Sir John Lorimer named as Isle of Man's new Lieutenant Governor

Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer will be sworn in later this summer

A former advisor to the UK Ministry of Defence has been named as the Isle of Man's 31st Lieutenant Governor.

Lieutenant General Sir John Lorimer will succeed diplomat Sir Richard Gozney, who has held the post for the past five years.

He said it was a "great honour" to be chosen for the position on the island.

The Lieutenant Governor is the Queen's personal representative and impartial adviser, and performs executive functions relating to Tynwald.

Educated at Cambridge, the father-of-three has served in the British Army for 39 years, completing tours of duty in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

A former chief of joint operations for the armed forces, he spent the past three years as the principal adviser to the secretary of state for defence and the chief of the defence staff on the Middle East, holding the post until February.

Sir Richard Gozney (left) lifted the state of emergency on the island on 26 June 2020

Sir John Lorimer said the appointment was "a wonderful opportunity to contribute to the island and its community".

"My wife, Philippa, and I are very much looking forward to moving to and making our home on the island, as well as playing an active part in Manx life," he added.

Sir Richard Gozney's tenure in the post, which had been due to end in April, was extended until later this summer as a result of coronavirus pandemic.

During his time in office he declared a state of emergency on the island in March 2020, enabling the government to enact the Emergency Powers Act as part of its fight to protect the Manx community from Covid-19, revoking the proclamation three months later following a drop in infection rates.

The date of the swearing in of the new Lieutenant Governor, which will take place in the courtroom at Castle Rushen, is yet to be confirmed.