John Rankin (diplomat)

John James Rankin, (born 12 March 1957) is a British diplomat and a former ambassador to Nepal. He served as the Governor of the British Virgin Islands from January 2021 to January 2024. He was the Governor of Bermuda from December 2016 to December 2020.

Early life and education

Rankin was born on 12 March 1957. He was educated at Hutchesons' Boys' Grammar School, a private school in Glasgow, Scotland. He studied Scots law at the University of Glasgow, graduating with a first class honours Bachelor of Laws degree. He later studied international law at McGill University, graduating with a Master of Laws degree.

Career

Legal career

Rankin qualified and practised as a solicitor in Scotland; he was a member of the Law Society of Scotland. He was additionally a lecturer in public law at the University of Aberdeen from 1984 to 1988.

Diplomatic career

Rankin joined the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 1988. Between posts at the FCO, he served at the embassy in Dublin and was the consul-general at Boston. He took up his appointment as High Commissioner to Sri Lanka and non-resident High Commissioner to the Maldives in February 2011. In 2015, he was appointed Ambassador to Nepal.

He was appointed Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in the 2016 New Year Honours.

Governor

Rankin was sworn in as Governor of Bermuda on 5 December 2016. In February 2018, signed into law the Domestic Partnership Act 2018, which effectively reversed the right of gay couples to marry. This made Bermuda the first jurisdiction to legalise and then repeal same-sex marriage rights. The law relating to same-sex marriage in Bermuda could change again, as the Supreme Court stated in June 2018 that repealing same-sex marriage rights was discriminatory and thus contrary to section 12 of the Bermudian Constitution.

In September 2020, it was announced that Rankin would be replacing Gus Jaspert as Governor of the British Virgin Islands in 2021. As such, he was replaced in December 2020 by Rena Lalgie as Governor of Bermuda.

Rankin was sworn in as Governor of the British Virgin Islands on 29 January 2021, after arriving in the territory and observing the mandatory 14-day quarantine due to COVID-19.

Personal life

John separated from his wife (Leslie Marshall) in 2014 and subsequently divorced four years later. In 2018 John met his partner, Bermudian / Canadian Tara Curtis while he was Governor in Bermuda. Tara was the previous CEO of Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre, a non-profit Centre which successfully brought Radiotherapy treatment to the island in 2017. Tara joined John in the BVI during his Governorship from 2021 until 2024. John has a son and two daughters, and is now happily retired with Tara in Pyford, Surrey.