List of colonial governors of Italian Somaliland

This article lists the colonial governors of Italian Somaliland from 1889 to 1941. They administered the territory on behalf of the Kingdom of Italy.

Somalia in Italian East Africa (1936-1941)
Italian Somaliland (green) and Jubaland/Oltre Giuba (blue) in 1930.
Coat of arms of Italian Somaliland
Enlargement and transformation of Italian Somaliland into Somalia Governorate of the Italian East Africa, 1936–1941.
Coat of arms of Somalia Governorate

Italian Somaliland

Complete list of colonial governors of Italian Somaliland:[1]

Tenure[2] Portrait Incumbent Notes
Benadir Coast Italian Protectorate
3 August 1889 to 15 May 1893Vincenzo Filonardi, Governor1st time
15 May 1893 to 1896Vacant
1896 to 1897Vincenzo Filonardi, Commissioner2nd time
1897Emilio Dulio, Commissioner1st time
1897 to 25 May 1898Giorgio Sorrentino, Commissioner
25 May 1898 to 16 March 1905Emilio Dulio, Governor2nd time
Italian Somaliland Colony
16 March 1905 to 1906Luigi Mercatelli, Commissioner-General
1906 to 1907Giuseppe Salvago Raggi, Commissioner-General
1907 to 1908Tommaso Carletti, Commissioner-General
1908 to July 1910Tommaso Carletti, Governor
Italian Somaliland Crown Colony
July 1910 to 1916Giacomo De Martino, Governor
1916 to 1919Giovanni Cerrina Feroni, Governor
1919 to 21 June 1920Vacant
21 June 1920 to 8 December 1923Carlo Ricci Riveri, Governor
8 December 1923 to 1 June 1928Cesare Maria De Vecchi, GovernorFrom 1925 conte di Val Cismon
1 June 1928 to 1 July 1931Guido Corni, Governor
1 July 1931 to 6 March 1935Maurizio Rava, Governor
6 March 1935 to 22 May 1936Rodolfo Graziani, Governor
22 May 1936 to 24 May 1936Angelo De Ruben, GovernorDe facto Governor since January 1936
Somalia Governorate
Part of Italian East Africa
24 May 1936 to 15 December 1937Ruggiero Santini, Governor
15 December 1937 to 11 June 1940Francesco Saverio Caroselli, Governor
11 June 1940 to 31 December 1940Gustavo Pesenti, acting Governor
31 December 1940 to 9 March 1941Carlo De Simone, acting Governor

Between 1936 and 1941, Italian Somaliland was administered as the Somalia Governorate within Italian East Africa (Africa Orientale Italiana). In 1940, British Somaliland was conquered and annexed to the Somalia Governorate and governed by Carlo De Simone as "interim military governor" until March 1941.

British Military Administration / Trust Territory of Somaliland
Coat of arms of the Trust Territory of Somaliland
Somalia after independence in 1960, when British Somaliland and the Trust Territory of Somaliland disappeared with their political union


From 1941 until 1950, Italian Somaliland was governed by the British Military Administration. The territory was thereafter administered as the Trust Territory of Somaliland, a United Nations trusteeship with Italian administration. The governors were:

Tenure Portrait Incumbent Notes
British administration of Italian Somaliland
25 February 1941 to 20 March 1941Alan Cunningham, General Officer CommandingMilitary occupation
20 March 1941 to May 1943William Eric Halstead Scuphan, Chief Administrator
May 1943 to 1948Denis Henry Widcham, Chief Administrator
1948Eric Armar Vully de Candole, Chief Administrator
1948 to 1 April 1950Geoffrey Massey Gamble, Chief Administrator
Italian Somaliland, Trust Territory of Somalia
Under Italian administration
1 April 1950 to 1953Giovanni Fornari, Administrator[3]Amministrazione Fiduciaria Italiana della Somalia (AFIS)
1953 to 1954Vacant
1954 to 1957Enrico Martino, AdministratorAFIS
1957 to 24 July 1958Enrico Anzilotti, AdministratorAFIS
24 July 1958 to 1 July 1960Mario Di Stefano, AdministratorAFIS
1 July 1960Unification of the Trust Territory of Somalia and the State of Somaliland, establishing the Somali Republic (Somalia).

For continuation after independence, see: List of presidents of Somalia

Notes
  1. Worldstatesmen.org
  2. Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office
  3. Patrizia Palumbo (2003). A Place in the Sun: Africa in Italian Colonial Culture from Post-Unification to the Present. University of California Press. p. 30. ISBN 978-0-520-93626-3.

See also

Bibliography
  • Antonicelli, Franco. Trent'anni di storia italiana 1915 - 1945. Ed. Mondadori. Torino, 1961.
  • Calchi Novati, Gian Paolo. L'Africa d'Italia Editori Carrocci. Roma, 2011.
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