774 | Lieutenant Governor (1st Term) |
| Sir Basil Keith | 1774-1777 | ||
| Colonel John Dalling | 1777-1781 | Lieutenant Governor (2nd Term) | |
| Major General Archibald Campbell | 1739-1791 | 1781-1784 | |
| Brigadier General Alured Clarke | November 24, 1744 - September 16, 1832 | 1784-1790 | Lieutenant Governor |
| Thomas Howard, 3rd Earl of Effingham | 1790-1791 | ||
| Maj. General Adam Williamson | 1791-1795 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| Alexander Lindsay, 6th Earl of Balcarres | January 18, 1752 - March 27, 1825 | 1795-1801 | Lieutenant Governor |
| Lieutenant General George Nugent | June 10, 1757 - March 11, 1849 | 1801-1806 | Lieutenant Governor |
| Sir Eyre Coote | 1762-1823 | 1806-1808 | Lieutenant Governor |
| William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester | October 21, 1771 - March 18, 1843 | 1808-1811 | (1st term of office) |
| Lieutenant General Edward Morrison | 1811-1813 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester | s. O. | 1813-1821 | (2nd term of office) |
| Major General Henry Conran | 1821-1822 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| William Montagu, 5th Duke of Manchester | 1822-1827 | (3rd term of office) | |
| Major General Sir John Keane | February 6, 1781 - August 26, 1844 | 1827-1829 | Lieutenant Governor |
| Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl Belmore | July 11, 1774 - April 18, 1841 | 1829-1832 | |
| George Cuthbert | 1832 | provisional | |
| Constantine Phipps, 2nd Earl of Mulgrave | May 15, 1797 - July 28, 1863 | 1832-1834 | |
| Major General Sir Amos Norcot | 1834 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| Howe Peter Browne, 2nd Marquess of Sligo | May 18, 1788 - January 26, 1845 | 1834-1836 | |
| Sir Lionel Smith | 1836-1839 | ||
| Sir Charles Metcalfe | January 30, 1785 - September 5, 1846 | 1839-1842 | |
| James Bruce, 8th Earl of Elgin | July 20, 1811 - November 20, 1863 | 1842-1846 | |
| Major General George Berkeley | 1846-1847 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| Sir Charles Edward Gray | 1847-1853 | ||
| Sir Henry Barkly | February 24, 1815 - October 20, 1898 | 1853-1856 | |
| Major General Edward Wells Bell | 1856-1857 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| Charles Darling | February 19, 1809 - January 25, 1870 | 1857-1862 | |
| Edward John Eyre | August 5, 1815 - November 30, 1901 | 1862-1864 | Lieutenant Governor |
| Edward John Eyre | s. O. | 1864-1866 | (2nd term as governor) recalled after Morant Bay Uprising |
Crown Colony (1866–1962)
| Surname | Life dates | Term of office | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Henry Knight Storks | 1811 - September 6, 1874 | 1866 | |
| Sir John Peter Grant | 1866-1874 | ||
| WA Young | 1874 | provisional | |
| Sir William Gray | 1818-1878 | 1874-1877 | |
| Edward Rushworth man | 1877 | Lieutenant Governor | |
| Major General Mann | 1877 | provisional | |
| Sir Anthony Musgrave | August 31, 1828 - October 9, 1888 | 1877-1880 | Temporarily disabled since 1879 |
| Edward Newton | November 1832 - April 25, 1897 | 1879-1880 | Lieutenant Governor, replaced Musgrave during his illness |
| Sir Anthony Musgrave | s. O. | 1880-1883 | (2nd term of office) |
| Col. Somerset M. Wiseman Clarke | 1883 | provisional | |
| Major General Dominic Jacotin Gamble | 1883 | provisional | |
| Sir Henry Wylie Norman | December 2, 1826 - October 26, 1904 | 1883-1889 | |
| Colonel William Clive Justice | 1889 | provisional | |
| Sir Henry Arthur Blake | 1840-1918 | 1889-1898 | |
| Major General Henry Jardine Hallowes | 1898 | provisional | |
| Sir Augustus Hemming | 1898-1904 | ||
| Sydney Olivier | April 16, 1859 - February 15, 1943 | 1904 | provisional |
| Hugh Clarence Bourne | 1904 | provisional | |
| Sir James Alexander Swettenham | 1904-1907 | ||
| Hugh Clarence Bourne | 1907 | again provisionally | |
| Sir Sydney Oliver | s. O. | 1907-1913 | again |
| Phillip Clarke Cork | 1913 | provisional | |
| Sir William Henry Manning | 1913-1918 | ||
| Sir Leslie Probyn | 1918-1924 | ||
| Sir Herbert Bryan | 1924 | provisional | |
| Sir Samuel Herbert Wilson | 1873-1950 | 1924-1925 | |
| Sir Samuel Herbert Wilson | 1925-1926 | provisional | |
| Sir Reginald Edward Stubbs | 1876-1947 | 1926-1932 | |
| Sir Ransford Slater | November 21, 1932 - April 1934 | ||
| Sir Edward Brandis Denham | 1876-1938 | October 24, 1934 - June 2, 1938 | |
| CC Woolley | 1938 | provisional | |
| Sir Arthur Frederick Richards | February 21, 1885 - October 27, 1978 | August 19, 1938 - July 1943 | |
| Sir John Huggins | September 29, 1943 - April 7, 1951 | Partial restoration of Jamaican self-government in 1944 | |
| Sir Hugh Foot | October 8, 1907 - September 5, 1990 | April 7, 1951 - November 18, 1957 | |
| Sir Kenneth Blackburne | December 12, 1907 - November 4, 1980 | December 18, 1957 - November 30, 1962 | Last governor before Jamaica's independence |
Independent Jamaica
Jamaica's head of state will remain the Queen or King of England after independence. The governor general represents the head of state on site and has purely representative tasks.
Unless otherwise stated, the title is Governor General
| Surname | Life dates | Term of office | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Kenneth Blackburne | s. O. | 1962 | (2nd term, now Governor General) |
| Sir Clifford Campbell | 1892-1991 | November 30, 1962 - March 2, 1973 | |
| Sir Herbert Duffus | 1908-2002 | March 2, 1973 - June 27, 1973 | |
| Sir Florizel glass pole | 1909-2000 | June 27, 1973 - March 31, 1991 | |
| Edward Zacca | 1931-2019 | 1991 | provisional |
| Sir Howard Felix Hanlan Cooke | 1915-2014 | August 1, 1991 - February 15, 2006 | |
| Sir Kenneth Hall | * 1941 | February 15, 2006 - February 26, 2009 | |
| Patrick Allen | * 1951 | Feb. 26, 2009 - Acting |