High commissioner

High commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment.

The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages.

In the Commonwealth of Nations, a high commissioner is the senior diplomat (ranking as an ambassador) in charge of the diplomatic mission of one Commonwealth government to another. In this usage, a Commonwealth nation's high commission is its embassy to another Commonwealth nation.

Historically, in the British Empire (most of which would become the Commonwealth) high commissioners were envoys of the Imperial government appointed to manage protectorates or groups of territories not fully under the sovereignty of the British Crown, while Crown colonies (which were British sovereign territory) would normally be administered by a Governor and the most significant possessions, large confederations and the independent Commonwealth Dominions would be headed by a Governor-General.

An example was the island of Cyprus. Until 12 July 1878 Cyprus was under Ottoman rule based in Istanbul. From that date it was under British administration, but Istanbul retained nominal sovereignty until Cyprus was fully annexed by Britain on 5 November 1914. There were 9 successive High Commissioners, all but one already knighted, from 22 July 1878 until on 10 March 1925 Cyprus became a crown colony, and the last incumbent stayed on as its first Governor.

The High Commissioners for Palestine and Transjordan, who administered Mandatory Palestine, had a considerable effect on the history of Zionism and the early stages of what would become the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict.

A high commission could also be charged with the last phase of a decolonisation, as in the crown colony of the Seychelles, granted autonomy on 12 November 1970: the last governor, Colin Hamilton Allen (1921–1993) stayed on as the only colonial high commissioner from 1 October 1975, when self-rule under the Crown was granted, until 28 June 1976 when the Seychelles became an independent republic within the Commonwealth.

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