List of heads of state of Belize

First Mexican Empire (1821–1823)

See the main article: First Mexican Empire

First Regency

After the end of the Mexican War of Independence, a Provisional Board of Governing consisting of thirty-four persons was set up. The Board decreed and signed the Declaration of Independence and appointed a regency composed of six people.

Members		Term of office
Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
File:Juan O'Donoju.jpg	Juan O'Donojú	28 September 1821	8 October 1821 (died)	10 days
File:Agustin de Iturbide.png	Agustín de Iturbide	28 September 1821	11 April 1822	195 days
File:Manuel de la Bárcena.jpg	Manuel de la Barcéna	28 September 1821	11 April 1822
File:José Isidro Yañez.jpg	José Isidro Yañez	28 September 1821	11 April 1822
File:Manuel Velázquez de León.jpg	Manuel Velázquez de León	28 September 1821	11 April 1822
File:Antonio Pérez Martínez y Robles.jpg	Antonio Pérez Martínez	9 October 1821	11 April 1822	184 days

Second Regency

Members		Term of office
Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
File:Agustin de Iturbide.png	Agustín de Iturbide	11 April 1822	18 May 1822	37 days
File:José Isidro Yañez.jpg	José Isidro Yañez	11 April 1822	18 May 1822
File:Coat of arms of Mexico (1821–1823).svg	Miguel Valentín	11 April 1822	18 May 1822
File:Manuel de Heras Soto.jpg	Manuel de Heras	11 April 1822	18 May 1822
File:Presidente Nicolas Bravo.PNG	Nicolás Bravo	11 April 1822	18 May 1822

Monarchy of Agustín I

See the main article: First Mexican Empire

Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Reign			Royal house	Coat of arms
		Reign start	Reign end	Duration
File:Portrait of Agustín de Iturbide, Emperor of Mexico.jpg	Agustín I (1783–1824)	19 May 1822	19 March 1823	304 days	Iturbide	File:Coat of arms of Mexico (1821–1823).svg

Provisional Government (1823–1824)

See the main article: Provisional Government of Mexico

The Provisional Government of 1823–1824 was an organization that served as the Executive in the government of Mexico after the abdication of Agustín I, monarch of Mexican Empire in 1823. The provisional government was responsible for convening the body that created the Federal Republic and existed from 1 April 1823 to 10 October 1824.

Head of State		Term of office
Portrait	Name	Took office	Left office	Time in office
File:Presidente Nicolas Bravo.PNG	Nicolás Bravo	31 March 1823	10 October 1824	1 year, 193 days
File:Guadalupe Victoria Cruces y Campa.png	Guadalupe Victoria	31 March 1823	10 October 1824
File:BW Pedro Celestino Negrete.jpg	Pedro Celestino Negrete	31 March 1823	10 October 1824
File:Jose mariano michelena.jpg	José Mariano Michelena	1 April 1823	10 October 1824	1 year, 192 days
File:Miguel dominguez.jpg	Miguel Domínguez	1 April 1823	10 October 1824
File:Vicente Guerrero (1865).png	Vicente Guerrero	1 April 1823	10 October 1824

Captain General			Assumed office	Left office	Time in office
1	A headshot painting of a man (Gabino Gaínza) in 19th-century military uniform Gabino Gaínza	Gabino Gaínza (1753–1829)	5 January 1822	23 June 1822	169 days
2	A headshot sketch of a man (Vicente Filísola) in 19th-century military uniform Vicente Filísola	Vicente Filísola (1785–1850)	23 June 1822	26 November 1822	156 days
3	A headshot painting of a man (Felipe Codallos) in 19th-century military uniform Felipe Codallos	Felipe Codallos (1790–1849)	26 November 1822	7 March 1823	101 days
4	A headshot sketch of a man (Vicente Filísola) in 19th-century military uniform Vicente Filísola	Vicente Filísola (1785–1850)	7 March 1823	1 July 1823	116 days

Guatemala

Political chief		Assumed office	Left office	Time in office	Ref.
1	Gabino Gaínza	5 January 1822	23 June 1822	169 days
2	Vicente Filísola	23 June 1822	1 July 1823	1 year and 8 days

Heads of state

Superior Political Chiefs

No	Portrait	Head of State	Term of office			Party
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	File:Gabino Gaínza.jpg	Gabino Gaínza	15 September 1821	5 January 1822	112 days	Independent
Part of the First Mexican Empire (5 January 1822 – 1 July 1823)
2	File:José Matias Delgado.jpg	José Matías Delgado	1 July 1823	10 July 1823	9 days	Independent

First Triumvirate

No	Portrait	Head of State	Term of office			Party
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	File:Pedro Molina Mazariegos.jpg	Pedro Molina Mazariegos	10 July 1823	4 October 1823	86 days	Liberal
2	File:Antonio Rivera Cabezas.jpg	Antonio Rivera Cabezas				Liberal
3	File:Juan Vicente Villacorta Díaz.jpg	Juan Vicente Villacorta Díaz				Liberal

Second Triumvirate

No	Portrait	Head of State	Term of office			Party
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	File:Tomas-antonio-o'horan.jpg	Tomas O'Horan	4 October 1823	29 April 1825	1 year and 207 days	Independent
2	File:Escudo de la República Federal de Centro América.svg	José Santiago Milla Pineda Arriaga	4 October 1823	5 February 1824	124 days	Independent
3	File:Juan Vicente Villacorta Díaz.jpg	Juan Vicente Villacorta Díaz	6 October 1823	15 March 1824	161 days	Liberal
4	File:Del Valle blanco y negro.jpg	José Cecilio del Valle	5 February 1824	29 April 1825	1 year and 83 days	Conservative
5	File:MANUEL JOSE ARCE PICTURE.jpg	Manuel José Arce	15 March 1824	20 October 1824	219 days	Liberal
6	File:Escudo de la República Federal de Centro América.svg	José Manuel de la Cerda y Aguilar	20 October 1824	29 April 1825	191 days	Independent

Presidents

Political parties

  Conservative
  Liberal

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Elected	Term of office			Political affiliation	Ref.
				Took office	Left office	Time in office
—	José Cecilio del Valle José Cecilio del Valle	José Cecilio del Valle (1780–1834)	1825	Election nullified by the Federal Congress			Conservative
1	Manuel José Arce Manuel José Arce	Manuel José Arce (1787–1847)	1825	29 April 1825	14 February 1828	2 years and 291 days	Liberal
–	Mariano Beltranena y Llano Mariano Beltranena y Llano	Mariano Beltranena y Llano (1781–1866) Interim President	–	14 February 1828	13 April 1829	1 year and 58 days	Conservative
–	Francisco Morazán Francisco Morazán	Francisco Morazán (1792–1842) De Facto President	–	13 April 1829	25 June 1829	73 days	Liberal
–	José Francisco Barrundia José Francisco Barrundia	José Francisco Barrundia (1787–1854) Interim President	–	25 June 1829	16 September 1830	1 year and 81 days	Liberal
2	Francisco Morazán Francisco Morazán	Francisco Morazán (1792–1842)	1830	16 September 1830	16 September 1834	4 years and 0 days	Liberal
–	José Cecilio del Valle José Cecilio del Valle	José Cecilio del Valle (1780–1834)	1833	Died in 1834 before assuming office			Conservative
–	José Gregorio Salazar José Gregorio Salazar	José Gregorio Salazar (1773–1838) Interim President	–	16 September 1834	14 February 1835	151 days	Liberal
2	Francisco Morazán Francisco Morazán	Francisco Morazán (1792–1842)	1835	14 February 1835	1 February 1839	3 years and 352 days	Liberal
–	Diego Vigil y Cocaña Diego Vigil y Cocaña	Diego Vigil y Cocaña (1799–1845) Interim President	–	1 February 1839	31 March 1840	1 year and 59 days	Liberal

This is a list of viceroys in British Honduras and Belize from the start of British settlement in the area until the colony's independence in 1981. Until 1862, the territory was under the vice-regency of the Governor of Jamaica, and administered by a Superintendent. After this it was a colony in its own right, and administered by a Lieutenant Governor, still subordinate to Jamaica. In 1884, the colony gained its own governor, independent of Jamaica.

In 1973 the colony's name was changed to Belize and in 1981 it gained independence. For a list of viceroys after independence, see Governor-General of Belize.

Superintendents of British Honduras (1749–1862)

• Robert Hodgson, Sr., 1749–1758
• Richard Jones, 1758–1760
• Joseph Otway, 1760–1767
• Robert Hodgson, Jr., 1767–1775
• John Ferguson, 1776
• James Lawrie, 1776–10 March 1787
• Edward Marcus Despard, 1787 – June 1790
• Lt Gen Peter Hunter (acting), June 1790 – March 1791
• Thomas Potts (chief magistrate), March 1791 – January 1797
• Thomas Barrow, January 1797 – 1800, first time
• Richard Basset, 1800–1802
• Thomas Barrow, January 1803 – 1805, second time
• Gabriel Gordon, 1805–1806
• Alexander Mark Kerr Hamilton, 1806–1809
• John Nugent Smyth, 1809–1814
• Sir George Arthur, 1814–1822
• Allan Hampden Pye, 1822–1823
• Edward Codd, 1823–1829
• Alexander MacDonald, 1829–1830, first time
• Sir Francis Cockburn, 1830–1837
• Alexander MacDonald, 1837–1843, second time
• Charles St. John Fancourt, 1843–1851
• Sir Philip Edmond Wodehouse, 1851–1854
• Sir William Stevenson, 1854–1857
• Frederick Seymour, 1857–1862

Lieutenant Governors of British Honduras (1862–1884)

In 1862, the territory became a crown colony, and was subsequently administered by a Lieutenant Governor, subordinate to the Governor of Jamaica.

• Frederick Seymour, 1862–1864, continued
• John Gardiner Austin, 1864–1867
• Sir James Robert Longden, 1867–1870
• Sir William Wellington Cairns, 1870–1874
• Sir Robert Miller Mundy, 1874–1877
• Sir Frederick Palgrave Barlee, 1877–1883
• Col Sir Robert William Harley, 13 May 1883 – 1884

Governors of British Honduras (1884–1973)

In 1884, the colony was severed from its dependency to Jamaica and gained its own Governor.

• Sir Roger Tuckfield Goldsworthy, 1884–1891
• Sir Cornelius Alfred Moloney, 1891–1897
• Sir David Wilson, 1897–1904
• Sir Ernest Bickham Sweet-Escott, 15 April 1904 – 1906
• Sir Eric John Eagles Swayne, 13 August 1906 – 9 May 1913
• Sir Wilfred Collet 19 May 1913 – January 1918
• William Hart-Bennett, 29 January 1918 – 4 September 1918
• Sir Eyre Hutson, 22 March 1919 – 1925
• Sir John Alder Burdon, 16 April 1925 – 1932
• Sir Harold Baxter Kittermaster, 9 March 1932 – 1934
• Sir Alan Cuthbert Maxwell Burns, 2 November 1934 – 1939
• Sir John Adams Hunter, 24 February 1940 – 1 July 1946
• Sir Arthur Norman Wolffsohn, 1 July 1946 – 14 January 1947, acting
• Sir Edward Gerald Hawkesworth, 14 January 1947 – 1948
• Sir Ronald Herbert Garvey, 28 February 1949 – 1952
• Sir Patrick Muir Renison, 21 October 1952 – 1955
• Sir Colin Hardwick Thornley, 17 January 1956 – 1961
• Sir Peter Hyla Gawne Stallard, 9 December 1961 – 1966
• Sir John Warburton Paul, 11 July 1966 – January 1972
• Sir Richard Neil Posnett, 26 January 1972 – 31 May 1973

Governors of Belize (1973–1981)

On 1 June 1973, the colony of British Honduras was renamed Belize.

• Sir Richard Neil Posnett, 1 June 1973 – 1976, continued
• Peter Donovan McEntee, 1 June 1976 – 1980
• Sir James Hennessy, 1980 – 21 September 1981

On 21 September 1981 Belize gained independence from the United Kingdom. For viceroys of Belize after independence, see Governor-General of Belize.

Monarch (1981–present)

The succession to the throne is the same as the succession to the British throne.

No.	Portrait	Monarch (Birth–Death)	Reign			Royal House	Prime minister(s)
			Reign start	Reign end	Duration
1	File:Queen Elizabeth II in March 2015.jpg	Queen Elizabeth II (1926–2022)	21 September 1981	8 September 2022	40 years, 352 days	Windsor	Price Esquivel Price Esquivel Musa Barrow Briceño
2	File:King Charles III (July 2023).jpg	King Charles III (born 1948)	8 September 2022	Incumbent	2 years, 316 days	Windsor	Briceño

List of governors-general

Following is a list of people who have served as Governor-General of Belize since independence in 1981.

  Denotes Acting Governors-General

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Monarch (Reign)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1	File:Insigne Belizae.svg	Dame Elmira Minita Gordon (1930–2021)	21 September 1981	17 November 1993	12 years, 57 days	File:Elizabeth II (1).jpg Elizabeth II (1981–2022)
2	File:Colville Young Embassy 2011 (cropped).jpeg	Sir Colville Young (b. 1932)	17 November 1993	30 April 2021	27 years, 164 days
–	File:Stuart Leslie 2022.jpg	Stuart Leslie (b. ?) Acting Governor-General	30 April 2021	27 May 2021	27 days
3	File:Dame Froyla Tzalam.jpg	Dame Froyla Tzalam (b. ?)	27 May 2021	Incumbent	4 years, 55 days
						File:King Charles III (July 2023).jpg Charles III (2022–present)

References

• rulers.org