45-473: High commissioner is the title of various high-ranking, special executive positions held by a commission of appointment. The English term is also used to render various equivalent titles in other languages. 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,
90-473: 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
135-581: A royal decree made under the royal prerogative and are treated as statute law. Letters patent do not require the consent of parliament . In some Commonwealth realms, such as Canada and New Zealand ( Letters Patent, 1947 in Canada and Letters Patent 1983 in New Zealand), letters patent serve as formal legal instruments that officially grant powers to the governor general . An important function of Letters Patent in many Commonwealth Realms
180-632: A Commonwealth nation's high commission is its embassy to another Commonwealth nation. 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
225-485: A colony could achieve independence without a high commissioner, e.g. Guinée ( French Guinea ). In one case a French Haut Commissaire was the exact match and colleague of a British high commissioner: they represented both powers in the south sea condominium (i.e. territory under joint sovereignty) of the New Hebrides , which became the present-day republic of Vanuatu . The current high commissioner of Vanuatu to
270-528: A country's constitutional government has been filled by those able to do so, one nation or often an alliance, installing a transitional (often minimal) governance administered by, or under supervision of, one or more high commissioners representing it/them. Examples of multilaterally appointed administrations are discussed further below. Examples of administrations appointed during decolonisation processes are described above. Examples of non-colonial transitional administrations titled "High Commissioners" are: After
315-670: 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
360-468: A group of minor insular colonial territories, under one single part-time Western Pacific High Commissioner (1905–1953), an office attached first to the governorship of Fiji , and subsequently to that of the Solomon Islands . He was represented in each of the other islands units by a resident commissioner , consul or other official (on tiny Pitcairn a mere chief magistrate ). Currently there
405-536: A person or corporation . Letters patent can be used for the creation of corporations , government offices, to grant city status or coats of arms . Letters patent are issued for the appointment of representatives of the Crown , such as governors and governors-general of Commonwealth realms , as well as appointing a Royal Commission . In the United Kingdom , they are also issued for the creation of peers of
450-479: A single alphabet letter ( littera ). Letters patent are a form of open or public proclamation and a vestigial exercise of extra-parliamentary power by a monarch or president. They can thus be contrasted with the Act of Parliament , which is in effect a written order by Parliament involving assent by the monarch in conjunction with its members. No explicit government approval is contained within letters patent, only
495-639: A variety of other purposes. They function dually as public records and personal certificates. In the United States, the forgery of letters patent granted by the President is a crime subject to fine, imprisonment up to ten years or both ( 18 U.S.C. § 497 ). Without letters patent, a person is unable to assume an appointed office. Such an issue prompted the Marbury v. Madison suit, where William Marbury and three others petitioned
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#1732758272726540-701: 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 . In the (post-)colonial sense, some other powers have or previously had high commissioners, or rather the exact equivalent in their language. In the Kingdom of Denmark , high commissioners ( Danish : Rigsombudsmanden , Faroese : Ríkisumboðsmaðurin , Greenlandic : Naalagaaffiup Sinniisaa ) represent
585-564: Is to act as the order from the Monarch authorising the establishment and powers of a Royal Commission or a Special Commission of Inquiry. This can be seen in jurisdictions such as Australia where Letters Patent are frequently issued in relation to new and ongoing Royal Commissions . The primary source of letters patent in the United States are intellectual property patents and land patents , though letters patent are issued for
630-563: The Kingdom of Greece was given a mandate by the Supreme Allied War Council for the city of Smyrna (today İzmir ) and its hinterland, which it proceeded to occupy on 12 May. A civilian administration was set up in the "Smyrna Zone", headed, from 21 May 1919 until 9 September 1922, when Greece lost Smyrna to Turkey , by the high commissioner ( Greek : Ὕπατος Ἁρμοστὴς ) Aristeidis Stergiadis (1861–1950). The title Alto Comissário da República (High Commissioner of
675-967: 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. 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
720-674: The United States Supreme Court to order James Madison to deliver their letters for appointments made under the previous administration. United States letters patent generally do not fit a specific form, except for the eschatocol , or formal ending: GIVEN under my hand, in [city] the [date] in the year of our Lord [year] and of the Independence of the United States the [years since July 4, 1776]. By [signature of public official issuing letter] Governor-General of South Africa The governor-general of
765-790: The crown and the Kingdom Government ( Regeringen ) in Greenland and the Faroe Islands (two self-governing regions of the kingdom – the unity of the Realm ) and take part in negotiations on policies and decisions affecting their region including negotiations with the devolved legislatures and the Kingdom Parliament ( Folketinget ). Greenland and the Faroe Islands have one commissioner each. Originally
810-591: The monarch of South Africa . Fifty-one years later, the country declared itself a republic and the office of governor-general was abolished. Some of the first holders of the post were members of the British royal family including Prince Arthur of Connaught between 1920 and 1924, and Alexander Cambridge, 1st Earl of Athlone , who served between 1924 and 1931, before becoming the governor general of Canada . As in other Dominions, this would change, and from 1943 onward only South Africans (in fact, only Afrikaners ) held
855-446: 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
900-477: The resident minister ), and might have under them several resident commissioners or similar agents attached to each state. In present-day Nigeria : 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 , Singapore and British Borneo . The role of High Commissioner for Southern Africa
945-636: The Allies occupied the Ottoman capital Constantinople ( Istanbul ). Until the termination of Allied occupation on 22 October 1923, there were at all times one British Senior Allied High Commissioner and one (junior) Allied High Commissioner (incumbents from France, thrice, Italy and the US, each twice). Often the main/locally concerned members of an alliance would not set up a joint occupation authority (as in Italy after
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#1732758272726990-575: The Commonwealth's 'close relationship diplomats' in President General De Gaulle's project for a French Union to match the Commonwealth, but it soon started to fall apart, so they actually just presided over most of the peaceful decolonisation. While the colonies above were generally artificially carved creations, Haut commissaires also were appointed by Paris to prepare the (de facto) independence of pre-existing monarchies that had formally been French protectorates, such as: Yet
1035-524: The French word Haut Commissaire , or in full Haut Commissaire de la république (High Commissioner of the Republic), was rarely used for governatorial functions, rather (Lieutenant-)gouverneur(-général) and various lower titles. Exceptions were: In the later period of decolonisation , the office of high commissioner in a colony to become an allied nation was intended to become remarkably analogous to
1080-651: The Nazi defeat) but simply each appoint one for each of the zones into which they physically divided amongst themselves an occupied state or territory, e.g. after World War II: As the 'world community' became a widely accepted ideal in diplomacy and was embodied first in the League of Nations and later the United Nations, these often came to play a key role in extraordinary situations that would earlier probably have been dealt with by states as above, sometimes reflected in
1125-462: The Republic) or, simply Alto Comissário , was given to some Portuguese colonial governors to whom were given exceptional, enlarged executive and legislative powers, superior to those of common governors. In the Monarchy, before 1910, they were known as Comissários Régios (Royal Commissioners). Altos Comissários (or Comissários Régios when indicated) had been nominated for: Alto comisario
1170-491: The US [5 February 2009] is David J. Wilson (born 1956). A very special category was the Haut Commissaire as 'liquidator' of a gouvernement-général (the colonial echelon grouping several neighbouring colonies under a governor-general), notably: Another use for the title was found in the rare remaining insulara (formerly no longer colonial) overseas possessions, in these cases still functioning: In early May 1919,
1215-518: The Union of South Africa ( Afrikaans : Goewerneur-generaal van Unie van Suid-Afrika ; Dutch : Goeverneur-generaal van de Unie van Zuid-Afrika ) was the highest state official in the Union of South Africa between 1910 and 1961. The Union of South Africa was founded as a self-governing Dominion of the British Empire in 1910 and the office of governor-general was established as the representative of
1260-473: The United Nations and affiliated global organisations, a high commissioner serves as the permanent chief executive of a commission composed of representatives of various member nations. Letters patent Letters patent ( plural form for singular and plural ) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch , president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly , title or status to
1305-420: The appointment of high commissioners under their auspices, sometimes just from the same leading powers, sometimes rather from 'neutral' member states. The title of High Commissioner was specifically used for the administrators during the 'emancipation from colonial rule' of League of Nations mandates and United Nations Trust Territories , i.e. non-sovereign states under a 'transitional' regime established under
1350-535: The authority of the League of Nations or the UN, respectively, to prepare them for full independence. These 'guardianships' most often were simply awarded to the former colonial power or if that was a loser in the preceding World War, to the 'liberating' Allied victor(s). The trust territories have all now attained self-government or independence, either as separate nations or by joining neighbouring independent countries. At
1395-792: The capitulation of the Ottoman Empire in the Armistice of Mudros , on 8 December 1918 the Allies occupied the shores of the Bosporus , the Dardanelles , the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara up to 15 km deep, and the islands of Imbros , Lemnos , Samothrace and Tenedos . The entire area demilitarised ( Zone of the Straits ). This was complemented from 16 March to 10 August 1920 as
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1440-595: The contents back to the gentry in the shires through normal conversation and social intercourse. Today, for example, it is a convention for the British prime minister to announce that they have left a document they wish to enter the public domain "in the library of the House of Commons ", where it may be freely perused by all members of parliament . Letters patent are so named from the Latin verb patī , patior , to lie open, exposed, accessible. The originator's seal
1485-536: The high commissioner was formally accredited, but whose senior he was in reality. In 1934–1956 the Governors of the Western Sahara (which from 27 November 1912 were also Governors-general of Spanish West Africa ) were subordinated to him. The office was filled by the governors of Spanish West Africa from 1939 to 1956. In many cases, a political vacuum created by war, occupation or other events discontinuing
1530-680: The naval blockade of Crete in 1898 by France, Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom, Crete became an autonomous state within the Ottoman Empire. These protecting powers appointed the following as High Commissioner ( Greek : Ὕπατος Ἁρμοστὴς ) until 1908, when the Cretan Assembly unilaterally declared union with Greece (with Crete subsequently formally becoming part of Greece in 1913, after the Balkan Wars ): Following
1575-849: The office. The office was established by the South Africa Act 1909 . Until the Balfour Declaration of 1926 the governor-general was the representative of the British government in South Africa and was appointed by the Colonial Office in London. After the declaration and the Statute of Westminster 1931 the governor-general was appointed by the monarch on the advice of the South African government. Although
1620-524: The patent remains in force) and to understand how to put it into practical use (once the patent rights expire). In the Holy Roman Empire , Austrian Empire , and Austria-Hungary , imperial patent was also the highest form of generally binding legal regulations, e.g. Patent of Toleration , Serfdom Patent , etc. The opposite of letters patent are letters close ( Latin : litterae clausae ), which are personal in nature and sealed so that only
1665-413: The present day, with most of those to 1625 having been published. In the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms , letters patent are royal proclamations granting an office, right, title, or status to a person (and sometimes in regard to corporations and cities). Letters patent take the form of an open letter from the monarch to a subject, although this is a legal fiction and they are in fact
1710-412: The realm . A particular form of letters patent has evolved into the modern intellectual property patent (referred to as a utility patent or design patent in United States patent law ) granting exclusive rights in an invention or design. In this case, it is essential that the written grant should be in the form of a public document so other inventors can consult it both to avoid infringement (while
1755-402: The recipient can read their contents. Letters patent are thus comparable to other kinds of open letter in that their audience is wide. It is not clear how the contents of letters patent became widely published before collection by the addressee, for example whether they were left after sealing by the king for inspection during a certain period by courtiers in a royal palace, who would disseminate
1800-400: The seal or signature of the monarch. Parliament today tolerates only a very narrow exercise of the royal prerogative by issuance of letters patent, and such documents are issued with prior informal government approval, or indeed are now generated by government itself with the monarch's seal affixed as a mere formality. In their original form they were simply written instructions or orders from
1845-669: The sovereign, whose order was law, which were made public to reinforce their effect. For the sake of good governance, it is of little use if the sovereign appoints a person to a position of authority but does not at the same time inform those over whom such authority is to be exercised of the validity of the appointment. According to the United Kingdom Ministry of Justice , there are 92 different types of letters patent. The Patent Rolls are made up of office copies of English (and later United Kingdom) royal letters patent, which run in an almost unbroken series from 1201 to
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1890-412: Was attached pendent from the document, so that it did not have to be broken in order for the document to be read. They are called "letters" (plural) from their Latin name litterae patentes , used by medieval and later scribes when the documents were written in Latin. This loanword preserves the collective plural "letters" ( litterae ) that the Latin language uses to denote a message as opposed to
1935-566: 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,
1980-810: 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 British Western Pacific Territories were permanently governed as
2025-674: Was the Spanish title of the official exercing the functions of a governor in the following colonial possessions: The title Alto Comisario was also used for the representative of Spain in its protectorate zone within the Sherifan sultanate of Morocco (most of the country was under French protectorate), known as el Jalifato after the Khalifa ( Spanish : Jalifa ), the Sultan's fully mandated, princely Viceroy in this protectorate, to which
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