# List of governors of Tanganyika

The colony of German East Africa (German: Deutsch-Ostafrika) was founded in the 1880s, after the German explorer Carl Peters signed treaties with native chieftains on neighboring Zanzibar. On 3 March 1885, the government of the German Empire granted an imperial charter to the German East Africa Company, and a protectorate was established. German colonial rule in the region lasted until World War I, when the British occupied the colony during the East African campaign. The British territory of Tanganyika was established on 20 July 1922, when Britain acquired a mandate to administer the region as a result of Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations. On 18 April 1946, the mandate was reorganized as a Trust Territory of the United Nations. Afterwards, the region remained under British administration until it gained independence on 9 December 1961 as Tanganyika.

## List

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Tenure | Portrait | Incumbent | Notes |
| German East Africa ||||
| Protectorate ||||
| 27 May 1885 to 8 February 1888 | | Carl Peters, Administrator | |
| 8 February 1888 to 1 January 1891 | | Hermann von Wissmann, Reichskommissar | Imperial commissioner, 1st time |
| Colony ||||
| 1 January 1891 to 21 February 1891 | | Hermann von Wissmann, Reichskommissar | Imperial commissioner, 1st time |
| 21 February 1891 to 15 September 1893 | | Julius von Soden, Governor | |
| 1891 | | Rüdiger, acting Governor | acting for Soden |
| 15 September 1893 to 25 April 1895 | | Friedrich von Schele, Governor | |
| 25 April 1895 to 3 December 1896 | | Hermann von Wissmann, Governor | 2nd time |
| 3 December 1896 to 12 March 1901 | | Eduard von Liebert, Governor | |
| 12 March 1901 to 15 April 1906 | | Gustav Adolf von Götzen, Governor | |
| 15 April 1906 to 22 April 1912 | | Albrecht von Rechenberg, Governor | |
| 22 April 1912 to 14 November 1918 | | Heinrich Schnee, Governor | From 9 October 1916 on the move in opposition to British forces, together with General d. Inf. Lettow-Vorbeck's colonial troops. Later served as the last President of the DKG, from 1930 to 1936 |
| Occupation of German East Africa by United Kingdom ||||
| 9 October 1916 to 22 July 1920 | | Horace Archer Byatt, Administrator | From 1918, Sir Horace Archer Byatt |
| 22 July 1920 to 20 July 1922 | | Sir Horace Archer Byatt, Governor | |
| Tanganyika ||||
| League of Nations Mandate (administered by United Kingdom) ||||
| 20 July 1922 to 5 March 1925 | | Sir Horace Archer Byatt, Governor | |
| 1924 to 5 March 1925 | | John Scott, acting Governor | acting for Byatt |
| 5 March 1925 to 1 February 1931 | | Donald Charles Cameron, Governor | |
| 1 February 1931 to 23 May 1931 | | Sir Douglas James Jardine, acting Governor | acting for Cameron |
| 23 May 1931 to February 1934 | | George Stewart Symes, Governor | |
| 19 February 1934 to 8 July 1938 | | Sir Harold Alfred MacMichael, Governor | |
| 8 July 1938 to 19 June 1941 | | Sir Mark Aitchinson Young, Governor | |
| 19 June 1941 to 28 April 1945 | | Sir Wilfrid Edward Francis Jackson, Governor | |
| 28 April 1945 to 11 December 1946 | | Sir William Denis Battershill, Governor | |
| United Nations Trust Territory (administered by United Kingdom) ||||
| 11 December 1946 to 18 June 1949 | | Sir William Denis Battershill, Governor | |
| 18 June 1949 to 16 June 1958 | | Sir Edward Francis Twining, Governor | |
| 16 June 1958 to 15 July 1958 | | Arthur John Grattan-Bellew, Officer Administering the Government | |
| 15 July 1958 to 9 December 1961 | | Sir Richard Gordon Turnbull, Governor | |
| 9 December 1961 | Independence as Tanganyika | Independence as Tanganyika | Independence as Tanganyika |
For continuation after independence, see: List of heads of state of Tanzania#Governor-General