List of governors of British South African colonies
Appearance
(Redirected from Governor of Cape Colony)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/54/SouthAfrica1885.svg/220px-SouthAfrica1885.svg.png)
This article lists the governors of British South African colonies, including the colonial prime ministers. It encompasses the period from 1797 to 1910, when present-day South Africa was divided into four British colonies namely: Cape Colony (preceded by Dutch Cape Colony), Natal Colony, Orange River Colony and Transvaal Colony.
After the colonies were disestablished as a result of the creation of the Union of South Africa, the area was divided into four provinces of the Union: Cape Province, Natal Province, Orange Free State Province and Transvaal Province.
Cape Colony
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/60/Cape_Colony_map.png/220px-Cape_Colony_map.png)
Governors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bf/Flag_of_the_Governor_of_the_Cape_Colony_%281876%E2%80%931910%29.svg/220px-Flag_of_the_Governor_of_the_Cape_Colony_%281876%E2%80%931910%29.svg.png)
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Governors | |||
5 May 1797 to 20 November 1798 | ![]() |
George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney | Known for the 1793 Macartney Embassy to China |
20 November 1798 to 9 December 1799 | ![]() |
Francis Dundas | 1st time, acting |
10 December 1799 to 20 April 1801 | ![]() |
Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet | |
21 April 1801 to 20 February 1803 | ![]() |
Francis Dundas | 2nd time, acting |
Commissioner-general | |||
21 February 1803 to 25 September 1804 | ![]() |
Jacob Abraham de Mist | Represented the Batavian Republic |
Governors | |||
1 March 1803 to 18 January 1806 | ![]() |
Jan Willem Janssens | Represented the Batavian Republic |
10 January 1806 to 17 January 1807 | ![]() |
Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet | Military governor, acting |
17 January 1807 to 21 May 1807 | Henry George Grey | 1st time, acting | |
22 May 1807 to 4 July 1811 | ![]() |
Du Pre Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon | |
5 July 1811 to 5 September 1811 | Henry George Grey | 2nd time, acting | |
6 September 1811 to 6 April 1814 | ![]() |
John Cradock, 1st Baron Howden | |
18 October 1813 to 7 January 1814 | Robert Meade | Acting for Cradock; son of Theodosia, Countess of Clanwilliam | |
6 April 1814 to 5 March 1826 | ![]() |
Lord Charles Somerset | |
13 January 1820 to 30 November 1821 | Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin | Acting for Somerset | |
5 March 1826 to 9 September 1828 | ![]() |
Richard Bourke | Acting |
9 September 1828 to 10 August 1833 | ![]() |
Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole | |
10 August 1833 to 16 January 1834 | Thomas Francis Wade | Acting (for D'Urban from 10 January 1834) | |
10 January 1834 to 20 January 1838 | ![]() |
Sir Benjamin D'Urban | |
22 January 1838 to 18 March 1844 | ![]() |
Sir George Thomas Napier | |
18 March 1844 to 27 January 1847 | ![]() |
Sir Peregrine Maitland | |
Governors and High Commissioners for Southern Africa | |||
27 January 1847 to 1 December 1847 | ![]() |
Sir Henry Pottinger | |
1 December 1847 to 31 March 1852 | ![]() |
Sir Harry Smith, 1st Baronet | |
31 March 1852 to 26 May 1854 | ![]() |
George Cathcart | |
26 May 1854 to 5 December 1854 | ![]() |
Charles Henry Darling | Acting |
5 December 1854 to 15 August 1861 | ![]() |
Sir George Grey | |
20 August 1859 to 4 July 1860 | ![]() |
Robert Wynyard | 1st time, acting for Grey |
15 August 1861 to 15 January 1862 | 2nd time, acting | ||
15 January 1862 to 20 May 1870 | ![]() |
Sir Philip Wodehouse | |
20 May 1870 to 31 December 1870 | Charles Craufurd Hay | Acting | |
31 December 1870 to 31 March 1877 | ![]() |
Sir Henry Barkly | |
31 March 1877 to 15 September 1880 | ![]() |
Sir Henry Bartle Frere | Known for initiating the Anglo-Zulu War and the First Boer War |
15 September 1880 to 27 September 1880 | ![]() |
Henry Hugh Clifford | Acting |
27 September 1880 to 22 January 1881 | ![]() |
Sir George Strahan | Acting |
22 January 1881 to 1 May 1889 | ![]() |
Sir Hercules Robinson | 1st time |
30 April 1881 to August 1881 | Sir Leicester Smyth | 1st time, acting for Robinson | |
25 April 1883 to 26 March 1884 | 2nd time, acting for Robinson | ||
7 April 1886 to 7 July 1886 | ![]() |
Sir Henry Torrens | Acting for Robinson |
1 May 1889 to 13 December 1889 | ![]() |
Henry Augustus Smyth | Acting |
13 December 1889 to 30 May 1895 | ![]() |
Henry Loch, 1st Baron Loch | |
14 January 1891 to 1 December 1892 | ![]() |
Sir William Gordon Cameron | 1st time, acting for Loch |
May 1894 to July 1894 | 2nd time, acting for Loch | ||
30 May 1895 to 21 April 1897 | ![]() |
Sir Hercules Robinson | 2nd time; from 10 August 1896, Hercules Robinson, Baron Rosmead |
21 April 1897 to 5 May 1897 | ![]() |
Sir William Howley Goodenough | Acting |
5 May 1897 to 6 March 1901 | ![]() |
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner | |
2 November 1898 to 14 February 1899 | ![]() |
Sir William Butler | Acting for Milner |
6 March 1901 to 31 May 1910 | ![]() |
Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson | |
17 June 1909 to 21 September 1909 | ![]() |
Sir Henry Scobell | Acting for Hely-Hutchinson |
Prime Ministers
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 December 1872 to 5 February 1878 | ![]() |
John Charles Molteno | n-p | |
6 February 1878 to 8 May 1881 | ![]() |
John Gordon Sprigg | n-p | 1st time |
9 May 1881 to 12 May 1884 | ![]() |
Thomas Charles Scanlen | n-p | |
13 May 1884 to 24 November 1886 | ![]() |
Thomas Upington | n-p | |
25 November 1886 to 16 July 1890 | ![]() |
Sir John Gordon Sprigg | n-p | 2nd time |
17 July 1890 to 12 January 1896 | ![]() |
Cecil Rhodes | n-p | Resigned in the aftermath of the Jameson Raid |
13 January 1896 to 13 October 1898 | ![]() |
Sir John Gordon Sprigg | n-p | 3rd time |
13 October 1898 to 17 June 1900 | ![]() |
William Schreiner | n-p | |
18 June 1900 to 21 February 1904 | ![]() |
Sir John Gordon Sprigg | PP | 4th time |
22 February 1904 to 2 February 1908 | ![]() |
Leander Starr Jameson | PP | Leader of the Jameson Raid |
3 February 1908 to 31 May 1910 | ![]() |
John X. Merriman | SAP |
Natal Colony
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/84/Natal_Colony_map.png/220px-Natal_Colony_map.png)
Governors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/92/Flag_of_the_Governor_of_the_Natal_Colony_%281905%E2%80%931907%29.svg/220px-Flag_of_the_Governor_of_the_Natal_Colony_%281905%E2%80%931907%29.svg.png)
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Special Commissioner | |||
10 May 1843 to 31 May 1844 | Henry Cloete | ||
31 May 1844 to 4 December 1845 | ![]() |
direct rule by Cape Colony | During this time, Sir Peregrine Maitland served as the governor of Cape Colony |
Lieutenant-governors | |||
4 December 1845 to 1 August 1849 | Martin Thomas West | ||
19 April 1850 to 3 Mar 1855 | ![]() |
Benjamin Pine | 1st time |
5 November 1856 to 31 December 1864 | John Scott | ||
31 December 1864 to 26 July 1865 | John Maclean | ||
26 July 1865 to 26 August 1865 | ![]() |
John Wellesley Thomas | Acting |
26 August 1865 to 24 May 1867 | ![]() |
John Jarvis Bisset | Acting |
24 May 1867 to 19 July 1872 | Robert William Keate | ||
19 July 1872 to 30 April 1873 | ![]() |
Anthony Musgrave | |
30 April 1873 to 22 July 1873 | Thomas Milles | Acting | |
22 July 1873 to 1 April 1875 | ![]() |
Sir Benjamin Pine | 2nd time |
1 April 1875 to 3 September 1875 | ![]() |
Sir Garnet Joseph Wolseley | Acting |
3 September 1875 to 20 April 1880 | Sir Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer | 1st time | |
20 April 1880 to 5 May 1880 | ![]() |
William Bellairs | Acting |
5 May 1880 to 2 July 1880 | ![]() |
Henry Hugh Clifford | Acting |
Governors | |||
2 July 1880 to 27 February 1881 | ![]() |
Sir George Pomeroy Colley | |
17 August 1880 to 14 September 1880 | Henry Alexander | Acting for Colley | |
27 February 1881 to 3 April 1881 | ![]() |
Sir Evelyn Wood | Acting |
3 April 1881 to 9 August 1881 | ![]() |
Redvers Buller | Acting |
22 December 1881 to 6 March 1882 | ![]() |
Charles Mitchell | 1st time, acting |
6 March 1882 to 23 October 1885 | Sir Henry Ernest Gascoyne Bulwer | 2nd time | |
18 February 1886 to 5 June 1889 | ![]() |
Sir Arthur Havelock | |
1 December 1889 to July 1893 | ![]() |
Charles Mitchell | 2nd time |
July 1893 to 27 September 1893 | Francis Seymour Haden | Acting | |
28 September 1893 to 6 May 1901 | ![]() |
Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson | |
13 May 1901 to 7 June 1907 | ![]() |
Sir Henry McCallum | |
2 September 1907 to 23 December 1909 | ![]() |
Sir Matthew Nathan | |
17 January 1910 to 31 May 1910 | ![]() |
Paul Methuen, 3rd Baron Methuen |
Prime Ministers
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 October 1893 to 14 February 1897 | ![]() |
Sir John Robinson | n-p | |
15 February 1897 to 4 October 1897 | ![]() |
Harry Escombe | n-p | |
5 October 1897 to 8 June 1899 | Sir Henry Binns | n-p | ||
9 June 1899 to 17 August 1903 | Sir Albert Henry Hime | n-p | ||
18 August 1903 to 16 May 1905 | George Morris Sutton | n-p | ||
16 May 1905 to 28 November 1906 | Charles John Smythe | n-p | ||
28 November 1906 to 28 April 1910 | ![]() |
Frederick Moor | n-p |
Orange River Colony
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Orange_Free_State_map.png/220px-Orange_Free_State_map.png)
Governors
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2b/Flag_of_the_Governor_of_the_Orange_River_Colony_%281902%E2%80%931910%29.svg/220px-Flag_of_the_Governor_of_the_Orange_River_Colony_%281902%E2%80%931910%29.svg.png)
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
23 June 1902 to 1 April 1905 | ![]() |
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner | Simultaneously served as the governor of Transvaal Colony |
2 April 1905 to 7 June 1907 | ![]() |
William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne | |
7 June 1907 to 31 May 1910 | ![]() |
Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams |
Prime Minister
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
27 November 1907 to 31 May 1910 | ![]() |
Abraham Fischer | ORU | Later served as the Minister of the Interior Affairs of South Africa, from 1912 to 1913 |
Transvaal Colony
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/14/Transvaal_map.png/220px-Transvaal_map.png)
Governors of the Transvaal
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/39/Flag_of_the_Governor_of_the_Transvaal_Colony_%281904%E2%80%931910%29.svg/220px-Flag_of_the_Governor_of_the_Transvaal_Colony_%281904%E2%80%931910%29.svg.png)
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
First annexation | |||
Administrators | |||
12 April 1877 to 4 March 1879 | ![]() |
Sir Theophilus Shepstone | |
4 March 1879 to 8 August 1881 | ![]() |
Owen Lanyon | From 6 April 1880, Sir William Owen Lanyon; acting for Wolseley 29 September 1879 – 27 April 1880 |
Governor | |||
29 September 1879 to 27 April 1880 | ![]() |
Garnet Wolseley, 1st Viscount Wolseley | |
Second annexation | |||
Administrator | |||
4 January 1901 to 23 June 1902 | ![]() |
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner | Simultaneously served as the Administrator of Orange River Colony |
Governors | |||
21 June 1902 to 1 April 1905 | ![]() |
Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner | Simultaneously served as the governor of Orange River Colony |
2 April 1905 to 31 May 1910 | ![]() |
William Palmer, 2nd Earl of Selborne |
Lieutenant-Governors of the Transvaal
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Second annexation | |||
Lieutenant-Governors | |||
29 September 1902 to 4 December 1905 | ![]() |
Sir Arthur Lawley | Appointed Governor of Madras |
23 March 1906 to January 1907 | ![]() |
Sir Richard Solomon | Acting for Selborne 4 December 1905 to 2 October 1906 |
Prime Minister of the Transvaal
Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Party | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
4 March 1907 to 31 May 1910 | ![]() |
Louis Botha | HV | Afterwards served as the first Prime Minister of South Africa, from 1910 to 1919 |
See also
- High Commissioner for Southern Africa
- Commander-in-Chief of British Forces in South Africa
- List of administrators of former South African provinces
References
- Cana, Frank Richardson (1911). Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 19 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. . In
- Ingram, Joseph Forsyth (1895). The Colony of Natal: An Official Illustrated Handbook and Railway Guide. London: J. Causton and Sons. p. 26. OCLC 813121.
- "Governors & Administrators of Natal". Natal Almanac, Directory and Yearly Register. No. 35. Pietermaritzburg: P. Davis & Sons. 1897. p. 304.
- "South Africa: Cape Colony", worldstatesmen.org © Ben Cahoon.
- "South Africa: Natal Colony", worldstatesmen.org © Ben Cahoon.
- "South Africa: Orange Free State", worldstatesmen.org © Ben Cahoon.
- "South Africa: Transvaal", worldstatesmen.org © Ben Cahoon.