Katana VentraIP

Governor-General of the Philippines

The governor-general of the Philippines (Filipinas; Filipino: Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas/Kapitan Heneral ng Pilipinas) was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed by Mexico City and Madrid (1565–1898) and the United States (1898–1946), and briefly by Great Britain (1762–1764) and Japan (1942–1945). They were also the representative of the executive of the ruling power.

Governor-General of the Philippines

On November 15, 1935, the Commonwealth of the Philippines was established as a transitional government to prepare the country for independence from American control. The governor-general was replaced by an elected Filipino president of the Philippine Commonwealth, as the chief executive of the Philippines, taking over many of the duties of the governor-general. The former American governor-general then became known as the high commissioner to the Philippines.


From 1565 to 1898, the Philippines was under Spanish rule. From 1565 to 1821, the governor and captain-general was appointed by the viceroy of New Spain upon recommendation of the Spanish Cortes and governed on behalf of the monarch of Spain to govern the Captaincy General of the Philippines. When there was a vacancy (e.g. death, or during the transitional period between governors), the Real Audiencia in Manila appointed a temporary governor from among its members.


After Mexico won its independence in 1821, the country was no longer under the Viceroyalty of New Spain (present-day Mexico) and administrative affairs formerly handled by New Spain were transferred to Madrid and placed directly under the Spanish Crown.

Filipino styles and honorifics

List of sovereign state leaders in the Philippines

List of recorded datu in the Philippines

President of the Philippines

List of presidents of the Philippines

Audiencia

List of Viceroys of New Spain

Spanish Empire

History of the Philippines

Military History of the Philippines

United States Territory

Governor-General

Lists of office-holders

Gobernadorcillo

Governors of the Philippines

Cahoon, Ben (2000). . World's Statesmen.

"Philippines"

Don Peterson (2007-2nd Qtr), , Philippine Philatelic Journal.

1898: Five Philippine Governors-General Serve Rapid Fire Terms

Tanner, Dr. J.M. (1901-11). . Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Improvement Era Vol.5 No. 1

Elliott, Charles Burke (1917). . The Bobbs-Merrill Company.

The Philippines: To the End of the Commission Government, a Study in Tropical Democracy

Barrows, David P. (1916). . The American Historical Review. 21 (2). Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Historical Association: 288–311. doi:10.2307/1835051. JSTOR 1835051 – via Jstor.

"The Governor General of the Philippines Under Spain and the United States"

Barrows, D.P. (2022). . DigiCat. ISBN 978-93-5462-590-9.

A History of the Philippines