| U.S. governor of the Ryukyu Islands | |
|---|---|
| 琉球列島のアメリカ知事 (Ryūkyū-rettō no Amerika chiji) | |
Seal of High Commissioner of the Ryukyu Islands | |
| United States Department of War United States Department of Defense | |
| Type | Military governor |
| Status | Senior-mostofficer ofmilitary occupation |
| Member of | USMGR(1945–1950) USCAR(1950–1972) |
| Seat | Naha,Okinawa |
| Term length | No fixed term |
| Constituting instrument | Treaty of San Francisco(Formal establishment)[a] |
| Precursor | Governor of Okinawa Prefecture |
| Formation | 1 April 1945; 80 years ago (1945-04-01) |
| First holder | LTGSimon Bolivar Buckner Jr. |
| Final holder | LTGJames Benjamin Lampert |
| Abolished | 14 May 1972; 53 years ago (1972-05-14) |
| Succession | Governor of Okinawa Prefecture |
This article lists theU.S. governors of theRyukyu Islands (Japanese:琉球諸島,Hepburn:Ryūkyū-shotō;Okinawan:琉球/ルーチューRuuchuu), anarchipelago ofJapaneseislands withinKagoshima andOkinawaprefectures, centered on theOkinawa Islands and its main island,Okinawa (thesmallest and least populated of the fiveJapanese home islands[1]).
The list encompasses the period ofU.S. occupation, from the start of theBattle of Okinawa in 1945 until the return of the islands to Japanese sovereignty in 1972, in accordance with the1971 Okinawa Reversion Agreement.[2][3]
Source:[4]
† denotes people who died in office.
| No. | Portrait | Governor | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buckner, SimonLieutenant general Simon Bolivar Buckner Jr. (1886–1945) [b] | 1 April 1945 | 18 June 1945 † | 78 days | ||
| – | Geiger, RoyMajor general Roy Geiger (1885–1947) Acting [c] | 18 June 1945 | 23 June 1945 | 5 days | ||
| – | Stilwell, JosephGeneral Joseph Stilwell (1883–1946) Acting [d] | 23 June 1945 | 31 July 1945 | 38 days | ||
| 2 | Stilwell, JosephGeneral Joseph Stilwell (1883–1946) [d] | 31 July 1945 | 16 October 1945 | 77 days | ||
| N/A | Wallace, FredMajor general Fred Clute Wallace (1887–1959) Commanding General, Island Command Okinawa | June 1945 | 23 April 1946 | 10 months | ||
| 3 | Lawson, LawrenceBrigadier general Lawrence A. Lawson (1897–1951) | 17 October 1945 | 29 December 1945 | 73 days | ||
| 4 | Hodson, FremontBrigadier general Fremont Byron Hodson Sr. (1894–1974) | 30 December 1945 | 26 February 1946 | 58 days | ||
| 5 | Donovan, LeoMajor general Leo Donovan (1895–1950) | 27 February 1946 | 21 May 1946 | 83 days | ||
| 6 | Hayden, FrederickBrigadier general Frederic Lord Hayden (1901–1969) | 24 May 1946 | 11 May 1948 | 1 year, 353 days | ||
| 7 | Eagles, WilliamMajor general William W. Eagles (1895–1988) | 12 May 1948 | 30 September 1949 | 1 year, 141 days | ||
| 8 | Sheetz, JosefMajor general Josef R. Sheetz (1895–1992) | 1 October 1949 | 21 July 1950 | 293 days | ||
| 9 | McClure, RobertMajor general Robert B. McClure (1896–1973) | 28 July 1950 | 6 December 1950 | 131 days | ||
| – | Sherman, HarryBrigadier general Harry B. Sherman (1894–1974) Acting | 6 December 1950 | 9 December 1950 | 3 days | ||
| 10 | Beightler, RobertMajor general Robert S. Beightler (1892–1978) | 9 December 1950 | 15 December 1950 | 6 days |
| No. | Portrait | Governor | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | MacArthur, DouglasGeneral Douglas MacArthur (1880–1964) [e] | 15 December 1950 | 11 April 1951[f] | 117 days | ||
| 2 | Ridgway, MatthewGeneral Matthew Ridgway (1895–1993) [e] | 11 April 1951 | 12 May 1952 | 1 year, 31 days | ||
| 3 | Clark, MarkGeneral Mark W. Clark (1896–1984) | 12 May 1952 | 7 October 1953 | 1 year, 148 days | ||
| 4 | Hull, JohnGeneral John E. Hull (1895–1975) | 7 October 1953 | 1 April 1955 | 1 year, 176 days | ||
| 5 | Taylor, MaxwellGeneral Maxwell D. Taylor (1901–1987) | 1 April 1955 | 5 June 1955 | 65 days | ||
| 6 | Lemnitzer, LymanGeneral Lyman Lemnitzer (1899–1988) | 5 June 1955 | 30 June 1957 | 2 years, 25 days |
| No. | Portrait | Deputy Governor | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Beightler, RobertMajor general Robert S. Beightler (1892–1978) | 15 December 1950 | 10 May 1951 | 146 days | ||
| – | Sherman, HarryBrigadier general Harry B. Sherman (1894–1974) Acting | 10 May 1951 | 7 August 1951 | 89 days | ||
| (1) | Beightler, RobertMajor general Robert S. Beightler (1892–1978) | 8 August 1951 | 16 December 1952 | 1 year, 130 days | ||
| 2 | Lewis, JamesBrigadier general James Malcolm Lewis (1898–1954) | 18 December 1952 | 2 January 1953 | 15 days | ||
| 3 | Ogden, DavidLieutenant general David Ayres Depue Ogden (1897–1969) | 3 January 1953 | 4 March 1955 | 2 years, 60 days | ||
| 4 | Moore, JamesLieutenant general James Edward Moore (1902–1986) | 5 March 1955 | 3 July 1957 | 2 years, 120 days |
| No. | Portrait | High Commissioner | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moore, JamesLieutenant general James Edward Moore (1902–1986) | 4 July 1957 | 30 April 1958 | 300 days | ||
| 2 | Booth, DonaldLieutenant general Donald Prentice Booth (1902–1993) | 1 May 1958 | 12 February 1961 | 2 years, 287 days | ||
| 3 | Caraway, PaulLieutenant general Paul Caraway (1905–1985) | 16 February 1961 | 31 July 1964 | 3 years, 166 days | ||
| 4 | Watson, AlbertLieutenant general Albert Watson II (1909–1993) | 1 August 1964 | 31 October 1966 | 2 years, 91 days | ||
| 5 | Unger, FerdinandLieutenant general Ferdinand Thomas Unger (1914–1999) | 2 November 1966 | 28 January 1968 | 1 year, 87 days | ||
| 6 | Lampert, JamesLieutenant general James Benjamin Lampert (1914–1978) | 28 January 1968 | 14 May 1972 | 4 years, 107 days |
| No. | Portrait | Civil Administrator | Took office | Left office | Time in office |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Burger, VonnaVonna F. Burger (1902–1999) | June 1955 | 20 June 1959 | 4 years | |
| 2 | Ondrick, JohnJohn G. Ondrick (1906–1974) | 1 July 1959 | May 1962 | 2 years, 10 months | |
| 3 | McCune, ShannonShannon Boyd-Bailey McCune (1913–1993) | 18 July 1962 | 8 February 1964 | 1 year, 205 days | |
| 4 | Warner, GeraldGerald Warner (1907–1989) | 11 February 1964 | 10 July 1967 | 3 years, 149 days | |
| 5 | Carpenter, StanleyStanley Sherman Carpenter (1917–1982) | 15 July 1967 | 15 August 1969 | 2 years, 31 days | |
| 6 | Fearey, RobertRobert A. Fearey (1918–2004) | 21 August 1969 | 12 May 1972 | 2 years, 265 days |

MILT classification 6,852 islands(main islands: 5 islands, remote islands: 6,847 islands)
260.12 Records of the U.S. Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands (USCAR) 1945–72