Sir John Stuart Macpherson, GCMG (25 August 1898 – 5 November 1971), was a British colonial administrator who served as the governor of Nigeria from 1948 to 1954, and as

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

from 1954 to 1955.

Early life

Born in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, the son of a hotel manager, Macpherson was educated at George Watson's College and at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. In 1917, he was commissioned into the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders; he was wounded in action on the Western Front, and had to wear a steel corset for the rest of his life.

Career

After World War I, Macpherson entered the Malayan Civil Service. Between 1933 and 1935 he was seconded to the

Colonial Office The Colonial Office was a government department of the Kingdom of Great Britain and later of the United Kingdom, first created in 1768 from the Southern Department to deal with colonial affairs in North America (particularly the Thirteen Colo ...

. He was appointed Principal Assistant Secretary in Nigeria in 1937 and Chief Secretary of Palestine in 1939, serving there until 1943. In 1943 he was posted to Washington as Head of British Colonies Supply Mission and joint British Chairman of Anglo-American Caribbean Commission. Between 1945 and 1948 he was Comptroller for Development and Welfare in the West Indies and British co-Chairman of the Caribbean Commission. In 1948, Macpherson was appointed Governor of Nigeria (Governor-General from 1954), serving in that post until his retirement in 1955; he was succeeded by

James Wilson Robertson Sir James Wilson Robertson, (27 October 189923 September 1983) was a British civil servant who served as the last colonial governor-general of Nigeria from 1955 to 1960. Early life and education He was educated at Merchiston Castle Schoo ...

. As Governor, Macpherson was responsible for the introduction of the 1951 Constitution (unofficially known as the Macpherson Constitution), which provided for "semi-responsible government". He also accelerated the

Africanization Africanization or Africanisation (lit., making something African) has been applied in various contexts, notably in geographic and personal naming and in the composition of the civil service via processes such as indigenization. Africanization ...

of the Nigerian public service. After his governorship, Macpherson served as the Chairman of the United Nations Visiting Mission to Trust Territories of the Pacific in 1956. The same year, he was appointed Permanent Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies, serving until 1959.

Honours

Macpherson was appointed CMG in 1941, promoted to KCMG in 1945 and GCMG in 1951. On 2 July 1947 he was made an Officer of the Czechoslovak Order of the White Lion.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Macpherson, John Stuart 1898 births 1971 deaths British governors and governors-general of Nigeria Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders officers British Army personnel of World War I Colonial Service officers Civil servants in the Colonial Office Permanent Under-Secretaries of State for the Colonies Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Officers of the Order of the White Lion Chief secretaries of Palestine Malayan Civil Service officers