The colonial governors of Burma were the colonial administrators responsible for the territory of British Burma, an area equivalent to modern-day Myanmar.
| Governor of Burma | |
|---|---|
 Standard of the Governor, 1939–1948 | |
 Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler 28 October 1915–22 September 1917 21 December 1922–20 December 1927 | |
| Style | His Excellency |
| Residence | Government House, Rangoon |
| Appointer | Monarch of the United Kingdom |
| Formation | 31 January 1862 |
| First holder | Arthur Purves Phayre |
| Final holder | Sir Hubert Elvin Rance |
| Abolished | 4 January 1948 |
| Succession | President of Myanmar |
As a result of the Second Anglo-Burmese War, Burma was initially set up as a province of British India. Later it was made a separate crown colony within the British Empire. Following invasion by the Empire of Japan during World War II, it was controlled by a Japanese military governor. After the Japanese were expelled, it was under a Allied military commander, then a civilian governor until independence.
List
edit(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| No. | Portrait | Name (birth–death) |
Term of office | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Took office | Left office | Time in office | |||
| British Burma | |||||
| Chief commissioner | |||||
| 1 | Arthur Purves Phayre (1812–1885) |
31 January 1862 | 16 February 1867 | 5 years, 16 days | |
| 2 | Albert Fytche (1820–1892) |
16 February 1867 | 18 April 1871 | 4 years, 61 days | |
| 3 | Ashley Eden (1831–1887) |
18 April 1871 | 14 April 1875 | 3 years, 361 days | |
| 4 | Augustus Rivers Thompson (1829–1890) |
14 April 1875 | 30 April 1877 | 2 years, 16 days | |
| 30 April 1877 | 30 March 1878 | 334 days | |||
| 5 | Charles Umpherston Aitchison (1832–1896) |
30 March 1878 | 2 July 1880 | 2 years, 94 days | |
| 6 | Charles Bernard (1837–1901) |
2 July 1880 | 4 April 1882 | 1 year, 276 days | |
| 4 April 1882 | 2 March 1883 | 332 days | |||
| 7 | Sir Charles Haukes Todd Crosthwaite (1835–1915) |
2 March 1883 | 28 February 1884 | 363 days | |
| 28 February 1884 | 25 September 1886 | 2 years, 209 days | |||
| (6) | Charles Bernard (1837–1901) |
25 September 1886 | 12 March 1887 | 168 days | |
| (7) | Sir Charles Haukes Todd Crosthwaite (1835–1915) |
12 March 1887 | 10 December 1890 | 3 years, 273 days | |
| 8 | Alexander Mackenzie (1842–1902) |
10 December 1890 | 3 April 1895 | 4 years, 114 days | |
| 9 | Frederick William Richards Fryer (1845–1922) |
3 April 1895 | 1 May 1897 | 2 years, 28 days | |
| Lieutenant governor | |||||
| 1 | Frederick William Richards Fryer (1845–1922) |
1 May 1897 | 4 April 1903 | 5 years, 338 days | |
| 2 | Sir Hugh Shakespear Barnes (1853–1940) |
4 April 1903 | 9 May 1905 | 2 years, 35 days | |
| 3 | Sir Herbert Thirkell White (1855–1931) |
9 May 1905 | 19 May 1910 | 5 years, 10 days | |
| 4 | Sir Harvey Adamson (1854–1941) |
19 May 1910 | 28 October 1915 | 5 years, 162 days | |
| – | Sir George Shaw (1858–1931) Acting |
15 May 1913 | 1 November 1913 | 170 days | |
| 5 | Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler (1869–1938) |
28 October 1915 | 22 September 1917 | 1 year, 329 days | |
| – | Walter Francis Rice (1871–1941) Acting |
22 September 1917 | 15 February 1918 | 146 days | |
| 6 | Sir Reginald Henry Craddock (1864–1937) |
15 February 1918 | 21 December 1922 | 4 years, 309 days | |
| 5 | Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler (1869–1938) |
21 December 1922 | 2 January 1923 | 12 days | |
| Governor | |||||
| 1 | Sir Spencer Harcourt Butler (1869–1938) |
2 January 1923 | 20 December 1927 | 4 years, 352 days | |
| 2 | Sir Charles Alexander Innes (1874–1959) |
20 December 1927 | 20 December 1932 | 5 years | |
| 3 | Sir Hugh Landsdowne Stephenson (1871–1941) |
20 December 1932 | 8 May 1936 | 3 years, 140 days | |
| 4 | Sir Archibald Douglas Cochrane (1885–1958) |
8 May 1936 | 6 May 1941 | 4 years, 363 days | |
| 5 | Sir Reginald Hugh Dorman-Smith (1899–1977) |
6 May 1941 | 31 August 1946 | 5 years, 117 days | |
| Japanese Occupation of British Burma | |||||
| Military commander | |||||
| 1 | Lieutenant general Shōjirō Iida (1888–1980) |
20 April 1942 | 18 March 1943 | 332 days | |
| 2 | General Masakazu Kawabe (1886–1965) |
18 March 1943 | 30 August 1944 | 165 days | |
| 3 | General Heitarō Kimura (1888–1948) |
30 August 1944 | 15 August 1945 | 1 year, 350 days | |
| Allied military administration | |||||
| Military governor | |||||
| 1 | Actg. Admiral Lord Mountbatten (1900–1979) |
1 January 1944 | October 1945 | 1 year, 9 months | |
| 2 | Major general Sir Hubert Elvin Rance (1898–1974) |
October 1945 | 31 August 1946 | 10 months | |
| British Burma | |||||
| Governor | |||||
| 1 | Sir Hubert Elvin Rance (1898–1974) |
31 August 1946 | 4 January 1948 | 1 year, 126 days | |