Welcome to Jersey!

Monday 13 March 2017

Jersey's new Lieutenant-Governor is being sworn in later this morning.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton will officially take the oath of office in a special ceremony being held in the Royal Court at 10.15.

The ceremony will be overseen by the Bailiff, William Bailhache, and the audience will include politicians, members of the legal profession, the Bishop of Dover, and representatives of the UK Government. The new Governor's wife, mother and son will also be in attendance. His daughter - who lives in Australia - hasn't been able to make the journey.

The Governor is considered to be a ‘link’ between the Island and the UK Government. Whilst he’s entitled to sit in the States next to the Bailiff, and many have regularly attended sittings, they don’t have a vote. In 2005 they lost the right to veto any States legislation. The Governor also has a chair in the Royal Court. Traditionally the Governor only speaks in the States on two occasions – when he first arrives and when he leaves.

The Lieutenant Governor is appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of a Jersey panel and has traditionally been a retired military man. Sir Stephen, a former Jaguar bomber pilot, and his wife, Anne, have visited the Island on a number of occasions, most notably to enjoy the annual Jersey International Air Display, and say they’re looking forward to making the Island their home for the next five years:

“The people of Jersey have always made my wife and I most welcome during our visits to the Island over many years and we look forward greatly to working with and living amongst all of the residents in the years ahead. Once I take up the appointment, I would intend to meet as many of the Jersey people as possible and by listening to and learning from them, to share productively in the life of this jewel in the Channel Islands.”