The term of office of the Lieutenant Governor is at The King's pleasure but is normally five years. The Warrant sets out the role in broad terms and speaks of the requirement to promote the Royal Family, The King as Head of State and the need to promote the happiness of the people.

Whilst The King and the Lieutenant Governor have certain executive functions, it is considered that all material functions are discharged by the Isle of Man Government as the Head of State almost always acts on the advice of the Council of Ministers.

Changes in the role of the Lieutenant Governor were amongst the most significant of the Isle of Man constitutional reforms during the 20th century. This process continues and it is the wish of the Isle of Man Government that the Lieutenant Governor encourages such change, subject to him being the guardian of the affairs of The King or Crown matters.

In July 2021, it was announced that Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer was appointed as the 31^st Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man. Sir John was sworn-in at Castle Rushen in Castletown on the afternoon of Wednesday 29 September 2021.

Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer KCB DSO MBE

Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer KCB DSO MBE was educated at Marlborough College, Wiltshire and Pembroke College, University of Cambridge. He joined the British Army in 1981 and was commissioned into The Parachute Regiment. He served in all three regular Parachute Regiment battalions and commanded 3 PARA from 2000 to 2003. His service saw multiple operational deployments in Northern Ireland, Iraq, the broader Middle East and Afghanistan.

At higher command, Sir John commanded 12^th Mechanized Brigade in Iraq and Afghanistan and 3^rd (United Kingdom) Division. He also completed a year-long tour in Kabul as Deputy Commander of the NATO force. He was Chief of Joint Operations from October 2014 until June 2017, commanding all of the UK Armed Forces global operations. His final military appointment was as Defence Senior Adviser Middle East and North Africa, a role he held for three years.

 Sir John was sworn in as the 31^st Lieutenant Governor of the Isle of Man at Castle Rushen on 29 September 2021.  The tenure for the appointment is five years.

Sir John is married to Philippa. They have three grown-up sons. His outside interests include most sports, especially rugby, skiing, walking and history.  He is delighted to be patron of a large number of charities and voluntary organisations.  He is also Honorary Colonel of the Isle of Man Cadet Force and Chair of the Parachute Regiment and Airborne Forces Charity. Sir John was appointed an Extra Equerry to His Majesty the King in March 2023.

 

Lady Lorimer MBE (Philippa)

As an Army daughter, Lady Lorimer spent much of her childhood overseas - in Africa, Germany and Norway. She went to school in Dorset and then went on to read Natural Sciences at Durham University. In 1987, she was commissioned into the Royal Corps of Signals, serving in 30^th Signal Regiment and deploying on operations in Namibia with the United Nations and in the Middle East during Gulf War 1. She left the Army after six years to pursue a career in the Defence industry, where she worked for various companies, including the Racal Electronics Group and Exensor UK ltd, selling and marketing specialist communications and security equipment to the Police, Ministry of Defence and other agencies.

 

From July 2017 – June 2022 Lady Lorimer was the Commanding Officer of the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (Princess Royal's Volunteer Corps) (FANY (PRVC)). The FANY is a thriving charity, whose all-female volunteers are an essential component of the United Kingdom's emergency response capability. Members of the Corps are on call 24/7 to provide support to civil and military authorities at times of national crisis.

 

Lady Lorimer and her husband have three grown-up sons. Her interests include keeping fit, hill-walking, cross-country and downhill skiing, and water sports. She is never happier than when exploring beaches and searching for interesting creatures in rock pools.  Finally, she is Patron of a number of Manx Charities and voluntary organisations and Honorary Colonel of King William’s College Combined Cadet Force.

The Deputy Governor

The Warrant of appointment of the Lieutenant Governor also appoints the First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls (the Isle of Man’s Chief Justice) to act as Deputy Governor or, in the event of their absence or inability to act, the Second Deemster. When acting as Deputy Governor the First Deemster has all the powers of the Lieutenant Governor and these become effective during the absence of the Lieutenant Governor from the Island or in the event of the inability of the Lieutenant Governor to act. A Deemster, when acting as Deputy Governor, would be titled ‘His/Her Honour the First (or, Second) Deemster (Surname), Deputy Governor’ and is referred to as Your Honour.