The governor of the Cayman Islands is the representative of the British monarch in the United Kingdom's overseas territory of the Cayman Islands. The governor, a civil servant who has in modern times typically been a British subject normally resident in the United Kingdom, is appointed by the monarch from the staff of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office on the advice of the British government. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state, and is responsible for appointing the premier, who is the leader of the party with a majority of seats in the Legislature.
The governorship has been held by Jane Owen since April 2023.
The governor has her own flag, the Union Flag defaced with the territory's coat of arms. The official residence of the governor is the Government House in Seven Mile Beach, Grand Cayman.
History Until 1962, the Cayman Islands were administered as a dependency of Jamaica. When Jamaica gained independence, the islands were split and became a separate Crown colony. An administrator was appointed to the islands in 1959. After 1971, the British government appointed a governor. In 2013 Helen Kilpatrick became the Cayman Islands' first female governor. In 2023, Jane Owen became the second female governor.
List of officeholders Portrait Name Tenure Chief magistrates of the Cayman Islands (1750–1907) William Cartwright 1750–1776 William Bodden 1776–1823 James Coe the Elder 1823–1829 John Drayton 1829–1842 James Coe the Younger 1842–1855 William Eden 1855–1879 William Bodden Webster 1879–1888 Edmund Parsons 1888–1907 Commissioners of the Cayman Islands (1898–1959) Frederick Shedden Sanguinetti 1898–1906 George Stephenson Hirst 1907–1912 Arthur C Robinson 1912–1919 Hugh Houston Hutchings 1919–1929 Captain G. H. Frith 1929–1931 Ernest Arthur Weston 1931–1934 Allan Wolsey Cardinall, CMG (later Sir Allan) 1934–1940 Albert C. Panton Snr, MBE (acting) 1940–1941 John Perry Jones 1941–1946 Ivor Otterbein Smith (later CMG, OBE) 1946–1952 Andrew Morris Gerrard, CMG 1952–1956 Alan Hillard Donald 1956 – 4 July 1959 Administrators of the Cayman Islands (1960–1971) Wing Commander Jack Rose CMG, MBE, DFC 1960–1964 John Alfred Cumber CMG, MBE, TD 1964–1968 Athelstan Charles Ethelwulf Long 1968 – 22 August 1971 Governors of the Cayman Islands (1971–present) Athelstan Charles Ethelwulf Long 22 August 1971 – 1972 Kenneth Roy Crook 1972–1974 Thomas Russell 1974–1981 George Peter Lloyd 1982 – 10 June 1987 Alan James Scott 10 June 1987 – 14 September 1992 Michael Edward John Gore 14 September 1992 – 16 October 1995 John Wynne Owen 16 October 1995 – 5 May 1999 Peter Smith 5 May 1999 – 9 May 2002 Bruce Dinwiddy 19 May 2002 – 28 October 2005 Stuart Jack 23 November 2005 – 2 December 2009 Donovan Ebanks 2 December 2009 – 15 January 2010 Duncan Taylor 15 January 2010 – 7 August 2013 Helen Kilpatrick 6 September 2013 – 5 March 2018Helen Kilpatrick sworn in as new governor , Cayman NetNews, September 6, 2013 Anwar Choudhury 26 March 2018 – 20 October 2018 Martyn Roper 29 October 2018 – 29 March 2023 Jane Owen 21 April 2023 – present
References
External links Cayman Islands Government Cayman Islands @ worldstatesmen.org