Governor of Labuan

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The Governor of Labuan was the representative of the British Crown and head of the executive government of the Crown Colony of Labuan, an island off the northwestern coast of Borneo ceded to Great Britain by the Bruneian Sultanate in December 1846.^[1]

StyleHis Excellency

ResidenceGovernment House, Victoria

Appointer

The Crown (1848–1890, 1906–1946)
North Borneo Chartered Company (1890–1906)

InauguralholderSir James Brooke

Quick facts of Labuan, Style ...

Governor of Labuan
Flag of the Crown Colony of Labuan
Style	His Excellency
Residence	Government House, Victoria
Appointer	The Crown (1848–1890, 1906–1946) North Borneo Chartered Company (1890–1906)
Inaugural holder	Sir James Brooke
Formation	1848–1946
Final holder	Sir Shenton Thomas
Abolished	15 July 1946

From 1848 until 1890, governors and administrators were appointed directly by the Crown through the Colonial Office in London.^[2] Due to imperial financial retrenchment in 1890, the administration of the colony was transferred to the North Borneo Chartered Company, with the Governor of North Borneo concurrently holding the commission of Governor of Labuan.^[3] In 1906, direct Crown control was restored, and from 1 January 1907 Labuan was incorporated into the Straits Settlements, with the Governor of the Straits Settlements serving ex officio as governor until the establishment of the Crown Colony of North Borneo in 1946.^[2]^[4]

List of governors appointed by the Crown (1848–1890)

More information Portrait, Name ...

Name	Took office	Left office	Notes & Royal Commission
Sir James Brooke	1848	1852	Appointed 27 November 1847; gazetted Governor and Commander-in-Chief on Labuan.^[5] Also served as British Commissioner and Consul-General in Borneo and Rajah of Sarawak.
William Napier (Lieutenant-Governor)	1848	1850	Administered the government during Brooke's absences; suspended from office in 1850.^[6]
John Scott (Lieutenant-Governor)	1850	1856	Appointed Lieutenant-Governor in November 1850; administered the settlement following Brooke's retirement.^[7]
George Warren Edwardes	13 February 1856	1861	Appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief.^[8] Also served as Acting Consul-General in Borneo; intervened aboard the Victoria at the Mukah River in 1860; recalled in 1861.^[9]
Thomas Fitzgerald Callaghan	1861	1866	Appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief on 24 May 1861.^[10]
Hugh Low (Acting Governor)	1866	1867	Colonial Secretary and Police Magistrate of Labuan; administered the government between substantive appointments.^[2]
John Pope Hennessy	1867	1871	Appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief on 13 September 1867.^[11] Also acted as Consul-General in Borneo.
Henry Bulwer	1871	1875	Appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief on 21 March 1871.^[12] Also served as Consul-General in Borneo.
Herbert Taylor Ussher	1875	1879	Appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief on 31 July 1875.^[13] Transferred to the Gold Coast in 1879.
Charles Cameron Lees	1879	1881	Appointed Governor and Commander-in-Chief on 27 September 1879.^[14] Transferred to the Bahamas in 1881.^[15]
Peter Leys (Administrator)	1881	1888	Colonial Surgeon; administered the government of Labuan and served concurrently as Acting Consul-General in Borneo.^[16]^[17]
Arthur Shirley Hamilton (Administrator)	1888	1890	Administered the island until the transfer of administrative responsibilities to the North Borneo Chartered Company.^[2]

List of governors appointed by the North Borneo Chartered Company (1890–1906)

Under the 1889 agreement with the British Government, the Court of Directors of the North Borneo Chartered Company took over the direct civil administration of Labuan, and the Governor of North Borneo was concurrently commissioned as Governor of Labuan.^[3]

More information Portrait, Name ...

Name	Took office	Left office	Notes
Charles Creagh	1890	1895	First joint Governor of British North Borneo and Labuan.^[2]
Leicester Beaufort	1895	1899	Joint Governor of British North Borneo and Labuan.^[2]
Hugh Clifford	1900	1901	Resigned following policy disputes with the Chartered Company Court of Directors.^[3]
Ernest Birch	1901	1903	Joint Governor of British North Borneo and Labuan.^[2]
Edward Peregrine Gueritz	1904	1906	Final company-appointed governor prior to the resumption of direct Crown administration.^[2]

List of governors appointed by the Straits Settlements (1906–1946)

On 30 October 1906, the Crown formally resumed direct administration of Labuan, annexing the island to the Straits Settlements with effect from 1 January 1907.^[4] The Governor of the Straits Settlements held the commission of Governor of Labuan ex officio, represented locally by a resident District Officer.^[2]

More information Portrait, Name ...

Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Notes
	Sir John Anderson	1906	1911	Superintended the formal transfer and integration of Labuan into the Straits Settlements.^[4]
	Sir Arthur Young	1911	1920	Governor of the Straits Settlements.^[2]
	Sir Laurence Guillemard	1920	1927	Governor of the Straits Settlements.^[2]
	Sir Hugh Clifford	1927	1930	Second tenure as governor of the island, serving as Governor of the Straits Settlements.^[2]
	Sir Cecil Clementi	1930	1934	Governor of the Straits Settlements.^[2]
	Sir Shenton Thomas	1934	15 February 1942	Interrupted by the outbreak of the Pacific War and the Japanese invasion.^[2]
Administration suspended during the Japanese occupation of British Borneo (1942–1945)
	Sir Shenton Thomas	September 1945	15 July 1946	Titular governor following liberation until Labuan was formally joined with the Crown Colony of North Borneo on 15 July 1946.^[2]

References

[1]
Colonial Office. "War and Colonial Department and Colonial Office: Labuan, Original Correspondence" (1846–1906). War and Colonial Department and Colonial Office: Labuan, Original Correspondence, Series: Colonial Office Records: Labuan (CO 144). The National Archives, Kew, The National Archives, Kew.
[2]
Henige, David P. (1970). Colonial Governors from the Fifteenth Century to the Present: A Comprehensive List. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 103–104. ISBN 978-0-299-05440-3.
[3]
Tregonning, K. G. (1965). A History of Modern Sabah (North Borneo 1881–1963). Singapore: University of Malaya Press. pp. 38–44.
[4]
Colonial Office (1908). The Colonial Office List for 1908. London: Waterlow & Sons. pp. 339–340.
[5]
"Downing-Street, November 27, 1847". The London Gazette. No. 20801. 30 November 1847. p. 4437.
[6]
Supply—Miscellaneous Estimates: Labuan (Report). Hansard's Parliamentary Debates. Vol. 118. House of Commons. 10 July 1851. pp. cols. 437–458.
[7]
"Downing-Street, November 14, 1850". The London Gazette. No. 21154. 15 November 1850. p. 3035.
[8]
"Downing-Street, February 13, 1856". The London Gazette. No. 21850. 15 February 1856. p. 556.
[9]
Edwardes, George Warren. "Despatch No. 4 (Political) to Lord John Russell: Proceedings at the Muka River" (10 August 1860). Foreign Office Records, 1761–1952 (AJCP Reel No. 3508), Series: Foreign Office Records: Borneo (FO 12), File: 12/27, ID: nla.obj-807840748. National Library of Australia, The National Archives, Kew / National Library of Australia.
[10]
"Downing-Street, May 24, 1861". The London Gazette. No. 22514. 28 May 1861. p. 2250.
[11]
"Downing-Street, September 13, 1867". The London Gazette. No. 23301. 13 September 1867. p. 5055.
[12]
"Downing-Street, March 21, 1871". The London Gazette. No. 23719. 24 March 1871. p. 1543.
[13]
"Downing-Street, July 31, 1875". The London Gazette. No. 24233. 3 August 1875. p. 3904.
[14]
"Downing-Street, September 27, 1879". The London Gazette. No. 24766. 30 September 1879. p. 5689.
[15]
"Downing-Street, October 5, 1881". The London Gazette. No. 25023. 7 October 1881. p. 5000.
[16]
"Draft Despatches and Correspondence to Consul-General Peter Leys Administering Labuan" (1881). Foreign Office Records, 1761–1952 (AJCP Reel No. 3517), Series: Foreign Office Records: Borneo (FO 12), File: 12/52, ID: nla.obj-809335036. National Library of Australia, The National Archives, Kew / National Library of Australia.
[17]
"Chancery of the Order of Saint Michael and Saint George". The London Gazette. No. 26008. 1 January 1890. p. 2.

Governor of Labuan

List of governors appointed by the Crown (1848–1890)

List of governors appointed by the North Borneo Chartered Company (1890–1906)

List of governors appointed by the Straits Settlements (1906–1946)

References

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