List of colonial and departmental heads of French Guiana

This article lists the colonial and departmental heads of French Guiana, since the establishment of the French suzerainty over the territory of French Guiana in 1643, to the present day.

(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)

Ancien Régime

Further information: Ancien Régime

Term	Incumbent	Notes
French Suzerainty
French colony
1643 to 1644	Charles Poncet de Brétigny, Governor
c. 1652	Huet de Navarre, Commander
Dutch Occupation
c. 1656 to 1664	Guerin Spranger, Commander
c. 1660	Jan Claessen Lagedijk or Jan Classen Langedijk, Governor
French Suzerainty
15 May 1664 to 1665	Antoine Lefèbvre de La Barre, Governor	1st time
1665	Antoine de Noël de la Trompe d'Or, acting Governor
1665 to 1668	Cyprien Lefebvre de Lézy, Governor	1st time
1668 to 1670	Antoine Lefèbvre de La Barre, Governor	2nd time
1670 to 1676	Cyprien Lefebvre de Lézy, Governor	2nd time
Dutch Occupation
5 May 1676 to December 1676	Jacob Binckes, Commander
French Suzerainty
1676 to 1679	Cyprien Lefebvre de Lézy, Governor	3rd time
1679 to October 1684	Pierre-Eléonore de La Ville, marquis de Férolles, Governor	1st time
1684 to 1687	Pierre de Sainte-Marthe de Lalande, Governor
1687 to 1688	Pierre-Eléonore de La Ville, marquis de Férolles, Governor	2nd time
1688 to 1691	François Lefebvre de la Barre, Governor
1691 to January 1700	Pierre-Eléonore de La Ville, marquis de Férolles, Governor	3rd time
1700 to 1701	Rémy Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	1st time
1701 to 5 August 1705	Pierre-Eléonore de La Ville, marquis de Férolles, Governor	4th time
1705 to 15 September 1706	Antoine de Querci de Rionville, Governor
1706 to July 1713	Rémy Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	2nd time
1713	Chevalier de Béthune, Governor
1713 to September 1716	Pierre de Morthon de Laumière de Grandville, interim Governor
1716 to December 1720	Claude Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	1st time
1720 to 1722	François de la Motte-Aigron, Governor
1722 to September 1729	Claude Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	2nd time
1729 to June 1730	Michel Marshalek de Charanville, Governor
1730 to 2 August 1730	Gilbert Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	1st time
1730 to 30 August 1736	Henri Dussault de Lamirande, Governor
1736 to December 1736	Henri de Poilvillain, baron de Grenay, Governor
1736 to 9 July 1738	Gilbert Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	2nd time
9 July 1738 to June 1743	Antoine Le Moyne de Chateauguay, Governor
1743 to June 1751	Gilbert Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	3rd time
1751 to May 1752	Jean Baptiste Hyacinthe de Saint-Michel Dunezat, Governor	1st time
1752 to July 1753	Gilbert Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	4th time
1753 to April 1757	Jean Baptiste Hyacinthe de Saint-Michel Dunezat, Governor	2nd time
1757 to May 1763	Gilbert Guillouet d'Orvilliers, Governor	5th time
1763 to 2 January 1764	Jean Pierre Antoine de Béhague, Governor	1st time
1764 to 22 December 1764	Louis-Thomas Jacau de Fiedmont, Governor	1st time
22 December 1764 to April 1765	Brule Tout de Préfontaine, acting Governor
April 1765 to 1765	Étienne-François Turgot, Governor
1765 to 28 January 1766	Jean Pierre Antoine de Béhague, Governor	2nd time
1766 to 15 December 1781	Louis-Thomas Jacau de Fiedmont, Governor	2nd time
1781 to 13 July 1785	Alexandre Ferdinand, baron de Bessner, Governor
1785 to 16 August 1785	Louis de La Vallière, interim Governor
1785 to 17 May 1787	Thomas de FitzMaurice, Governor
May 1787 to 22 October 1788	Pierre François de Mareuilh de Villeboi, Governor
1788 to 19 June 1789	Charles Guillaume Vial d'Alais, Governor
1789 to 5 January 1791	Jacques Martin de Bourgon, Governor

First Republic and Empire

Further information: French First Republic and First French Empire

Term	Incumbent	Notes
1791 to 26 September 1792	Henri Benoît, acting Governor
1792 to May 1793	Frédéric Joseph Guillot, Civil Commissioner
1793 to November 1794	Nicolas Georges Jeannet-Oudin, Civil Commissioner	1st time
November 1794 to April 1796	François Maurice Cointet de Fillain, Commissioner
April 1796 to 25 October 1797	Nicolas Georges Jeannet-Oudin, Agent Particulier	2nd time
French département
25 October 1797 to 5 November 1798	Nicolas Georges Jeannet-Oudin, Agent Particulier	2nd time
November 1798 to 2 December 1799	Étienne Laurent Pierre Burnel, Agent Particulier
13 December 1799 to 8 January 1800	Étienne Franconie, President of the Departmental Administration
8 January 1800 to 1801	Jean Baptiste Victor Hugues, Agent
French colony
1801 to 1804	Jean Baptiste Victor Hugues, Agent
1804 to 12 January 1809	Jean Baptiste Victor Hugues, Imperial Commissioner
Portuguese Occupation
12 January 1809 to October 1809	Manuel Marques, Governor
October 1809 to February 1812	Pedro Alexandrino Pinto de Sousa, Governor
February 1812 to 8 November 1817	João Severiano Maciel da Costa, Governor

Bourbon Restoration and July Monarchy

Further information: Bourbon Restoration in France and July Monarchy

Term	Incumbent	Notes
1817 to 25 July 1819	Jean-François Claude Carra de Saint-Cyr, Commandant
25 July 1819 to 12 March 1823	Pierre Clément de Laussat, Commandant
1823 to 1825	Pierre Bernard, baron de Milius, Commandant
1825 to 1826	Charles Emmanuel de Muyssard, interim Commandant
1826 to 1827	Joseph Burgues de Missiessy, interim Governor
1827 to 1829	Louis Henri de Saulses de Freycinet, Governor
1 June 1829 to 11 April 1836	Louis Jean-Guillaume Jubelin, Governor
1836 to 1837	François Dominique Laurens de Choisy, Governor
1837 to 1839	Paul de Nourquer du Camper, Governor
1839 to 1841	Jean Baptiste Marie Augustin Gourbeyre, Governor
1841 to 1843	Guillaume Basile Charmasson de Puylaval, Governor
1843 to 1845	Marie Jean-François Layrle, Governor
1845 to 1846	Jean Baptiste Armand Bertrand Cadéot, Governor
18 February 1846 to 16 May 1850	André Aimé Pariset, Governor

Second Republic and Empire

Further information: French Second Republic and Second French Empire

Term	Incumbent	Notes
1850 to 6 January 1851	Louis Eugène Maissin, Governor
1851	Jean François Marie Félix Stanislas Vidal de Lingendes, acting Governor
May 1851 to May 1852	Octave Pierre Antoine Henri de Chabannes-Curton [fr], Governor
1852 to 1853	Joseph Napoléon Sarda-Garriga, Governor
1853 to 1854	Martin Fourichon, Governor
1854 to 1855	Louis Adolphe Bonard, Governor
1855 to January 1856	Antoine Alphonse Masset, acting Governor
January 1856 to 1859	Auguste Laurent François Baudin, Governor
15 May 1859 to 1 May 1864	Louis-Marie-François Tardy de Montravel, Governor
1864 to 1865	Antoine Favre, acting Governor
1865 to 1870	Privat Antoine Agathon Hennique, Governor
1870	J. A. A. Noyer, acting Governor

Third Republic

Further information: French Third Republic

Term	Incumbent	Notes
30 April 1870 to 14 May 1871	Jean-Louis Loubère, acting Governor
14 May 1871 to 29 September 1877	Jean-Louis Loubère, Governor
1877	A.E. Bouet, acting Governor
1877 to 1880	Marie Alfred-Armand Huart, Governor
1880	P.A. Trève, acting Governor
1880 to 1883	Charles Alexandre Lacouture, Governor
1883 to 1884	Henri Isidore Chessé, Governor
1884 to 1885	Jean Baptiste Antoine Lougnon, acting Governor
1885 to 1887	Léonce Pierre Henri Le Cardinal, Governor
1888 to 1891	Anne Léodor Philotée Metellus Gerville-Réache, Governor
April 1891 to 1893	Louis Albert Grodet, Governor	1st time
1893	Paul Émile Joseph Casimir Fawtier, Governor
24 April 1893 to 4 August 1895	Camille Charvein, Governor
30 August 1895 to 13 June 1896	Henri Félix de Lamothe, Governor
1896 to 1898	Henri Eloi Danel, Governor
1898 to 1899	Henri Charles Victor Amédée Roberdeau, Governor
1899	Louis Mouttet, Governor
1899 to 1903	Émile Joseph Merwart, Governor
1903 to 1905	Louis Albert Grodet, Governor	2nd time
1905	Charles Emmanuel Joseph Marchal, Governor
1905 to 1906	Victor François Ferdinand Rey, Governor
1906	Louis Alphonse Bonhoure, Governor
20 January 1906 to 5 July 1907	Édouard Picanon, Governor
1907 to 1909	François Pierre Rodier, Governor
1909 to 1910	William Maurice Fawtier, Governor
1910	Fernand Ernest Thérond, Governor
1910 to 31 May 1911	Paul Samary, Governor
1911	Denis Joseph Goujon, Governor
1911 to 1914	Pierre Jean Henri Didelot, Governor	1st time
1914 to 1916	Fernand Ernest Lévecque, Governor
1916	Pierre Jean Henri Didelot, Governor	2nd time
1916 to 1917	Georges Lévy, Governor
1917	Jules Gérard Auguste Lauret, Governor
1917 to 1918	Antoine Joseph Xavier Barre, Governor
1918 to 1923	Henri Alphonse Joseph Lejeune, Governor
1923	Julien Edgard Cantau, Governor
20 November 1923 to 1926	Marc Émile Charles Jean Chanel, Governor
1926 to 1927	Gabriel Henri Joseph Thaly, Governor
1927	François Adrien Juvanon, Governor
1927 to 1928	Émile Buhot-Launay, Governor
1928 to 1929	Camille Théodore Raoul Maillet, Governor
1929 to 6 July 1930	Bernard Jacques Victorin Siadous, Governor
French Guiana divided into two territories: French Guiana (Cayenne and the Atlantic coast) and Inini (inland area)
6 July 1930 to 1931	Bernard Jacques Victorin Siadous, Governor
27 May 1931 to 1933	Louis Joseph Bouge, acting Governor
1933 to 1935	Julien Georges Lamy, Governor
2 June 1935 to 1936	Max de Masson de Saint-Félix, Governor
1936	Pierre Tap, Governor
1936 to 1938	René Veber, Governor	1st time
1938 to 1942	Robert Paul Chot-Plassot, Governor
1942 to 18 March 1943	René Veber, Governor	2nd time
1943 to 1944	Jean Alexandre Léon Rapenne, Governor
1944 to 1946	Jules Eucher Surlemont, Governor
1946	Jean Pezet, Governor

Fourth and Fifth Republic

Further information: French Fourth Republic and French Fifth Republic

Term	Incumbent	Notes
16 August 1947 to 1 June 1955	Robert Vignon, Prefect
1 June 1955 to 16 September 1957	Pierre Malvy, Prefect
1 October 1957 to 1 November 1958	Pierre Voitellier, Prefect
13 October 1958 to 1 December 1960	André Dubois-Chabert, Prefect	Acting for Voitellier to 1 November 1958
1 December 1960 to 1 December 1963	René Erignac, Prefect
1 December 1963 to 16 August 1967	René Letellier, Prefect
16 August 1967 to 16 July 1970	Paul Bouteiller, Prefect
16 July 1970 to 1 February 1972	Jean Monfraix, Prefect
1 February 1972 to 8 February 1974	Jacques Robert Delaunay, Prefect
5 March 1974 to 20 May 1977	Hervé Bourseillier, Prefect
20 May 1977 to 10 February 1980	Jean Julien Émile Le Direach, Prefect
10 February 1980 to 27 July 1981	Antoine Carli, Prefect
27 July 1981 to 10 May 1982	Maxime Gonzalvo, Prefect
10 May 1982 to 22 July 1982	Maxime Gonzalvo, Commissioner of the Republic
July 1982 to 1984	Claude Silberzahn, Commissioner of the Republic
1984 to 1986	Bernard Courtois, Commissioner of the Republic
1986 to 24 February 1988	Jacques Dewatre, Commissioner of the Republic
24 February 1988 to August 1988	Jacques Dewatre, Prefect
22 August 1988 to 16 May 1990	Jean-Pierre Lacroix, Prefect
19 June 1990 to May 1992	Jean-François Di Chiara, Prefect
27 May 1992 to 6 January 1995	Jean-François Cordet, Prefect
6 January 1995 to 3 February 1997	Pierre Dartout, Prefect
3 February 1997 to 2 August 1999	Dominique Vian, Prefect
2 August 1999 to 2 September 2002	Henri Masse [fr], Prefect
2 September 2002 to 28 March 2003	Ange Mancini, Prefect
French overseas region
28 March 2003 to August 2006	Ange Mancini, Prefect
28 August 2006 to February 2009	Jean-Pierre Laflaquière, Prefect
19 February 2009 to 1 May 2011	Daniel Ferey, Prefect
1 May 2011 to 10 June 2013	Denis Labbé, Prefect
10 June 2013 to 11 January 2016	Eric Spitz, Prefect
11 January 2016 to 5 August 2019	Martin Jaeger,[1] Prefect
5 August 2019 to 25 November 2020	Marc Del Grande,[2] Prefect
25 November 2020 to 21 August 2023	Thierry Queffelec,[3] Prefect
21 August 2023 to present	Antoine Poussier,[4] Prefect

See also

• Politics of French Guiana
• History of French Guiana

References

1. Laurent Marot, "Retour en terre guyanaise pour le nouveau préfet Martin Jaeger", Guyane La 1ère, 12 January 2016
2. "Marc Del Grande, the new prefect of Guyane has started his functions (in French)". Guyane la 1ère. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
3. "Thierry QUEFFELEC – Nouveau préfet de la région Guyane". Government of French Guiana (in French). Retrieved 17 April 2021.
4. sp_CTG. "[CÉRÉMONIE]Prise de fonction d'Antoine Poussier, nouveau Préfet de la Région Guyane - Collectivité Territoriale de Guyane" (in French). Retrieved 16 January 2025.

External links

• World Statesmen – French Guiana