List of Colonial Heads of Malawi (Nyasaland)
(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Term | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Nyasaland Districts Protectorate | ||
| 1 February 1891 to 1893 | Harry Hamilton Johnston, Commissioner | |
| British Central Africa Protectorate | ||
| 1893 to 16 April 1896 | Harry Hamilton Johnston, Commissioner | |
| 16 April 1896 to 1 April 1907 | Alfred Sharpe, Commissioner | |
| Nyasaland | ||
| 1 April 1907 to September 1907 | Francis Barrow Pearce, acting Commissioner | |
| October 1907 to 1 May 1908 | William Henry Manning, acting Governor | 1st Term |
| 1 May 1908 to 1 April 1910 | Alfred Sharpe, Governor | |
| 1 April 1910 to 4 July 1910 | Francis Barrow Pearce, acting Governor | |
| 4 July 1910 to 6 February 1911 | Henry Richard Wallis, acting Governor | |
| 6 February 1911 to 23 September 1913 | William Henry Manning, acting Governor | 2nd Term |
| 23 September 1913 to 12 April 1923 | George Smith, Governor | Knighted during tenure |
| 12 April 1923 to 27 March 1924 | Richard Sims Donkin Rankine, acting Governor | |
| 27 March 1924 to 30 May 1929 | Charles Calvert Bowring, Governor | |
| 30 May 1929 to 7 November 1929 | Wilfred Bennett Davidson-Houston, acting Governor | |
| 7 November 1929 to 22 November 1932 | Shenton Thomas, Governor | Knighted during tenure |
| 22 November 1932 to 9 April 1934 | Hubert Winthrop Young, Governor | |
| 9 April 1934 to 21 September 1934 | Kenneth Lambert Hall, acting Governor | |
| 21 September 1934 to 20 March 1939 | Harold Baxter Kittermaster, Governor | |
| 20 March 1939 to 8 August 1942 | Donald Mackenzie-Kennedy, Governor | |
| 8 August 1942 to 27 March 1947 | Edmund Charles Smith Richards, Governor | |
| 30 March 1947 to 10 April 1956 | Geoffrey Francis Taylor Colby, Governor | Knighted during tenure |
| 1 August 1953 to 31 December 1963 | Incorporated into the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland | |
| 10 April 1956 to 10 April 1961 | Robert Perceval Armitage, Governor | |
| 10 April 1961 to 6 July 1964 | Glyn Smallwood Jones, Governor | |
| 6 July 1964 | Independence as Malawi | |
For continuation after independence, see: List of heads of state of Malawi