List of U.S. governors of the Ryukyu Islands
This article lists the U.S. governors of the Ryukyu Islands (Japanese: 琉球諸島, Hepburn: Ryūkyū-shotō, Okinawan: 琉球/ルーチュー Ruuchuu), an archipelago of Japanese islands within Kagoshima and Okinawa prefectures, centered on the Okinawa Islands and its main island, Okinawa (the smallest and least populated of the five Japanese home islands[1]).
| U.S. governor of the Ryukyu Islands
琉球列島のアメリカ知事 (Ryūkyū-rettō no Amerika chiji) | |
|---|---|
 Seal of High Commissioner of the Ryukyu Islands | |
| United States Department of War United States Department of Defense | |
| Type | Military governor |
| Status | Senior-most officer of military occupation |
| Member of | USMGR (1945–1950) USCAR (1950–1972) |
| Seat | Naha, Okinawa |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | Treaty of San Francisco (Formal establishment)[lower-alpha 1] |
| Precursor | Governor of Okinawa Prefecture |
| Formation | 1 April 1945 |
| First holder | LTG Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. |
| Final holder | LTG James Benjamin Lampert |
| Abolished | 14 May 1972 |
| Succession | Governor of Okinawa Prefecture |
The list encompasses the period of U.S. occupation, from the start of the Battle of Okinawa in 1945 until the return of the islands to Japanese sovereignty in 1972, in accordance with the 1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement.[2][3]
Officeholders
Source: [4]
† denotes people who died in office.
United States Military Government of the Ryukyu Islands (USMGR, 1945–1950)
Military Governors
| No. | Portrait | Governor | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant general Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. (1886–1945) [lower-alpha 2] | 1 April 1945 | 18 June 1945 † | 78 days |  United States Army | |
| – | Major general Roy Geiger (1885–1947) Acting [lower-alpha 3] | 18 June 1945 | 23 June 1945 | 5 days |  United States Marine Corps | |
| – | General Joseph Stilwell (1883–1946) Acting [lower-alpha 4] | 23 June 1945 | 31 July 1945 | 38 days | United States Army | |
| 2 | General Joseph Stilwell (1883–1946) [lower-alpha 4] | 31 July 1945 | 16 October 1945 | 77 days | United States Army | |
| N/A | Major general Fred Clute Wallace (1887–1959) Commanding General, Island Command Okinawa | June 1945 | 23 April 1946 | 326 days | United States Army | |
| 3 | Brigadier general Lawrence A. Lawson (1897–1951) | 17 October 1945 | 29 December 1945 | 73 days | United States Army | |
| 4 | Brigadier general Fremont Byron Hodson Sr. (1894–1974) | 30 December 1945 | 26 February 1946 | 58 days | United States Army | |
| 5 | Major general Leo Donovan (1895–1950) | 27 February 1946 | 21 May 1946 | 83 days | United States Army | |
| 6 | Brigadier general Frederic Lord Hayden (1901–1969) | 24 May 1946 | 11 May 1948 | 1 year, 353 days | United States Army | |
| 7 | Major general William W. Eagles (1895–1988) | 12 May 1948 | 30 September 1949 | 1 year, 141 days | United States Army | |
| 8 | Major general Josef R. Sheetz (1895–1992) | 1 October 1949 | 21 July 1950 | 293 days | United States Army | |
| 9 | Major general Robert B. McClure (1896–1973) | 28 July 1950 | 6 December 1950 | 131 days | United States Army | |
| – | Brigadier general Harry B. Sherman (1894–1974) Acting | 6 December 1950 | 9 December 1950 | 3 days | United States Army | |
| 10 | Major general Robert S. Beightler (1892–1978) | 9 December 1950 | 15 December 1950 | 6 days | United States Army |
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United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR, 1950–1972)
Governors and Commanders-in-Chief, Far East Command (in Tokyo)
| No. | Portrait | Governor | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | General Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) [lower-alpha 5] | 15 December 1950 | 11 April 1951[lower-alpha 6] | 117 days | United States Army | |
| 2 | General Matthew Ridgway (1895–1993) [lower-alpha 5] | 11 April 1951 | 12 May 1952 | 1 year, 31 days | United States Army | |
| 3 | General Mark W. Clark (1896–1984) | 12 May 1952 | 7 October 1953 | 1 year, 148 days | United States Army | |
| 4 | General John E. Hull (1895–1975) | 7 October 1953 | 1 April 1955 | 1 year, 176 days | United States Army | |
| 5 | General Maxwell D. Taylor (1901–1987) | 1 April 1955 | 5 June 1955 | 65 days | United States Army | |
| 6 | General Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988) | 5 June 1955 | 30 June 1957 | 2 years, 25 days | United States Army |
Deputy governors and Commanding Generals, Ryukyu Islands Command (in Naha)
| No. | Portrait | Deputy Governor | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Major general Robert S. Beightler (1892–1978) | 15 December 1950 | 10 May 1951 | 146 days | United States Army | |
| – | Brigadier general Harry B. Sherman (1894–1974) Acting | 10 May 1951 | 7 August 1951 | 89 days | United States Army | |
| (1) | Major general Robert S. Beightler (1892–1978) | 8 August 1951 | 16 December 1952 | 1 year, 130 days | United States Army | |
| 2 | Brigadier general James Malcolm Lewis (1898–1954) | 18 December 1952 | 2 January 1953 | 15 days | United States Army | |
| 3 | Lieutenant general David Ayres Depue Ogden (1897–1969) | 3 January 1953 | 4 March 1955 | 2 years, 60 days | United States Army | |
| 4 | Lieutenant general James Edward Moore (1902–1986) | 5 March 1955 | 3 July 1957 | 2 years, 120 days | United States Army |
High Commissioners
| No. | Portrait | High Commissioner | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lieutenant general James Edward Moore (1902–1986) | 4 July 1957 | 30 April 1958 | 300 days | United States Army | |
| 2 | Lieutenant general Donald Prentice Booth (1902–1993) | 1 May 1958 | 12 February 1961 | 2 years, 287 days | United States Army | |
| 3 | Lieutenant general Paul Caraway (1905–1985) | 16 February 1961 | 31 July 1964 | 3 years, 166 days | United States Army | |
| 4 | Lieutenant general Albert Watson II (1909–1993) | 1 August 1964 | 31 October 1966 | 2 years, 91 days | United States Army | |
| 5 | Lieutenant general Ferdinand Thomas Unger (1914–1999) | 2 November 1966 | 28 January 1968 | 1 year, 87 days | United States Army | |
| 6 | Lieutenant general James Benjamin Lampert (1914–1978) | 28 January 1968 | 14 May 1972 | 4 years, 107 days | United States Army |
Civil Administrators
| No. | Portrait | Civil Administrator | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vonna F. Burger (1902–1999) | June 1955 | 20 June 1959 | 4 years, 19 days | |
| 2 | John G. Ondrick (1906–1974) | 1 July 1959 | May 1962 | 2 years, 304 days | |
| 3 | Shannon Boyd-Bailey McCune (1913–1993) | 18 July 1962 | 8 February 1964 | 1 year, 205 days | |
| 4 | Gerald Warner (1907–1989) | 11 February 1964 | 10 July 1967 | 3 years, 149 days | |
| 5 | Stanley Sherman Carpenter (1917–1982) | 15 July 1967 | 15 August 1969 | 2 years, 31 days | |
| 6 | Robert A. Fearey (1918–2004) | 21 August 1969 | 12 May 1972 | 2 years, 265 days |
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See also
- History of the Ryukyu Islands
- Government of the Ryukyu Islands, the body of Okinawan self-governance from 1952–1972.
- List of governors of the Nanpō Islands
Notes
- Article 3 of the Treaty of San Francisco: "Japan will concur in any proposal of the United States to the United Nations to place under its trusteeship system, with the United States as the sole administering authority, Nansei Shoto south of 29° north latitude (including the Ryukyu Islands and the Daitō Islands), Nanpo Shoto south of Sofu Gan (including the Bonin Islands, Rosario Island and the Volcano Islands) and Parece Vela and Marcus Island. Pending the making of such a proposal and affirmative action thereon, the United States will have the right to exercise all and any powers of administration, legislation, and jurisdiction over the territory and inhabitants of these islands, including their territorial waters."
- Commander of the Tenth Army; killed in action in the Battle of Okinawa.
- Commander of the III Amphibious Corps; assumed the command of the Tenth Army upon the death of Buckner.
- Commander of the Tenth Army.
- Simultaneously served as SCAP.
- Relieved of command by President Harry S. Truman.
References
- "離島とは(島の基礎知識) (what is a remote island?)". MLIT (Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism) (in Japanese). Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. 22 August 2015. Archived from the original (website) on 13 November 2007. Retrieved 9 August 2019.
MILT classification 6,852 islands（main islands: 5 islands, remote islands: 6,847 islands)
- "Records of U.S. Occupation Headquarters, World War II". National Archives. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration. 1995. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
260.12 Records of the U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR) 1945–72
- "Agreement between the United States of America and Japan Concerning the Ryukyu Islands and Daito Islands". United States Treaties and Other International Agreements, Volume 23, Part 1. US Department of State. 23: 449. 1973. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
- "Okinawa and Ryukyu Islands". worldstatesmen.org. B. Cahoon. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
| USMGR, 1945–1950 |
| | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USCAR, 1950–1972 |
| ||||||||
* Acting officeholder ‡ Commanding General, Island Command Okinawa | |||||||||
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