# List of colonial governors of Madagascar

In 1882, the French Third Republic established a protectorate over the Merina Kingdom on the island of Madagascar, with the consent of the United Kingdom. The French position on the island was solidified by the First Madagascar expedition (May 1883 to December 1885, the first phase of the Franco-Hova Wars). The protectorate lasted until 1897, when the French abolished the monarchy and turned the island into a colony, following the Second Madagascar expedition (December 1894 to September 1895, the second and last phase of the Franco-Hova Wars). Afterwards, Madagascar remained part of the French colonial empire until 1958, when the autonomous Malagasy Republic was established. The Republic gained full independence in 1960.

## List

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
| Malagasy Protectorate (1882–1897) ||||
| 28 April 1886 to March 1888 | Charles Le Myre de Vilers, Plenipotentiary | 1st term |
| March 1888 to 12 December 1889 | Paul Augustin Jean Larrouy, Resident-General | 1st term |
| 12 December 1889 to 11 October 1891 | Maurice Bompard, Resident-General | |
| 11 October 1891 to October 1892 | Jean Aurélien Lacoste, Acting Resident-General | |
| October 1892 to 8 September 1894 | Paul Augustin Jean Larrouy, Resident-General | 2nd term |
| October 1894 | Albert d'Anthouard de Waservas, Acting Resident-General | |
| 14 October 1894 to 1 December 1895 | Charles Le Myre de Vilers, Plenipotentiary | 2nd time; served at the start of the Menalamba rebellion |
| September 1894 to 21 February 1895 | Achille Ranchot, Acting Resident-General | For de Vilers |
| February 1895 to 1 December 1895 | Robert Édouard Alphonse Chaloin, Acting Resident-General | For de Vilers |
| 1 December 1895 to 28 September 1896 | Hippolyte Laroche, Resident-General | |
| 28 September 1896 to 31 July 1897 | Joseph Gallieni, Resident-General | |
| Colony of Madagascar and Dependencies (1897–1958) ||||
| 6 August 1896 to 31 July 1897 | Joseph Gallieni, Military Governor | |
| 31 July 1897 to 11 May 1905 | Joseph Gallieni, Governor-General | Served during the 1904–1905 uprising |
| 11 May 1905 to 1 January 1906 | Charles Louis Lépreux, Acting Governor-General | |
| 1 January 1906 to 13 December 1909 | Victor Augagneur, Governor-General | |
| 13 December 1909 to 16 January 1910 | Hubert Auguste Garbit, Acting Governor-General | 1st term |
| 16 January 1910 to 31 October 1910 | Henri François Charles Cor, Acting Governor-General | |
| 31 October 1910 to 5 August 1914 | Albert Jean George Marie Louis Picquié, Governor-General | |
| 5 August 1914 to 14 October 1914 | Hubert Auguste Garbit, Acting Governor-General | 2nd term |
| 14 October 1914 to 24 July 1917 | Hubert Auguste Garbit, Governor-General | 2nd term |
| 24 July 1917 to 1 August 1918 | Martial Henri Merlin, Governor-General | |
| 1 August 1918 to 12 July 1919 | Abraham Schrameck, Governor-General | |
| 12 July 1919 to 22 June 1920 | Marie Casimir Joseph Guyon, Acting Governor-General | |
| 22 June 1920 to 13 March 1923 | Hubert Auguste Garbit, Governor-General | 3rd term |
| 13 March 1923 to 20 February 1924 | Auguste Charles Désiré Emmanuel Brunet, Acting Governor-General | |
| 20 February 1924 to 30 January 1929 | Marcel Achille Olivier, Governor-General | |
| 30 January 1929 to 1 May 1930 | Hugues Jean Berthier, Acting Governor-General | |
| 1 May 1930 to 22 April 1939 | Léon Henri Charles Cayla, Governor-General | 1st term |
| 22 April 1939 to 10 June 1939 | Léon Maurice Valentin Réallon, Acting Governor-General | |
| 10 June 1939 to 30 July 1940 | Jules Marcel de Coppet, Governor-General | 1st term |
| 30 July 1940 to 11 April 1941 | Léon Henri Charles Cayla, Governor-General | 2nd term |
| 11 April 1941 to 30 September 1942 | Armand Léon Annet, Governor-General | Deposed in the Battle of Madagascar |
| 5 May 1942 to 11 October 1942 | Robert Sturges, Commander | British occupation |
| 11 October 1942 to 1945 | Gerald Smallwood, Commander | British occupation |
| 25 September 1942 to 7 January 1943 | Anthony Sillery, Occupied Territories Administrator | British occupation |
| 30 September 1942 to 7 January 1943 | Victor Marius Bech, Acting Governor-General | |
| 7 January 1943 to 3 May 1943 | Paul Louis Victor Marie Legentilhomme, High Commissioner of Free French Possessions in the Indian Ocean | |
| 3 May 1943 to 27 March 1946 | Pierre de Saint-Mart, Governor-General | |
| 27 March 1946 to 19 May 1946 | Robert Boudry, Acting Governor-General | |
| 19 May 1946 to 23 December 1947 | Jules Marcel de Coppet, High Commissioner | 2nd term; served at the start of the Malagasy Uprising |
| February 1948 to 3 February 1950 | Pierre Gabriel de Chevigné, High Commissioner | |
| 3 February 1950 to October 1954 | Robert Isaac Bargues, High Commissioner | |
| October 1954 to 1 May 1959 | Jean Louis Marie André Soucadaux, High Commissioner | |