Gordon Geoffrey Wetherell (born 11 November 1948) is a British diplomat who was the former

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

. He was appointed on 5 August 2008, replacing Richard Tauwhare in the position. On 14 August 2009, he assumed direct political control when the British government imposed

direct rule In political science, direct rule is when an imperial or central power takes direct control over the legislature, executive and civil administration of an otherwise largely self-governing territory. Examples Chechnya In 1991, Chechen separat ...

on the islands in response to a

Foreign Office Foreign may refer to: Government * Foreign policy, how a country interacts with other countries * Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in many countries ** Foreign Office, a department of the UK government ** Foreign office and foreign minister * United ...

inquiry which found "information in abundance pointing to a high probability of systematic corruption or serious dishonesty" in the islands' administration under former

premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of govern ...

, Michael Misick.
BBC News report. He was educated at

Bradfield College Bradfield College is a coeducational public school (independent boarding and day school) for pupils aged 13–18, in the village of Bradfield, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It is noted for its open-air Greek theatre and its trien ...

(in Bradfield, Berkshire), at

New College, Oxford New College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1379 by Bishop William of Wykeham in conjunction with Winchester College as New College's feeder school, New College was one of the first col ...

and at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. His Foreign Office career has included service in

East Berlin East Berlin (; ) was the partially recognised capital city, capital of East Germany (GDR) from 1949 to 1990. From 1945, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet occupation sector of Berlin. The American, British, and French se ...

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

, and

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. From 1997 to 2000 he was the British ambassador to Ethiopia (and concurrently non-resident ambassador to Eritrea and Djibouti). He served as ambassador to Luxembourg from 2000 to 2004, and High Commissioner to Ghana from 2004 to 2007. He was appointed

Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George, Prince of Wales (the future King George IV), while he was acting as prince regent for his father, King George I ...

(CMG) in the

2011 Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours 2011 for the Commonwealth realms were announced on 11 June 2011 in the United Kingdom,United Kingdom: New Zealand,Grand Turk Grand Turk is an island in the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory, tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and northern West Indies. It is the largest island in the Turks Islands (the smaller of th ...

. Wetherell departed the

Providenciales Providenciales (known locally as Provo) is an island in the northwest Caicos Islands, part of the Turks and Caicos Islands, a British Overseas Territory. The island has an area of and a 2012 Census population of 23,769. Providenciales is the th ...

, Turks and Caicos, on Sunday, 21 August 2011, ending his term as governor.

References

New governor arrives in Turks and Caicos on Monday
1948 births Living people People educated at Bradfield College Alumni of New College, Oxford University of Chicago alumni Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Luxembourg Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Ethiopia Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Eritrea Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Djibouti Governors of the Turks and Caicos Islands Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George Members of HM Diplomatic Service High commissioners of the United Kingdom to Ghana 20th-century British diplomats 21st-century British diplomats {{TurksCaicos-politician-stub