Governor of Rhodesia
| Governor of Southern Rhodesia | |
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| Style | His Excellency The Right Honourable |
| Appointer | King/Queen of the United Kingdom |
| Formation | 1 October 1923 |
| First holder | The Rt Hon. John Chancellor |
| Final holder | The Baron Soames |
| Abolished | 18 April 1980 |
The Governor of Southern Rhodesia was the representative of the British monarch in the self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia from 1923 to 1980. He was appointed by the Crown and acted as the local head of state, receiving instructions from the British Government.
The Governor was also Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and as such, in theory at least, exercised considerable influence over the running of the colony and its government, but in practice, the Governor's main function was to maintain a satisfactory relationship between the British and Southern Rhodesian Governments and acted in an advisory capacity most of the time. From 1951, however, in contrast to other colonies, the British government was represented in Southern Rhodesia by a High Commissioner in Salisbury.
When Southern Rhodesia was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, the position of the Governor remained unchanged, but as Salisbury became the capital of the Federation, the Governor General resided at Government House, previously the Governor's official residence. During this time, the Governor of Southern Rhodesia resided at Governor's Lodge in the suburb of Highlands.
Following the Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, the government of Ian Smith ceased to recognise the authority of the then Governor, Sir Humphrey Gibbs, and appointed Clifford Dupont to exercise the Governor's powers as Officer Administering the Government.
However, Gibbs continued to occupy Government House, asserting his position as the Queen's de jure representative, and did not resign from the post until June 1969, following the decision of white voters in a referendum to approve a new constitution declaring Rhodesia, as Southern Rhodesia had become more commonly known, a republic.
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