| Governor of Spanish Sahara | |
|---|---|
| Gobernador del Sahara Español | |
 Coat of arms of Spanish Sahara | |
| Reports to | Head of State of Spain |
| Seat | Villa Cisneros(1884–1940) El Aaiún(1940–1976) |
| Formation | 3 November 1884; 141 years ago (1884-11-03) |
| First holder | Emilio Bonelli |
| Final holder | Federico Gómez de Salazar y Nieto |
| Abolished | 6 February 1976; 50 years ago (1976-02-06) |
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Thecolonial governors of Spanish Sahara were the colonial administrators responsible for the territory ofSpanish Sahara, an area equivalent to modern-dayWestern Sahara. The list covers the period from November 1884 to February 1976, whenSpain announced it had transferred sovereignty toMorocco and terminated its administration of the territory.[1]
(Dates in italics indicatede facto continuation of office)
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish suzerainty | |||
| 3 November 1884 to10 July 1885 |  | Emilio Bonelli, Commandant | |
| Royal Commissioner on the West Coast of Africa | |||
| 10 July 1885 to6 April 1887 | | Emilio Bonelli, Royal Commissioner | Arrives in Río de Oro on 26 August 1885 |
| Political and Military Subgovernors ofRío de Oro (subordinated to the captains-general of theCanary Islands) | |||
| 6 April 1887 to bf. 1902 | | Emilio Bonelli, Subgovernor | |
| 1902 to 1 December 1903 | Ángel Villalobos, Subgovernor | ||
| 1 December 1903 to1913 |  | Francisco Bens Argandoña [es], Subgovernor | |
| Delegates of the High Commissioner in the Southern Zone of theSpanish protectorate in Morocco (subordinated toSpanish high commissioners in Morocco) | |||
| 1913 to 7 November 1925 | | Francisco Bens Argandoña [es], Delegate | Occupation ofCape Juby andLa Güera |
| 7 November 1925 to 19 June 1932 |  | Guillermo de la Peña Cusi [es], Delegate | |
| 19 June 1932 to 30 August 1933 |  | Eduardo Cañizares Navarro [es], Delegate | |
| 30 August 1933 to 1 July 1934 | José González Deleito, Delegate | ||
| 1 July 1934 to29 August 1934 | Benigno Martínez Portillo, Delegate | ||
| Government delegates in the Sahara (subordinated to Spanish high commissioners in Morocco) | |||
| 29 August 1934 to 4 May 1936 | Benigno Martínez Portillo, Government Delegate | ||
| 4 May 1936 to 7 August 1936 | Carlos Pedemonte Sabín [es], Government Delegate | Spanish coup of July 1936; start of theSpanish Civil War | |
| 7 August 1936 to 12 March 1937 | Rafael Gallego Sainz [es], Government Delegate | ||
| 12 March 1937 to 17 May 1940 | Antonio de Oro Pulido, Government Delegate | Founded the city ofEl Aaiún in 1938[2] | |
| Politico-Military Governor ofIfni and the Sahara and Delegate of the High Commissioner in the Southern Zone of the Spanish protectorate in Morocco (subordinated to Spanish high commissioners in Morocco) | |||
| 17 May 1940 to24 July 1946 | José Bermejo López, Governor | ||
| Governors of the Government ofSpanish West Africa | |||
| 24 July 1946 to 17 August 1949 | José Bermejo López, Governor | ||
| 17 August 1949 to 29 March 1952 | Francisco Rosaleny Burguet, Governor | ||
| 29 March 1952 to 26 February 1954 | Venancio Tutor Gil, Governor | ||
| 26 February 1954 to 23 May 1957 | Ramón Pardo de Santayana y Suárez, Governor | Apostolic Prefecture of Spanish Sahara and Ifni established on 5 July 1954, withFélix Erviti BarcelonaOMI as the firstapostolic prefect | |
| 23 May 1957 to 10 January 1958 | .jpg) | Mariano Gómez-Zamalloa y Quirce, Governor | Served at the start of theIfni War |
| Governors-general of Spanish Sahara | |||
| 10 January 1958 to 22 July 1958 | José Héctor Vázquez, Governor-General | Served at the end of theIfni War | |
| 27 July 1958 to 6 October 1961 | Mariano Alonso Alonso, Governor-General | ||
| 13 October 1961 to 21 February 1964 | Pedro Latorre Alcubierre, Governor-General | ||
| 6 March 1964 to 5 November 1965 | Joaquín Agulla y Jiménez-Coronado, Governor-General | ||
| 5 November 1965 to 26 November 1965 | Adolfo Artalejo Campos, Governor-General | ||
| 5 December 1965 to 2 February 1967 | Ángel Enríquez Larrondo, Governor-General | ||
| 18 February 1967 to 4 March 1971 | José María Pérez de Lema y Tejero, Governor-General | Served at the time of theZemla Intifada | |
| 4 March 1971 to 6 June 1974 |  | Fernando de Santiago y Díaz de Mendívil, Governor-General | |
| 6 June 1974 to 6 February 1976 |  | Federico Gómez de Salazar y Nieto, Governor-General | Served at the time of theGreen March |
| 14 February 1976 | Spain announces it has transferred sovereignty toMorocco | ||
| 26 February 1976 | Spain terminates its administration[1] | ||
| 27 February 1976 | Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic proclaimed by thePolisario Front[3] | ||
| 14 April 1976 | Spanish Sahara ispartitioned andannexed byMorocco (claimingSouthern Provinces) andMauritania (claimingTiris al-Gharbiyya) | ||
| 11 August 1979 | Mauritanian part of the territory annexed by Morocco | ||
