List of rulers of the Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands, a group of islands in the southern Pacific Ocean, are the last remaining British Overseas Territory in Oceania. Settled by mutineers from the Bounty in 1790, the island was effectively sovereign until 1898, when it was annexed by the United Kingdom and placed under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Fiji. When Fiji became independent in 1970, Pitcairn Island was placed under the authority of the British High Commissioner (ambassador) to New Zealand. In practice, partly due to its isolation, Pitcairn has effectively had internal self-government throughout this period. From 1790 to 1829, the local head of government was known simply as the Leader. They had a President from 1832 to 1838, and a Magistrate from that time until 1999, except for an eleven-year gap from 1893 to 1904, when the chief official was the President of the Council. In 1999, the Magistrate's non-judicial functions were transferred to the new office of Mayor.

Mayor of Pitcairn
Incumbent
Charlene Warren-Peu

since 1 January 2020
StyleMayor (domestically); His/Her Excellency (Abroad)
Member ofIsland Council
SeatAdamstown
AppointerGovernor of Pitcairn (de jure)
Popular vote (de facto)
Term length3 years; renewable
Formation7 December 1999
First holderFletcher Christian (Leader)
Steve Christian (Mayor)
DeputyDeputy Mayor
This article is part of a series on the
politics and government of
the Pitcairn Islands

Local heads of government (1790–present)

Pitcairn Islands
Name

(Birth–Death)

Title Portrait Tenure Notes Governor of Pitcairn Monarch
From Until
1 Fletcher Christian
(1764–1793)
Leader 23 January 1790 3 October 1793 N/A N/A
2 Edward "Ned" Young
(1762–1800)
Leader 3 October 1793 25 December 1800
3 John "Jack" Adams
(1767–1829)
Leader 25 December 1800 5 March 1829
Vacant[lower-alpha 1] 5 March 1829 October 1832
4 Joshua Hill
(1773–1844?)
President October 1832 1838
5 Edward Quintal
(1800–1841)
Magistrate 1838 1839

Victoria

6 Arthur Quintal I
(1795–1872)
Magistrate 1840 1841
7 Fletcher Christian II
(1812–1852)
Magistrate 1842 1842
8 Matthew McCoy
(1819–1853)
Magistrate 1843 1843 1st term
9 Thursday October Christian II
(1820–1911)
Magistrate 1844 1844 1st term
10 Arthur Quintal II
(1816–1902)
Magistrate 1845 1846 1st term
11 Charles Christian II
(1818–1886)
Magistrate 1847 1847
12 George Adams
(1804–1873)
Magistrate 1848 1848
13 Simon Young
(1823–1893)
Magistrate 1849 1849
14 Arthur Quintal II
(1816–1902)
Magistrate 1850 1850 2nd term
15 Thursday October Christian II
(1820–1911)
Magistrate 1851 1851 2nd term
16 Abraham Blatchly Quintal
(?–?)
Magistrate 1852 1852
17 Matthew McCoy
(1819–1853)
Magistrate 1853 1853 2nd term
18 Arthur Quintal II
(1816–1902)
Magistrate 1854 1854 3rd term
19 George Martin Frederick Young
(?–?)
Magistrate 1855 3 May 1856
Vacant due to relocation to Norfolk Island 1856 1864
20 Thursday October Christian II
(1820–1911)
Magistrate 1864 1864 3rd term
21 Moses Young
(1829–1909)
Magistrate 1865 1866 1st term
22 Thursday October Christian II
(1820–1911)
Magistrate 1867 1867 4th term
23 Robert Pitcairn Buffett
(?–?)
Magistrate 1868 1868
24 Moses Young
(1829–1909)
Magistrate 1869 1869 2nd term
25 James Russell McCoy
(1845–1924)
Magistrate 1870 1872 1st term
26 Thursday October Christian II
(1820–1911)
Magistrate 1873 1874 5th term
27 Moses Young
(1829–1909)
Magistrate 1875 1875 3rd term
28 Thursday October Christian II
(1820–1911)
Magistrate 1876 1877 6th term
29 James Russell McCoy
(1845–1924)
Magistrate 1878 1879 2nd term
30 Thursday October Christian II
(1820–1911)
Magistrate 1880 1880 7th term
31 Moses Young
(1829–1909)
Magistrate 1881 1881 4th term
32 Thursday October Christian II
(1820–1911)
Magistrate 1882 1882 8th term
33 James Russell McCoy
(1845–1924)
Magistrate 1883 1883 3rd term
34 Benjamin Stanley Young
(1851–1934)
Magistrate 1884 1885 1st term
35 James Russell McCoy
(1845–1924)
Magistrate 1886 1889 4th term
36 Charles Carleton Vieder Young
(?–?)
Magistrate 1890 1891
37 Benjamin Stanley Young
(1851–1934)
Magistrate 1892 1892 2nd term
38 James Russell McCoy
(1845–1924)
President of the Council 1893 1896 5th term
39 William Alfred Young
(1863–1911)
President of the Council 1897 1897 1st term
40 James Russell McCoy
(1845–1924)
President of the Council 1897 1903 6th term

Edward VII

41 William Alfred Young
(1863–1911)
President of the Council 1904 1904 2nd term
42 James Russell McCoy
(1845–1924)
Magistrate 1905 1906 7th term
43 Arthur Herbert Young
(1873–1943)
Magistrate 1907 1907 1st term
44 William Alfred Young
(1863–1911)
Magistrate 1908 1908 3rd term
45 Matthew Edmond McCoy
(1868–1929)
Magistrate 1909 1909
46 Gerard Bromley Robert Christian
(1870–1919)
Magistrate 1910 1919

George V

47 Charles Richard Parkin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1920 1920 1st term
48 Frederick Martin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1921 1921 1st term
49 Charles Richard Parkin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1922 1922 2nd term
50 Edgar Allen Christian
(1879–1960)
Magistrate 1923 1924 1st term
51 Charles Richard Parkin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1925 1925 3rd term
52 Richard Edgar Christian
(1882–1940)
Magistrate 1926 1929 1st term
53 Arthur Herbert Young
(1873–1943)
Magistrate 1930 1931 2nd term
54 Edgar Allen Christian
(1879–1960)
Magistrate 1932 1932 2nd term
55 Charles Richard Parkin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1933 1934 4th term
56 Richard Edgar Christian
(1882–1940)
Magistrate 1935 1938 2nd term

Edward VIII

George VI

57 Arthur Herbert Young
(1873–1943)
Magistrate 1939 1939 3rd term
58 Richard Edgar Christian
(1882–1940)
Magistrate 1940 1940 3rd term
59 Andrew Clarence David Young
(?–?)
Magistrate 1940 1940
60 Arthur Herbert Young
(1873–1943)
Magistrate 1941 1941 4th term
61 Frederick Martin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1942 1943 2nd term
62 Charles Richard Parkin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1944 1945 5th term
63 Norris Henry Young
(1887–1974)
Magistrate 1945 1948
64 Charles Richard Parkin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1949 1949 6th term
65 Warren Clive Christian
(1914–2003)
Magistrate 1950 1951 1st term
66 John Lorenzo Christian
(1895–1984)
Magistrate 1952 1954 1st term

Elizabeth II

67 Charles Richard Parkin Christian
(1883–1971)
Magistrate 1955 1957 7th term
68 Warren Clive Christian
(1914–2003)
Magistrate 1958 1959 2nd term
69 John Lorenzo Christian
(1895–1984)
Magistrate 1959 1966 2nd term
70 Pervis Ferris Young
(1928–2003)
Magistrate 1967 December 1975

Sir Arthur Norman Galsworthy

(October 1970 – January 1973)

Sir David Aubrey Scott

(January 1973 – 1975)

71 Ivan Christian
(1919–1991)
Magistrate December 1975 December 1984

Sir Harold Smedley

(February 1976 – 1980)

Richard Stratton

(September 1980 – 1984)

72 Brian Young
(1954–)
Magistrate December 1984 1 January 1991

Terence Daniel O'Leary

(July 1984 – 1987)

Robin Byatt

(December 1987 – 1990)

David Moss

(September 1990 – 1994)

73 Jay Warren
(1956–)
Magistrate 1 January 1991 7 December 1999 1st term

Robert John Alston

(August 1994 – 10 February 1998)

Martin Williams

(April 1998 – 2001)

74 Steve Christian
(1951–)
Mayor 7 December 1999 8 November 2004 [lower-alpha 2]

Richard Fell

(10 December 2001 – April 2006)

75 Brenda Christian
(1953–)
Acting Mayor 8 November 2004 15 December 2004
76 Jay Warren
(1956–)
Mayor 1 January 2005 31 December 2007 2nd term

George Fergusson

(2 May 2006 – 18 May 2010)

77 Mike Warren
(1964–)
Mayor 1 January 2008 31 December 2013

Mike Cherrett

(19 May 2010 – 3 June 2010)

Victoria "Vicki" Treadell

(3 June 2010 – July 2014)

78 Shawn Christian
(1975–)
Mayor 1 January 2014 31 December 2019

Jonathan Sinclair

(15 August 2014 – 9 December 2017)

Robin Shackell

(9 December 2017 – January 2018)

Laura Clarke

(January 2018 – Present)

79 Charlene Warren-Peu
(1979–)
Mayor 1 January 2020 Present
Sources: Pitcairn Island Civil Recorder (1864–1964)[1]
  1. The death of John Adams led to a constitutional crisis. An important leader was Thursday October Christian, the first son of Fletcher Christian and the first child born on the island. In the ensuing period, the islanders tried to relocate to Tahiti, until the arrival of Joshua Hill.
  2. Dismissed from office by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office following his four rape convictions.

Colonial governors (1898–present)

See separate articles:

  • Governors of Fiji (1898–1970)
  • British High Commissioners to New Zealand (1970–present)

See also

References

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.