Governor of Cape Colony
This article lists the governors of British South Africa.
Governors
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Governors | |||
| 5 May 1797 to 20 November 1798 | George Macartney, 1st Earl Macartney | Known for the 1793 Macartney Embassy to China | |
| 20 November 1798 to 9 December 1799 | Francis Dundas | 1st time, acting | |
| 10 December 1799 to 20 April 1801 | Sir George Yonge, 5th Baronet | ||
| 21 April 1801 to 20 February 1803 | Francis Dundas | 2nd time, acting | |
| Commissioner-general | |||
| 21 February 1803 to 25 September 1804 | Jacob Abraham de Mist | Represented the Batavian Republic | |
| Governors | |||
| 1 March 1803 to 18 January 1806 | Jan Willem Janssens | Represented the Batavian Republic | |
| 10 January 1806 to 17 January 1807 | Sir David Baird, 1st Baronet | Military governor, acting | |
| 17 January 1807 to 21 May 1807 | Henry George Grey | 1st time, acting | |
| 22 May 1807 to 4 July 1811 | Du Pre Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon | ||
| 5 July 1811 to 5 September 1811 | Henry George Grey | 2nd time, acting | |
| 6 September 1811 to 6 April 1814 | John Cradock, 1st Baron Howden | ||
| 18 October 1813 to 7 January 1814 | Robert Meade | Acting for Cradock; son of Theodosia, Countess of Clanwilliam | |
| 6 April 1814 to 5 March 1826 | Lord Charles Somerset | ||
| 13 January 1820 to 30 November 1821 | Sir Rufane Shaw Donkin | Acting for Somerset | |
| 5 March 1826 to 9 September 1828 | Richard Bourke | Acting | |
| 9 September 1828 to 10 August 1833 | Sir Galbraith Lowry Cole | ||
| 10 August 1833 to 16 January 1834 | Thomas Francis Wade | Acting (for D'Urban from 10 January 1834) | |
| 10 January 1834 to 20 January 1838 | Sir Benjamin D'Urban | ||
| 22 January 1838 to 18 March 1844 | Sir George Thomas Napier | ||
| 18 March 1844 to 27 January 1847 | Sir Peregrine Maitland | ||
| Governors and High Commissioners for Southern Africa | |||
| 27 January 1847 to 1 December 1847 | Sir Henry Pottinger | ||
| 1 December 1847 to 31 March 1852 | Sir Harry Smith, 1st Baronet | ||
| 31 March 1852 to 26 May 1854 | George Cathcart | ||
| 26 May 1854 to 5 December 1854 | Charles Henry Darling | Acting | |
| 5 December 1854 to 15 August 1861 | Sir George Grey | ||
| 20 August 1859 to 4 July 1860 | Robert Wynyard | 1st time, acting for Grey | |
| 15 August 1861 to 15 January 1862 | 2nd time, acting | ||
| 15 January 1862 to 20 May 1870 | Sir Philip Wodehouse | ||
| 20 May 1870 to 31 December 1870 | Charles Craufurd Hay | Acting | |
| 31 December 1870 to 31 March 1877 | Sir Henry Barkly | ||
| 31 March 1877 to 15 September 1880 | Sir Henry Bartle Frere | Known for initiating the Anglo-Zulu War and the First Boer War | |
| 15 September 1880 to 27 September 1880 | Henry Hugh Clifford | Acting | |
| 27 September 1880 to 22 January 1881 | Sir George Strahan | Acting | |
| 22 January 1881 to 1 May 1889 | Sir Hercules Robinson | 1st time | |
| 30 April 1881 to August 1881 | Sir Leicester Smyth | 1st time, acting for Robinson | |
| 25 April 1883 to 26 March 1884 | 2nd time, acting for Robinson | ||
| 7 April 1886 to 7 July 1886 | Sir Henry Torrens | Acting for Robinson | |
| 1 May 1889 to 13 December 1889 | Henry Augustus Smyth | Acting | |
| 13 December 1889 to 30 May 1895 | Henry Loch, 1st Baron Loch | ||
| 14 January 1891 to 1 December 1892 | Sir William Gordon Cameron | 1st time, acting for Loch | |
| May 1894 to July 1894 | 2nd time, acting for Loch | ||
| 30 May 1895 to 21 April 1897 | Sir Hercules Robinson | 2nd time; from 10 August 1896, Hercules Robinson, Baron Rosmead | |
| 21 April 1897 to 5 May 1897 | Sir William Howley Goodenough | Acting | |
| 5 May 1897 to 6 March 1901 | Alfred Milner, 1st Viscount Milner | ||
| 2 November 1898 to 14 February 1899 | Sir William Butler | Acting for Milner | |
| 6 March 1901 to 31 May 1910 | Sir Walter Hely-Hutchinson | ||
| 17 June 1909 to 21 September 1909 | Sir Henry Scobell | Acting for Hely-Hutchinson | |
Prime Ministers
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Party | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 December 1872 to 5 February 1878 | John Charles Molteno | n-p | ||
| 6 February 1878 to 8 May 1881 | John Gordon Sprigg | n-p | 1st time | |
| 9 May 1881 to 12 May 1884 | Thomas Charles Scanlen | n-p | ||
| 13 May 1884 to 24 November 1886 | Thomas Upington | n-p | ||
| 25 November 1886 to 16 July 1890 | Sir John Gordon Sprigg | n-p | 2nd time | |
| 17 July 1890 to 12 January 1896 | Cecil Rhodes | n-p | Resigned in the aftermath of the Jameson Raid | |
| 13 January 1896 to 13 October 1898 | Sir John Gordon Sprigg | n-p | 3rd time | |
| 13 October 1898 to 17 June 1900 | William Schreiner | n-p | ||
| 18 June 1900 to 21 February 1904 | Sir John Gordon Sprigg | PP | 4th time | |
| 22 February 1904 to 2 February 1908 | Leander Starr Jameson | PP | Leader of the Jameson Raid | |
| 3 February 1908 to 31 May 1910 | John X. Merriman | SAP |