Laurence Guillemard

Sir Laurence Nunns Guillemard (7 June 1862 – 13 December 1951) was a British civil servant who served as the British Governor of the Straits Settlements and high commissioner in Malaya when it was under the British Empire.

Early life Guillemard was the only son of Rev. William Guillemard. He was educated at Charterhouse School and Trinity College, Cambridge.

Career Guillemard entered the civil service in 1886 and joined the Treasury in 1888 where he was a Private Secretary to both Chancellors of the Exchequer, Sir William Harcourt and Sir Michael Hicks Beach between 1892 and 1902.

He was appointed Governor of the Straits Settlements and High Commissioner for the Federated Malay States in 1920 and retired from the civil service in 1927. In 1925 he was the target of an assassination plot by anarchist Wong Sau Ying.

Awards and honours Guillemard was invested as a Companion of Order of the Bath (CB) in 1905, Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in 1910, and a Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (KCMG) in 1923. He was later awarded Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in the 1927 New Year Honours.

Personal life In 1902 Guillemard married Ella Walker (1881-1940), the daughter of Thomas Spencer Walker. She predeceased him.

Legacy During his administration, Guillemard was criticised by opinion pieces in The Straits Times remarking on his lack of "bold initiative." Guillemard's attempts to decentralise more control over internal affairs to the Federated Malay States met with opposition, and some of his proposals were abandoned. Guillemard's obituary published in The Straits Times began by stating he was "not likely to be regarded by Malayan historians as a great Colonial Governor." However it went on to call him "a sound administrator, and the right man for Malaya at the end of the first world war," praising him for his decentralisation efforts, reforms expanding the number of local seats on the Straits Settlements Legislative Council, and his financial stewardship during the Great Depression.

The Guillemard Bridge in Kelantan and the Guillemard Reservoir in Penang are named after him. The road Jalan Tuanku Abdul Halim (formerly known as Jalan Duta) and its adjoining hill Bukit Ledang in Kuala Lumpur were both initially named for Guillemard. Guillemard Road in Singapore is also named after him.