William Boyd McCleary

William Boyd McCleary (born 30 March 1949)^[1] is a retired British diplomat originally from Belfast, Northern Ireland.

William Boyd McCleary
Governor of the British Virgin Islands
In office 20 August 2010 – 1 August 2014
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Ralph T. O'Neal Orlando Smith
Preceded by	V. Inez Archibald (acting)
Succeeded by	V. Inez Archibald (acting)
Personal details
Born	(1949-03-30) 30 March 1949 (age 76) Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK

Viceregal styles of William Boyd McCleary (2010-2014)
Reference style	His Excellency
Spoken style	Your Excellency

In September 2010 he was appointed Governor of the British Virgin Islands, to act as the de facto head of state in the Territory.^[2] Prior to his appointment as governor McCleary served as High Commissioner to Malaysia from 2006 to 2010.^[2] In 2008 he was presented by Malaysian activists with a memorandum condemning the Batang Kali massacre in which the Scots Guards executed 24 unarmed civilians.^[3]

Shortly after his arrival in the British Virgin Islands, the territory was damaged by Hurricane Earl. At the time of his appointment there was a degree of tension over constitutional matters between the United Kingdom and the British Virgin Islands,; McCleary was praised in the local press for his deft handling of the situation.^[4] He is on the advisory board of OMFIF where he is regularly involved in meetings regarding the financial and monetary system. Previously, he was also one of the patrons of the British Theatre Playhouse, a company aiming to produce British theatrical plays and musical shows.^[5]