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High commissioner

High-ranking executive position

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Related on Lably

Through Governor, Zionism and Israeli–Palestinian conflict

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

Commonwealth

Bilateral diplomacy

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.

British colonial usage

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 the 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 nine 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.

British indirect rule

As diplomatic residents (as diplomatic ranks were codified, this became a lower class than ambassadors and high commissioners) were sometimes appointed to native rulers, high commissioners could likewise be appointed as British agents of indirect rule upon native states. Thus high commissioners could be charged with managing diplomatic relations with native rulers and their states (analogous to the resident minister), and might have under them several resident commissioners or similar agents attached to each state.

In present-day Nigeria:

  • Northern Nigeria, three incumbents 1900–1907, the last of whom stayed on as first governor,
  • Southern Nigeria, three incumbents 1900–1906 (four terms), the last of whom stayed on as first governor.

In certain regions of particular importance, a commissioner-general would be appointed, to have control over several high commissioners and governors, e.g. the commissioner-general for south-east Asia had responsibility for Malaya and British Borneo.

High commissioners as administrators

The role of High Commissioner for Southern Africa was coupled with that of British governor of the Cape Colony in the 19th century, giving the colonial administrator responsibility both for administering British possessions and relating to neighbouring Boer settlements. The best known of these high commissioners, Alfred Milner, who was appointed to both positions in the 1890s, is considered responsible by some for igniting the Second Boer War.

Historically, in southern Africa, the protectorates of Bechuanaland (now Botswana), Basutoland (now Lesotho) and Swaziland (now Eswatini) were administered as High Commission Territories by the governor-general of South Africa, who was also the British high commissioner for Bechuanaland, Basutoland, and Swaziland, until the 1930s, with various local representatives, and subsequently by the British high commissioner (from 1961 ambassador) to South Africa, who was represented locally in each territory by a resident commissioner.

The British governor of the crown colony of the Straits Settlements, based in Singapore, doubled as high commissioner of the Federated Malay States, and had authority over the resident-general in Kuala Lumpur, who in turn was responsible for the various residents appointed to the native rulers of the Malay states under British protection.

The High Commissioner for the Western Pacific initially exercised extraterritorial jurisdiction over British subjects in the western Pacific Ocean, but later developed into an administrative role supervising resident commissioners and other officials in British protectorates, including the British Solomon Islands Protectorate and the Gilbert and Ellice Islands Colony.

Currently there is still one high commissioner who also serves in an additional capacity as a governor: the British high commissioner to New Zealand serves ex officio as British colonial Governor of the Pitcairn Islands.

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