Falkland Islands
 

1 Apr 1767 - Feb 1811                       1820 - 3 Jan 1833                            3 Jan 1833 - 1876                             1876 - 16 Oct 1925                          16 Oct 1925 - 29 Sep 1948                          29 Sep 1948 - 2 Apr 1982;                       14 Jun 1982 - 25 Jan 1999                       2 Apr 1982 - 14 Jun 1982                            Adopted 25 Jan 1999   Map of the Falkland Islands  Hear National Anthem  "God Save the Queen"   Hear Local Anthem "Song of the Falklands" (unofficial) Constitution Order (1 Jan 2009) -------------------------------- Former Constitution Order (3 Oct 1985 - 1 Jan 2009) Capital: Stanley (formerly Port Stanley) (Puerto Argentino Apr-Jun 1982; Port Jackson 1843-Jul 1845; Fort Louis 1833-1843; Puerto Soledad 1767-1833; Fort St. Louis 1764-1767) Currency: Falkland Pound (FKP)  National Holiday: 14 Jun (1982) Liberation Day Population: 3,140 (2008) GDP: $105.1 million (2002)  Exports: $125 million (2004) Imports: $90 million (2004) Ethnic groups: British 95.88%, other (2001) Total Active Armed Forces: 1,300 (2002) Defense is the Responsibility of the U.K. Merchant marine: None (2008)  Religions: Christian (mainly Anglican, some Roman  Catholic) 67.2%, none 31.5%, other 1.3% (2006) International Organizations/Treaties: UPU  Falkland Islands Index Chronology 27 Jan 1600                Discovered by Dutch Capt. Sebald de Weert. 14 Aug 1592                First confirmed sighting of the islands by                              English Capt. John Davis (Davis' Land). Feb 1594                   English navigator Richard Hawkins names the                               islands Hawkins Maydenlande (Hawkins Maiden Land) 27 Jan 1690                First confirmed landing by English Capt. John                               Strong. 23 Dec 1708                Named Falkland's Land by Capt. Woode Rogers. 1763                       French name the islands the Îles Malouines.  5 Apr 1764                French settlement on East Falkland (Fort St. Louis) 25 Jan 1765                West Falkland Island claimed for Britain.  8 Jan 1766                British settlement on West Falkland (Port Egmont,                              Falkland Islands).  1 Apr 1767                French transfer their settlement to Spain                              (Puerto de Soledad), named Islas Malvinas. 20 Mar 1774                British withdraw, but continue to claim                               sovereignty over all the Falkland Islands. Feb 1811                   Spanish withdraw.  6 Nov 1820                Argentina claims sovereignty. 1826                       Settlement at Port Louis re-established by                               Frenchman Louis Vernet who obtains a grant to                              all the Falkland Islands and their resources                              from the government of Argentina.  28 Dec 1831                U.S.S. Lexington under Commander Silas Duncan                              destroyed Soledad, and declaring the islands                               'free of all government' (this was in response                               to Vernet seizing three American sealing ships).  3 Jan 1833                British depose Argentine governor.  9 Jan 1834                British occupation.  2 Jan 1842                British civil administration begun.  6 Mar 1892                British crown colony (Falkland Islands). 21 Jul 1908 -  3 Mar 1962  South Shetland Islands, South Orkney Islands and                              Graham Land in Antarctica a Falklands dependency 21 Jul 1908 -  3 Oct 1985  South Georgia & South Sandwich Islands a                              dependency of the Falklands.  2 Apr 1982 - 14 Jun 1982  Occupied by Argentina (Islas Malvinas). West Falkland (1765-1774)

Governors (to 1774 of East Falkland only)
 5 Apr 1764 -  1 Apr 1767  Louis Antoine de Bougainville      (b. 1729 - d. 1811)
 2 Apr 1767 - 23 Jan 1773  Felipe Ruíz Puente
23 Jan 1773 -  5 Jan 1774  Domingo Chauri (interim)           (b. 1722 - d. ....)
 5 Jan 1774 -  1 Feb 1777  Francisco Gil de Taboada y Lemos   (b. 1736 - d. 1809)
 1 Feb 1777 - 22 Nov 1779  Ramón de Carassa (interim)
22 Nov 1779 - 26 Feb 1781  Salvador de Medina
26 Feb 1781 -  1 Apr 1783  Jacinto de Altolaguirre            (b. 1754 - d. 1787)
 1 Apr 1783 - 28 Jun 1784  Fulgencio Montemayor
28 Jun 1784 - 15 May 1785  Agustín Figueroa
15 May 1785 - 25 May 1786  Ramón Clairac (1st time)
25 May 1786 - 15 May 1787  Pedro de Mesa y Castro (1st time)
15 May 1787 - 10 Apr 1788  Ramón Clairac (2nd time)
10 Apr 1788 - 16 May 1789  Pedro de Mesa y Castro (2nd time)
16 May 1789 - 30 Jun 1790  Ramón Clairac (3rd time)
30 Jun 1790 -  1 Mar 1791  Juan José de Elizalde (1st time)
 1 Mar 1791 -  1 Mar 1792  Pedro Pablo Sanguineto (1st time)
 1 Mar 1792 -  1 Feb 1793  Juan José de Elizalde (2nd time)
 1 Feb 1793 - Apr 1794     Pedro Pablo Sanguineto (2nd time)
Apr 1794 - 15 Jun 1795     José de Aldana y Ortega (1st time)
15 Jun 1795 - 15 Mar 1796  Pedro Pablo Sanguineto (3rd time)
15 Mar 1796 - 20 Feb 1797  José de Aldana y Ortega (2nd time)
20 Feb 1797 - 17 Mar 1798  Luis de Medina y Torres (1st time)
17 Mar 1798 - Apr 1799     Francisco Xavier de Viana          (b. 1764 - d. 1820) 
                             (1st time)
Apr 1799 - 15 Mar 1800     Luis de Medina y Torres (2nd time)
15 Mar 1800 - 31 Mar 1801  Francisco Xavier de Viana          (s.a.) 
                             (2nd time)
31 Mar 1801 - 17 Mar 1802  Ramón Fernández de Villegas
17 Mar 1802 - Feb 1803     Bernardo Bonavía (1st time)
Feb 1803 - 21 Mar 1804     Antonio Leal de Ibarra (1st time)
21 Mar 1804 - 21 Mar 1805  Bernardo Bonavía (2nd time)
21 Mar 1805 - 20 Mar 1806  Antonio Leal de Ibarra (2nd time)
20 Mar 1806 - Aug 1808     Bernardo Bonavía (3rd time)
Aug 1808 - Jan 1810        Gerardo Bordas
Jan 1810 - 13 Feb 1811     Pablo Guillén
13 Feb 1811 -  6 Nov 1820  Vacant
Argentine Representatives
 6 Nov 1820 - Apr 1821     Daniel Jewett
May 1821 - Jun 1821        Guillermo Mason
 2 Feb 1824 - Aug 1824     Pablo Areguati -Commandant
Governors
30 Aug 1829 - 1831         Louis Vernet                       (b. 1791 - d. 1871)
1831 - 28 Dec 1831         Matthew Brisbane (acting)          (d. 1833)
28 Dec 1831                Silas Duncan -U.S.Commander
Dec 1831 - Nov 1832        William Dickinson (acting)         (d. 1833)
Nov 1832 - 30 Nov 1832     Juan Esteban Francisco Mestivier   (d. 1832)
1832 -  3 Jan 1833         José María Pinedo                  (b. 1795 - d. 1885)
Jan 1833 - Aug 1833        .... (acting)                      (d. 1833)
Naval officers-in-charge
 2 Jan 1833 -  3 Jan 1833  John James Onslow
 3 Jan 1833 - Apr 1833     William Dickinson (acting)         (s.a.)
                             (administrator)
Apr 1833 - Aug 1833        Matthew Brisbane (acting)          (s.a.)
                             (administrator)
Oct 1833 - Jan 1834        Rea (acting)
 9 Jan 1834 - 1838         Henry Smith
1838 - 1839                Robert Lowcay
1839                       Robinson
1839 - Oct 1841            John Tyssen
Lieutenant governor
Oct 1841 - 28 Nov 1843     Richard Clement Moody              (b. 1813 - d. 1887)
Governors (from 1962-1990 also High Commissioners of British Antarctic Territory;
and from 1985 also Commissioners for South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands)
28 Nov 1843 - 1848         Richard Clement Moody              (s.a.)
1848 - 1855                George Rennie                      (b. 1802 - d. 1860)
1855 - 1862                Thomas Edward Laws Moore           (b. 1819 - d. 1872)
1862 - 1866                James George Mackenzie
1866 - 1870                William Cleaver Francis Robinson   (b. 1834 - d. 1897)
1870 - 1876                George Abbas Kooli D'Arcy          (b. 1818? - d. 1885)
15 May 1876 - 1880         Jeremiah Thomas Fitzgerald         (b. c.1830 - d. 1881)
                             Callaghan
 6 Apr 1880 - 24 Jun 1880  Robert C. Packe (acting)
1880 - 1886                Thomas Kerr (1st time)             (b. 1818 - d. 1907)
1886 - 1887                Arthur Cecil Stuart Barkly         (b. 1843 - d. 1890)
1887 - 1891                Thomas Kerr (2nd time)             (s.a.)
28 Mar 1891 - 13 Apr 1891  Frederick Shedden Sanguinetti      (b. 1847 - d. 1906)
                             (acting)
1891 - 1897                Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy    (b. 1839 - d. 1900)
17 Apr 1897 - 20 Oct 1897  Fred Craigie Halkett (acting)      (b. 1852 - d. 1899)
1897 - 1904                William Grey-Wilson                (b. 1852 - d. 1926)
22 Jun 1904 -  1 Sep 1904  William Hart Bennett (acting)      (b. 1861 - d. 1918)
1904 - 1915                William Lamond Allardyce           (b. 1861 - d. 1930)
 2 Apr 1915 - 15 May 1915  C.F. Condell (acting)              (b. 1865 - d. 1922)
May 1915 - 1919            William Douglas Young              (b. 1859 - d. 1943)
                             (from 1919, Sir William Douglas Young) 
Sep 1919 - Apr 1920        Thomas Reginald St. Johnston       (b. 1881 - d. 1950)
                             (acting)
1920 - 1926                John Middleton                     (b. 1870 - d. 1954) 
                             (from 3 Jun 1924, Sir John Middleton)
May 1926 - Apr 1927        Alexander Elder Beattie (acting)   (b. 1888 - d. 1951)
1927 - 1931                Sir Arnold Weinholt Hodson         (b. 1881 - d. 1944)
1931 - 1934                Sir James O'Grady                  (b. 1866 - d. 1934)
1935 - 1941                Sir Herbert Henniker Heaton        (b. 1880 - d. 1961)
1941 - 1946                Allan Wolsey Cardinall             (b. 1887 - d. 1956) 
                             (from 1 Jan 1943, Sir Allan Wolsey Cardinall)
1946 - 1954                Geoffrey Miles Clifford            (b. 1897 - d. 1986) 
                             (from 9 Jun 1949, Sir Geoffrey Miles Clifford)
1954 - 28 Feb 1957         Oswald Raynor Arthur               (b. 1905 - d. 1973)
28 Feb 1957 - 1964         Edwin Porter Arrowsmith            (b. 1909 - d. 1992)
                             (from 13 Jun 1959, Sir Edwin Porter Arrowsmith)
1964 - 1970                Cosmo Dugal Patrick Thomas Haskard (b. 1916)
                             (from 23 Oct 1964, Sir Cosmo Dugal Patrick Thomas Haskard)
1971 - 1975                Sir Ernest Gordon Lewis            (b. 1918 - d. 2006)
1975 - 1977                Sir Neville Arthur Irwin French    (b. 1920 - d. 1996)
1977 - 1980                Sir James Roland Walter Parker     (b. 1919 - d. 2009)
1980 -  2 Apr 1982         Rex Masterman Hunt (1st time)      (b. 1926)
Argentine Military Governors
 2 Apr 1982 -  3 Apr 1982  Oswaldo Jorge García (interim)     (b. 1949 - d. 1982)
 3 Apr 1982 - 14 Jun 1982  Mario Benjamín Menéndez            (b. 1930)
British Military Commander 
14 Jun 1982 - 25 Jun 1982  John Jeremy Moore                  (b. 1928 - d. 2007)
Civil Commissioner
25 Jun 1982 - 16 Oct 1985  Rex Masterman Hunt (2nd time)      (s.a.) 
                             (from 11 Oct 1982, Sir Rex Masterman Hunt) 
Governors
16 Oct 1985 - 1988         Gordon Wesley Jewkes               (b. 1931)
Nov 1988 - 1992            William Hugh Fullerton             (b. 1939)
Aug 1992 - Dec 1995        David Everard Tatham               (b. 1939)
 8 Jan 1996 - 1999         Richard Peter Ralph                (b. 1946)
12 May 1999 - 23 Nov 2002  Donald Alexander Lamont            (b. 1947)
23 Nov 2002 -  3 Dec 2002  Russ Jarvis (acting)
 3 Dec 2002 -  5 Aug 2006  Howard John Stredder Pearce        (b. 1949)
 5 Aug 2006 - 28 Aug 2006  Harriet Hall (f) (acting)
28 Aug 2006 -              Alan Edden Huckle                  (b. 1948)
 

Chief Executives 
Dec 1983 - Apr 1987        David George Pendleton Taylor      (b. 1933 - d. 2007)  Non-party
                             (1st time)
Apr 1987 - May 1988        Brian Cummings                                          Non-party
Jun 1988 - Aug 1988        Colin Redston (acting)                                  Non-party
Aug 1988 - Sep 1988        Rex Browning (acting)                                   Non-party
Sep 1988 - Apr 1989        David George Pendleton Taylor      (s.a.)               Non-party
                             (2nd time)(interim)
Apr 1989 - Sep 1994        Ronald Sampson                                          Non-party
Sep 1994 - Nov 1999        Andrew Murray Gurr                                      Non-party
Jan 2000 - Mar 2003        Michael Dennis Blanch (1st time)                        Non-party
Mar 2003 - 12 Sep 2007     Chris John Simpkins                (b. 1950?)           Non-party
12 Sep 2007 -  3 Jan 2008  Michael Dennis Blanch (2nd time)                        Non-party
                             (interim)
 3 Jan 2008 -              Timothy "Tim" Rupert Thorogood     (b. 1962)            Non-party

Territorial Dispute: Claimed by Argentina (as Islas Malvinas) whose forces briefly occupied 
it in 1982, agreed in 1995 to no longer seek settlement by force; UK continues to reject Argentine requests for sovereignty talks. 

No Political Parties Exist

25 Jan 1765                West island claimed for Britain.
 8 Jan 1766                British settlement on West Falkland (Port Egmont).
 1 Jun 1770 - 15 Sep 1771  Spanish force British to withdraw.
20 Mar 1774                British withdraw, but continue to claim sovereignty 
                             over Falklands.

Naval Officers-in-charge
25 Jan 1765                John Byron
 8 Jan 1766 - 1768         John McBride                       (d. 1800)
1768 - 1769                Rayner
1769 - May 1770            Anthony Hunt
May 1770 - 10 Jun 1770     George Farmer
10 Jun 1770 - 16 Apr 1771  Vacant
16 Apr 1771 - Sep 1771     John Scott
Sep 1771 - Mar 1773        John Burr
Mar 1773 - 30 Mar 1774     Samuel Wittewronge Clayton         (b. 1734 - d. 1795)