predecessor successor death_date birth_date order term_start article_title term_end name
john hilary smith '' office abolished '' '' kiribati independence '' 10 december 2012 c. 1919 governor of the gilbert islands 1978 reginald james wallace
 12 july 1979 reginald james wallace
reginald james wallace

reginald james wallace cmg obe -lrb- c. 1919 -- 10 december 2012 -rrb- was a british civil servant .
wallace served as the last colonial governor of the gilbert islands from 1978 to 12 july 1979 .
the gilbert islands , which separated from the neighboring ellice islands -lrb- now present-day tuvalu -rrb- in 1975 , became the independent nation of kiribati on 12 july 1979 .
wallace died on 10 december 2012 at the age of 93 .
he had been a resident of gardiner 's view , gibraltar .
