High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
The High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands was an official who ruled the American Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands (TTPI), a United Nations trusteeship in the Pacific Ocean under the administration of the United States, between 1947 and 1994. The territory consisted of islands captured by America during World War II, prior to which they had been part of the Empire of Japan as the South Seas Mandate, within the Japanese colonial empire. After World War II, United Nations Security Council Resolution 21 placed the territory under the United States trusteeship as the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. The islands are now part of Palau, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, and Marshall Islands.
List
The following is a list of the High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, as well as their predecessors during the American occupation of the territory between 1944 and 1947.
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| No. | Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States Navy control | ||||
| 1 | March 1944 to 19 June 1944 |  | John H. Hoover, Military Governor | |
| 2 | 19 June 1944 to 24 November 1945 |  | Chester W. Nimitz, Military Governor and CINCPACFLT | |
| 3 | 24 November 1945 to 3 February 1946 |  | Raymond A. Spruance, Military Governor and CINCPACFLT | |
| 4 | 3 February 1946 to 28 February 1947 |  | John H. Towers, Military Governor and CINCPACFLT | |
| 5 | 28 February 1947 to 18 July 1947 |  | Louis E. Denfeld, Military Governor and CINCPACFLT | |
| Trust Territory | ||||
| 1 | 18 July 1947 to 17 April 1948 | | Louis E. Denfeld, High Commissioner and CINCPACFLT | Numbering restarted for civil (rather than military) office |
| 2 | 17 April 1948 to 1 May 1949 |  | DeWitt Clinton Ramsey, High Commissioner and CINCPACFLT | |
| 3 | 1 May 1949 to 6 January 1951 |  | Arthur W. Radford, High Commissioner and CINCPACFLT | |
| 4 | 6 January 1951 to 11 February 1953 |  | Elbert D. Thomas, High Commissioner | |
| 5 | 13 March 1953 to 1 September 1954 |  | Frank E. Midkiff, High Commissioner | |
| 6 | 1 September 1954 to 1 May 1961 |  | Delmas H. Nucker, High Commissioner | Acting to November 1956 |
| 7 | 1 May 1961 to 27 May 1966 |  | Maurice W. Goding, High Commissioner | |
| 8 | 27 May 1966 to 1 May 1969 | | William R. Norwood, High Commissioner | Acting to 1 August 1966 |
| 9 | 1 May 1969 to 1 July 1976 |  | Edward E. Johnston, High Commissioner | |
| – | 1 July 1976 to 9 July 1977 |  | Peter Tali Coleman, acting High Commissioner | |
| 10 | 9 July 1977 to 1981 |  | Adrian P. Winkel, High Commissioner | |
| 11 | December 1981 to 10 July 1987 | | Janet J. McCoy, High Commissioner | |
| Office of Transition | ||||
| 12 | 3 November 1986 to 30 September 1991 | | Charles D. Jordan, Director | |
Palau
- Palau continued to be administered by the Office of Territorial and International Affairs (presently the Office of Insular Affairs), a unit of the United States Department of the Interior until May 25, 1994.
References