Protector, sometimes spelled protecter, is used as a title or part of various historical titles of

heads of state A head of state is the public persona of a sovereign state.#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representative of its international persona." The name given to the office of head of sta ...

and others in authority.

Political and administrative

Heads of state

Iran

''Wakil ar-Ra`aya'' (rendered as Protector of the People) was a title of the Persian imperial Monarch under the Zand dynasty, as those rulers refused (except the last as noted) the style

Shahanshah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the List of monarchs of Iran, monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the ...

. The founding ruler of the Zand dynasty adopted the style; it appears that his successors used the same style, although documentation is obscure. *1773 - 1 March 1779 Mohammad Karim Khan Zand (b. c.1707 - d. 1779) *6 March 1779 - 1779 Abu al-Fath Khan Zand (1st time) (b. 1755 - d. 1787) - ''jointly with'' 6 March 1779 - 19 June 1779 Mohammad Ali Khan Zand (b. 1760 - d. 1...) *19 June 1779 - 22 August 1779 Abu al-Fath Khan Zand (2nd time) *22 August 1779 - 14 March 1781 Mohammad Sadeq Khan Zand (d. 1782) *15 March 1781 - 11 February 1785 Ali Morad Khan Zand (d. 1785) *12 February 1785 - 17 February 1785 Baqer Khan Khorasakani *18 February 1785 - 23 January 1789 Jaafar Khan Zand (d. 1789) *23 January 1789 - 10 May 1789 Seyd Morad Khan Zand *10 May 1789 - 30 October 1794 Lotf Ali Khan Zand (b. c.1766 - d. 1794); he again adopted the traditional style

Shah Shāh (; ) is a royal title meaning "king" in the Persian language.Yarshater, Ehsa, ''Iranian Studies'', vol. XXII, no. 1 (1989) Though chiefly associated with the monarchs of Iran, it was also used to refer to the leaders of numerous Per ...

anshah March 1794 - 30 October 1794

Europe

Lord Protector Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') is a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometime ...

(plural: Lords Protectors) is a title that has been used at times in British constitutional law for the head of state. *In

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

, one Sovereign was styled ''Alls Íslands Verndari og Hæstráðandi til Sjós og Lands'' ("Protector and supreme authority of all of Iceland on land and sea") 25 June - 22 August 1809 (an intermezzo between Danish Governors styled '' Stiftamtmadur)'':

Jørgen Jørgensen Jørgen Jørgensen (name of birth: Jürgensen, and changed to Jorgenson from 1817) (29 March 1780 – 20 January 1841) was a Danes, Danish adventurer during the Age of Revolution. During the action of 2 March 1808, his ship was captured by the ...

(b. 1780 - d. 1841; nicknamed ''Hundadagakonungur'' "the Dog-Day King"). *In

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

, ''State-protector'' was a common rendering of Riigihoidja, a Head of State and Head of Government, from 24 January 1934 to 24 April 1938 (acting to 3 September 1937). One example of this title's holder is Konstantin Päts (b. 1874 - d. 1956), who was earlier five times State Elder, thereafter the first and only President before the Soviet takeover. *In

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

(linguistically close to Estonian), State Protector is a common rendering, besides Regent, of two Finnish Heads of State 18 May 1918 - 27 July 1919, the first incumbent being also the last of the previous — untitled — acting heads of state. *In the

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

, King Karl X Gustaf of Sweden (b. 1622 - d. 1660) (), was styled ''Protektor Rzeczypospolitej'' in Polish ("Protector of the Republic") as challenger to the duly elected king Jan II Kazimierz during the middle part of his reign (17 January 1649 - 16 September 1668).

Americas

*in the

Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles of the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. It shares a Maritime boundary, maritime border with Puerto Rico to the east and ...

: 4 August 1865 - 15 November 1865, his first non-consecutive presidential term: José María Cabral y de Luna (b. 1819 - d. 1899) *in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

: Sylvain Salnave (b. 1826 - d. 1870), one of the three members of the previous Provisional Government, was President 4 May 1867 - 27 December 1869 and ''Protector of the Republic'' to 16 June 1867 *in present

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

: on 20 April 1823 general José Anacleto Ordóñez was proclaimed ''General en Jefe del Ejército, Protector y Libertador de Granada''; he acted as head of state (e.g. in a treaty ), but set up a Governing Junta (it's unclear whether he was a member) which continued to govern after Granada's accession to the Central American Federation on July 2 *in

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

: 3 August 1821 - 20 September 1822 general José Francisco de San Martín y Matorras (b. 1778 - d. 1850) *in the Peru-Bolivian Confederation: José Andrés de Santa Cruz y Villavicencio y Calumana (b. 1792 - d. 1865; Military) Supreme Protector 28 October 1836 - 20 February 1839 (also

Bolivia Bolivia, officially the Plurinational State of Bolivia, is a landlocked country located in central South America. The country features diverse geography, including vast Amazonian plains, tropical lowlands, mountains, the Gran Chaco Province, w ...

n President 24 May 1829 - 20 February 1839) *in

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, 12 October 1822 - 15 November 1889, the imperial style was ''Imperador Constitucional e Defensor Perpétuo'' (Constitutional Emperor and perpetual defender)

Foreign hegemons

Napoleonic France

*in most of Germany, east of the Rhine, except Prussia, from 25 July 1806 to 19 October 1813, the French Emperor,

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

, bore the additional title of ''protecteur de la Confédération du Rhin'', i.e. Protector of the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

, generally known as ''Rheinbund'' ('Rhenan League'), uniting the German princes that had bowed to the conqueror. The actual presidency of its diet and council of Kings was held by a German prince, the Fürstprimas ('Prince-primate'). *Bonaparte had a similar position in Switzerland (then called the Helvetic Republic/

Swiss Confederation Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerlan ...

) under French occupation, but there his style was ''Médiateur de la Confédération Helvétique'' (Mediator, 1809 - 31 December 1813), while the chairmanship of the Diet (legislative assembly, since 10 March 1803), the acting Head of the Confederation, with the title ''

Landammann ''Landammann'' (plural ''Landammänner''), is the German title used by the chief magistrate in certain Cantons of Switzerland and at times featured in the Head of state's style at the confederal level. Old Swiss Confederacy ''Landammann'' or ''A ...

der Schweiz'' /''Landamman de la Suisse'' /'' Landamano della Svizzera'' , fell simply to the

chief magistrate A chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admi ...

of the canton hosting it.

Nazi Germany

*Nazi Germany was represented by a Reichsprotektor ('Reich protector') in the Czech puppet-state it installed on 16 March 1939 under the explicit name ''Protektorat Böhmen und Mähren'', the "

Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia The Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia was a partially-annexation, annexed territory of Nazi Germany that was established on 16 March 1939 after the Occupation of Czechoslovakia (1938–1945), German occupation of the Czech lands. The protector ...

". (This excluded the ethnically German regions, which were annexed as ''Reichsgau''

Sudetenland The Sudetenland ( , ; Czech and ) is a German name for the northern, southern, and western areas of former Czechoslovakia which were inhabited primarily by Sudeten Germans. These German speakers had predominated in the border districts of Bohe ...

.) The Reichsprotektor held the real executive power, not the native President and Prime Minister. The German incumbents, after a month under a Military Governor, were: **5 April 1939 – 20 August 1943

Konstantin von Neurath Konstantin Hermann Karl Freiherr von Neurath (2 February 1873 – 14 August 1956) was a German politician, diplomat and convicted Nazi war criminal who served as Foreign Minister of Germany between 1932 and 1938. Born to a Swabian noble famil ...

, ''

Freiherr (; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , ) and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire and in ...

'' (1873 – 1956) NSDAP **27 September 1941 – 4 June 1942

Reinhard Heydrich Reinhard Tristan Eugen Heydrich ( , ; 7 March 1904 – 4 June 1942) was a German high-ranking SS and police official during the Nazi era and a principal architect of the Holocaust. He held the rank of SS-. Many historians regard Heydrich ...

(1904 – 1942) NSDAP (acting for Neurath) **27 May 1942 – 28 May 1942

Karl Hermann Frank Karl Hermann Frank (24 January 1898 – 22 May 1946) was a Sudeten Germans, Sudeten German Nazism, Nazi official in the Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia prior to and during World War II. Attaining the rank of ''Obergruppenführer'', he was in ...

(1898 – 1946) NSDAP (acting for the mortally wounded Heydrich) **28 May 1942 – 14 October 1943

Kurt Daluege Kurt Max Franz Daluege (15 September 1897 – 24 October 1946) was a German ''SS-Oberst-Gruppenführer'' and ''Generaloberst'' of the police, the highest ranking police officer, who served as chief of ''Ordnungspolizei'' (Order Police) of N ...

(1897 – 1946) NSDAP (acting o 5 June 1942for Heydrich]) **14 October 1943 – 8 May 1945

Wilhelm Frick Wilhelm Frick (12 March 1877 – 16 October 1946) was a German prominent politician of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) and convicted war criminal who served as Minister of the Interior in Adolf Hitler's cabinet from 1933 to 1943 and as the last governor ...

(1877 – 1946) NSDAP **26 April 1945 – 8 May 1945

Ferdinand Schörner Ferdinand Schörner (12 June 1892 – 2 July 1973) was a German military commander and convicted war criminal, who held the rank of ''Generalfeldmarschall'' (Field Marshal) in the ''Wehrmacht'' of Nazi Germany during World War II. He was the on ...

(1892 – 1973) (military commander with unrestricted executive power)

Fictitious

The self-styled Emperor Norton I of the United States included among his titles "Protector of Mexico."

Colonial administration

*In Spanish America, a Protector of the Indians was to restrain the abuses of the

conquistadores Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

at the expense of the indigenous Indios, e.g. granted to the first missionary bishop of Cusco (in Peru). *In the British Empire, a colonial official responsible for administering the Chinese Protectorates, entities charged with the well-being of ethnic Chinese residents of the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

-held

Straits Settlements The Straits Settlements () were a group of British territories located in Southeast Asia. Originally established in 1826 as part of the territories controlled by the British East India Company, the Straits Settlements came under control of the ...

—which included current-day

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

—during that territory's colonial period. *In the French empire, the ''Protecteur des Indigènes'' 'Protector of the Natives' was a colonial official charged with the protection of an indigenous community; ironically, such 'native' status was also awarded to the (Asian) ''immigrants'' -thus officially named- on the island of

La Réunion LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second most populous city in the United States of America. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note *"L.A.", a song by Elliott Smi ...

Religious

Catholic

{{Main, Cardinal protector Since the thirteenth century it has been customary at Rome to confide to some particular Cardinal a special solicitude in the

Roman Curia The Roman Curia () comprises the administrative institutions of the Holy See and the central body through which the affairs of the Catholic Church are conducted. The Roman Curia is the institution of which the Roman Pontiff ordinarily makes use ...

for the interests of a given religious order or institute, confraternity, church, college, city, nation, etc. Such a person is known as a ''Cardinal Protector''.

Islamic

The title ''Hâdim ül Haramain ish Sharifain'' or ''Khādim al-Ḥaramayn al-Sharifayn'',

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

for 'Servant of the Noble Sanctuaries', notably

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

and

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

(the destinations of the

hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...

pilgrimage; both in the Grand Sherif's peninsular Arabian territory; the third being

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

, part of an province) was awarded to Sultan Salim Khan I by the Sherif of Mecca in 1517, a year after his conquest of Egypt and assuming of the title of Commander of the Faithful, and Successor of the Prophet of the Lord of the Universe, i.e. Caliph; both remained part of the full style of his successors on the throne.