List of chief secretaries of Singapore

Resident councillors of Singapore (1826-1867)

The resident councillor of Singapore was a high ranking government civil position in colonial Singapore during the Straits Settlements era. It was second only to the governor of the Straits Settlements in the colonial government.

№	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of office		Origin	Background or previous appointment	Governor (From–To)
			Took office	Left office
1		John Prince (1772-1848)	15 August 1826	18 November 1827	—	—	Robert Fullerton (1826-1830)
2		Kenneth Murchison (1794–1854)	29 November 1827	6 December 1833	Scotland	Employee at East India Company
							Robert Ibbetson (1830-1833)
3		Sir Samuel George Bonham (1803–1863)	7 December 1833	18 November 1836	Kent, England	Employee at East India Company	Kenneth Murchison (1833-1836)
4		Thomas Church (1798–1860)	4 March 1837	20 September 1856	Somerset, England	Assistant Resident of Pinang	Samuel George Bonham (1836-1843)
							William John Butterworth (1843-1855)
							Edmund Augustus Blundell (1855-1859)
5		Henry Somerset MacKenzie (1826–1904) [1][2]	22 September 1856	13 July 1859 [3]	—	—
							William Orfeur Cavenagh (1859-1867)
—		Colonel Ronald MacPherson (1817–1869)	10 March 1859 — 7 October 1860 As acting Resident Councillor		Island of Skye, Scotland	Resident Councillor of Malacca
6			8 October 1860	31 March 1867

Colonial secretaries of the Straits Settlements (1867–1942)

№	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of office		Origin	Background or previous appointment	Governor (From–To)
			Took office	Left office
1		Colonel Ronald MacPherson (1817–1869)	1 April 1867	6 December 1869 (Died in office)	Island of Skye, Scotland	Resident Councillor of Singapore	Sir Harry St. George Ord (1867-1871)
—		E W Shaw Acting[4]	7 December 1869	5 June 1870	—	Colonial administrator
2		James Wheeler Woodford Birch (1826–1875)	6 June 1870	4 November 1874	—	Colonial administrator
							Edward Anson (1871-1872) 1st time Acting
							Sir Harry St. George Ord (1872-1873)
							Edward Anson (1873) 2nd time Acting
							Sir Andrew Clarke (1873-1875)
—		Thomas Braddell (1823–1891) Acting	4 November 1874	17 February 1876	County Wicklow, Ireland	Attorney-General of Singapore
		William Willans (d. 1905)[5] Acting			—	Colonial Treasurer of Straits Settlements
							Sir William Jervois (1875-1877)
		Charles John Irving (1831–1917) Acting			London, England	Auditor-General of Straits Settlements
3		Sir John Douglas (1836–1885)	17 February 1876	17 August 1878	Limerick, Ireland	Accountant General and Controller of Revenue
							Edward Anson (1877) 3rd time Acting
							Sir William Cleaver Francis Robinson (1877-1879)
4		Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (1840–1916)	3 September 1878	17 November 1885	London, England	Colonial Treasurer of Hong Kong
							Edward Anson (1879-1880) 4th time Acting
							Sir Frederick Weld (1880-1887)
5		Sir John Frederick Dickson (1835–1891)	17 November 1885 [6]	31 August 1891 [7][8]	—	Colonial administrator
							Sir Cecil Clementi Smith (1887-1893)
—		Arthur Philip Talbot (b. 18?? – d. 19 December 1898)[9] Acting	31 August 1891 [7][8]	9 March 1892 [10]	—	Colonial administrator
6		William Edward Maxwell (1846–1897)	9 March 1892 [10]	11 February 1895	—	British Resident of Selangor
							William Edward Maxwell (1893-1894) Acting
							Sir Charles Mitchell (1894-1899)
7		James Alexander Swettenham (1846–1933)	11 February 1895	7 December 1899	Derbyshire, England	Accountant General and Controller of Revenue
—		Sir Walter Egerton (1858–1947) Acting	7 December 1899	5 July 1901	—	Colonial administrator	James Alexander Swettenham (1899-1901) Acting
		Charles Walter Sneyd-Kynnersley (1849-1904) Acting			—	Colonial administrator
8		Sir William Thomas Taylor (1848–1931)	5 July 1901	31 December 1904	—	Accountant General and Controller of Revenue	Sir Frank Swettenham (1901-1904)
							Sir John Anderson (1904-1911)
9		Frederick George Penney (c. 1856–1928)	1 January 1905	13 April 1905	—	Resident Councillor of Malacca
—		Edward Lewis Brockman (1865–1943) Acting	13 April 1905	29 June 1906	—	Assistant Colonial Secretary of Straits Settlements
10		Sir Arthur Young (1854–1938)	29 June 1906	31 January 1911 [11]	—	Colonial administrator Navy officer
11		Edward Lewis Brockman (1865–1943)	1 February 1911 [11]	4 September 1911 [12]	—	Resident of Pahang
12		Richard James Wilkinson (1867–1941)	4 September 1911 [12][13]	February 1916	Salonika, Greece	British Resident at Negeri Sembilan	Sir Arthur Young (1911-1920)
—		William George Maxwell (1871–1959) Acting	February 1916 [14]	April 1916	Malacca, Straits Settlements	British Adviser for Kedah
13		Sir Frederick Seton James (1870–1934)	April 1916	19 March 1924	UK	Colonial administrator
							Sir Laurence Guillemard (1920-1927)
—		George Hemmant (1880–1964) Acting 1st time Acting	19 March 1924	2 April 1924	—	Colonial administrator
14		Edward Shaw Hose (1871–1946)	2 April 1924	21 November 1925	Surrey, England	British Resident of Negri Sembilan
15		Sir Hayes Marriott (1873–1929)	21 November 1925	16 December 1928	—	General Adviser to Johore
							Sir Hugh Clifford (1927-1929)
—		George Hemmant (1880–1964) 2nd time Acting	16 December 1928	12 February 1929	—	Colonial administrator
16		Sir John Scott (1878–1946)	12 February 1929	23 May 1933	—	Chief Secretary of Tanganyika Territory
							Sir John Scott (1929-1930) Acting
							Sir Cecil Clementi (1930-1934)
17		Sir Andrew Caldecott (1884–1951)	23 May 1933	7 December 1935	Kent, England	Chief Secretary of Federated Malaya States (FMS)
							Sir Shenton Thomas (1934-1942) & (1945-1946)
18		Sir Alexander Sym Small (1887–1944)	7 December 1935	19 January 1940	North Lanarkshire, Scotland	Treasurer of Straits Settlements
19		Stanley Wilson Jones (1888–1962)	19 January 1940	27 January 1942	—	British Resident of Selangor
—		Hugh Fraser (1891–1944) Acting	27 January 1942	15 February 1942	—	Colonial administrator

Colonial Secretaries of Singapore (1946-1955)

№	Portrait	Name (Born–Died)	Term of office		Origin	Background or previous appointment	Governor (From–To)
			Took office	Left office
1		Sir Patrick Alexander Bruce McKerron (1896–1964)	1 April 1946	29 April 1950	Aberdeen, Scotland	Deputy Chief Civil Affairs Officer	Sir Franklin Charles Gimson (1946-1952)
—		J D M Smith Acting	29 April 1950 [15]	30 June 1950 [16][17]	—	Colonial administrator
		Wilfred Lawson Blythe (1896–1975)	30 June 1950	30 July 1953	—	Colonial administrator
2
							Wilfred Lawson Blythe (1952) Acting
							Sir John Fearns Nicoll (1952-1955)
3		William Allmond Codrington Goode (1907–1986)	30 July 1953	February 1955	Middlesex, England	Colonial administrator

Chief Secretaries of Singapore (1955-1959)

References

External links

• WorldStatesmen - Singapore
• Historical Dictionary of Singapore (Justin Corfield) ISBN 9780810873872
• Past and present leaders of Singapore

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This page was last edited on 30 July 2023, at 16:43