William Boyd McCleary (born 30 March 1949) is a retired member of HM Diplomatic Service originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland. In September 2010 he was appointed by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

on the advice of the

British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...

, to represent the Queen as Governor of the British Virgin Islands, and to act as the ''de facto''

head of state A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state (polity), state#Foakes, Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international p ...

in the Territory. Prior to his appointment as governor, McCleary served as High Commissioner to

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

from 2006 to 2010. Shortly after his arrival in the British Virgin Islands, the territory was damaged by

Hurricane Earl The name Earl has been used for eight tropical cyclones in the Atlantic Ocean. * Hurricane Earl (1980) — a Category 1 hurricane that drifted over the central Atlantic Ocean without affecting land. * Hurricane Earl (1986) — a Category 2 hurrican ...

. Although at the time of his appointment, there was a degree of tension over constitutional matters between the United Kingdom and the British Virgin Islands, McCleary won plaudits in the local press for his deft handling of the situation. Currently, he is on the advisory board of OMFIF where he is regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system. Previously, he was also one of the patrons of the

British Theatre Playhouse The British Theatre Playhouse (BTP) is a professional theatrical and musical production company incorporated in Singapore in 2004. With the motto ''Bringing to the World the Best in British Entertainment'', the BTP is internationally focused with ...

, a company aiming to produce British theatrical plays and musical shows.

References

Offices

External links

Boyd McCleary CMG, CVO, Governor to the British Virgin Islands
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCleary, William Boyd 1949 births Living people Alumni of Queen's University Belfast Governors of the British Virgin Islands High Commissioners of the United Kingdom to Malaysia Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Civil servants from Belfast 21st-century British diplomats