(Dates in italics indicate de facto continuation of office)
| Term | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| French Suzerainty | ||
| Annexed for France, named Île Bourbon; under the French East India Company rule | ||
| December 1649 to 5 August 1665 | No central administration | |
| 5 August 1665 to 8 May 1671 | Étienne Regnault, Commandant | |
| 11 May 1671 to 22 November 1674 | Jacques de La Heure dit La Hure, Commandant | |
| 22 November 1674 to 1 December 1674 | Jacob de la Haye, de facto Commandant | |
| French colony; under the French East India Company rule | ||
| 1 December 1674 to 17 June 1678 | Henry Esse d'Orgeret, Commandant | |
| 18 June 1678 to January 1680 | Germain de Fleurimont Moulinier, Commandant | |
| January 1680 to 30 November 1686 | F. Bernardin de Quimper, Commandant | |
| 2 December 1686 to 9 December 1689 | Jean-Baptiste Drouillard, Commandant | |
| 11 December 1689 to 26 November 1690 | Henry Habert de Vauboulon, Commandant | |
| 4 March 1691 to 29 April 1694 | Michel Firélin, Commandant | |
| 1694 | Prades + Lemayeur, acting Commandants | |
| May 1694 to 2 July 1696 | Directory of Saint Paul | |
| Athanase Touchard, President; leader "naturel de l'île" | ||
| Louis Caron | ||
| René Hoarau | ||
| François Mussard | ||
| François Mussard | ||
| Antoine Payet | ||
| 1 August 1696 to 6 June 1698 | Joseph Bastide, Commandant | |
| 21 October 1699 to 13 May 1701 | Jacques de La Cour de La Saulais, Commandant | |
| 12 June 1701 to 5 March 1709 | Jean-Baptiste de Villers, Commandant | |
| 7 March 1709 to 24 March 1710 | François Michel Des Bordes, sieur de Charanville, Commandant | |
| 22 April 1710 to 14 November 1715 | Pierre Antoine Parat de Chaillenest, Commandant | |
| 4 December 1715 to 14 February 1718 | Henri de Justamond, Commandant | |
| 6 September 1718 to 22 August 1723 | Joseph Beauvollier de Courchant, Commandant | |
| 23 August 1723 to 1 December 1725 | Antoine Labbé dit Desforges-Boucher, Commandant | |
| 2 December 1725 to 28 May 1727 | Hélie Dioré de Périgny, Commandant | |
| 21 July 1727 to 11 July 1735 | Pierre Benoît Dumas, Commandant | |
| 12 July 1735 to 1 October 1735 | Bertrand François Mahé, comte de La Bourdonnais, Commandant | |
| Part of the French Mascarene Islands colony; under French East India Company rule | ||
| 2 October 1735 to 30 September 1739 | Charles L'Emery Dumont, Commandant | |
| 11 November 1739 to 12 December 1743 | Pierre-André d'Héguerty, Commandant | |
| 13 December 1743 to 8 May 1745 | Didier de Saint-Martin, Commandant | 1st time |
| 15 May 1745 to 31 October 1745 | Jean-Baptiste Azéma, Commandant | |
| 1 November 1745 to 18 December 1745 | Didier de Saint-Martin, Commandant | 2nd time |
| Separate colony; under French East India Company rule | ||
| 29 December 1745 to 28 March 1747 | Gérard Gaspard de Ballade, Governor | 1st time |
| 14 April 1747 to 11 November 1748 | Didier de Saint-Martin, Governor | 3rd time |
| 22 November 1748 to 17 March 1749 | Gérard Gaspard de Ballade, Governor | 2nd time |
| 24 May 1749 to 23 August 1749 | Antoine Marie Desforges-Boucher, Governor | 1st time |
| 6 September 1749 to 16 October 1750 | Joseph Brénier, Governor | 1st time |
| 16 October 1750 to 14 December 1752 | Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, Governor | 1st time |
| 14 December 1752 to 14 January 1756 | Joseph Brénier, Governor | 2nd time |
| 12 July 1757 to 15 October 1757 | Antoine Marie Desforges-Boucher, Governor | 2nd time |
| 19 October 1757 to 6 September 1763 | Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, Governor | 2nd time |
| 7 September 1763 to 14 October 1763 | Jean Sentuary, Governor | |
| 5 November 1763 to 1764 | François Jacques Bertin d'Avesnes, Governor | |
| French crown colony | ||
| 1764 to 30 March 1767 | François Jacques Bertin d'Avesnes, Governor | |
| 31 March 1767 to 4 November 1767 | Martin Adrien Bellier, Governor | |
| 4 November 1767 to 4 October 1773 | Guillaume Léonard de Bellecombe, Governor | |
| 15 December 1773 to 15 October 1776 | Jean Guillaume Steinauer, Governor | |
| 26 October 1776 to 30 April 1779 | François de Souillac, Governor | |
| 25 May 1779 to 22 August 1781 | Joseph Murinay, comte de Saint-Maurice, Governor | |
| 25 August 1781 to 21 April 1785 | André Joseph François Chalvet, baron de Souville, Governor | |
| 2 May 1785 to 15 February 1788 | Claude Élie Dioré de Périgny, Governor | |
| 21 February 1788 to 15 August 1790 | David Charpentier de Cossigny, Governor | |
| 8 September 1790 to 18 October 1792 | Dominique Prosper de Chermont, Governor | |
| 19 October 1792 to 19 March 1793 | Jean-Baptiste Vigoureux du Plessis, Governor | |
| Île Bourbon renamed Île de la Réunion (sometimes called Réunion des Patriotes) | ||
| 19 March 1793 to 11 April 1794 | Jean-Baptiste Vigoureux du Plessis, Governor | |
| 12 April 1794 to 1 November 1795 | Pierre Alexandre Roubaud, Governor | |
| 2 November 1795 to 3 February 1803 | Philippe Antoine Jacob de Cordemoy, Governor | |
| Part of the French colony of Indes-Orientales | ||
| 3 February 1803 to 7 October 1803 | Philippe Antoine Jacob de Cordemoy, Governor | |
| 10 November 1803 to 31 December 1805 | François Louis Magallon, comte de la Morlière, Governor | |
| 9 January 1806 to 15 August 1806 | Nicolas Ernault de Regnac des Brulys, Governor | |
| Île de la Réunion renamed Île Bonaparte | ||
| 15 August 1806 to 25 September 1809 | Nicolas Ernault de Regnac des Brulys, Governor | |
| 9 October 1809 to 8 July 1810 | Jean-Chrysostôme Bruneteau de Sainte-Suzanne, Governor | |
| Occupation of Île Bonaparte by United Kingdom | ||
| 9 July 1810 to 7 August 1810 | Robert Townsend Farquhar, Governor | 1st time |
| Île Bonaparte renamed Île Bourbon | ||
| 7 August 1810 to 20 December 1810 | Robert Townsend Farquhar, Governor | 1st time |
| 20 December 1810 to 26 April 1811 | Henry Sheehy Keating, Governor | 1st time |
| 26 April 1811 to 10 July 1811 | Robert Townsend Farquhar, Governor | 2nd time |
| 10 July 1811 to 5 April 1815 | Henry Sheehy Keating, Governor | 2nd time |
| French Suzerainty | ||
| 6 April 1815 to 30 June 1817 | Athanase Hyacinthe Bouvet de Lozier, Governor | |
| 1 July 1817 to 9 September 1818 | Hilaire Urbain Lafitte de Courteil, Governor | |
| 13 September 1818 to 14 February 1821 | Pierre Bernard de Milius, Governor | |
| 15 February 1821 to 14 October 1826 | Louis Henri de Saulces de Freycinet, Governor | |
| 20 October 1826 to 4 July 1830 | Achille Guy Marie de Penfentenio, comte de Cheffontaines, Governor | |
| 5 July 1830 to 7 November 1832 | Étienne-Henri Mengin du Valdailly, Governor | |
| 8 November 1832 to 4 May 1838 | Jacques Philippe Cuvillier, Governor | |
| 5 May 1838 to 14 October 1841 | Anne Chrétien Louis de Hell, Governor | |
| 15 October 1841 to 4 June 1846 | Charles Louis Joseph Bazoche, Governor | |
| 5 June 1846 to 6 September 1848 | Emmanuel François Joseph Graeb, Governor | |
| Île Bourbon renamed Réunion | ||
| 6 September 1848 to 13 October 1848 | Emmanuel François Joseph Graeb, Governor | |
| 13 October 1848 to 7 March 1850 | Joseph Napoléon Sarda-Garriga, Governor | |
| 9 March 1850 to 14 February 1851 | Marie-Bon-Ézéchial Barolet de Puligny, Governor | |
| 15 February 1851 to 8 August 1852 | Louis Isaac Pierre Hilaire Doret, Governor | |
| 8 August 1852 to 8 January 1858 | Louis Henri Hubert Delisle, Governor | |
| 11 January 1858 to 27 March 1858 | Lefevre, Governor | |
| 28 March 1858 to 19 September 1864 | Rodolphe Augustin, baron Darricau, Governor | |
| 4 January 1865 to 23 September 1869 | Marie Jules Dupré, Governor | |
| 27 September 1869 to 18 September 1875 | Louis Hippolyte de Lormel, Governor | |
| 19 November 1875 to 29 April 1879 | Pierre Aristide Faron, Governor | |
| 6 May 1879 to 23 March 1886 | Pierre Étienne Cuinier, Governor | |
| 23 March 1886 to 11 October 1886 | Jean Baptiste Antoine Lougnon, interim Governor | 1st time |
| 11 October 1886 to 16 December 1887 | Étienne Antoine Guillaume Richaud, Governor | |
| 16 December 1887 to 21 August 1888 | Jean Baptiste Antoine Lougnon, Governor | 2nd time |
| 22 August 1888 to 10 July 1893 | Louis Evenor Édouard Manès, Governor | |
| 11 July 1893 to 21 June 1895 | Henri Eloi Danel, Governor | |
| 22 June 1895 to 12 August 1895 | Henri Charles Roberdeau, Governor | |
| 13 August 1895 to 19 May 1896 | Benedict Jacob de Cordemoy, Governor | |
| 19 May 1896 to 30 October 1900 | Laurent Marie Émile Beauchamp, Governor | |
| 30 October 1900 to 19 February 1901 | Charles Albert Madre, Governor | |
| 19 February 1901 to 29 July 1905 | Paul Samary, Governor | |
| 29 July 1905 to 30 August 1906 | Fernand Theron, Governor | |
| 30 August 1906 to 7 November 1906 | Marius Verignon, Governor | |
| 8 November 1906 to 27 December 1907 | Adrien Jules Jean Bonhoure, Governor | |
| 1 January 1908 to 19 March 1908 | Henri Cor, Governor | |
| 19 March 1908 to 18 January 1910 | Camille Lucien Xavier Guy, Governor | |
| 18 January 1910 to 17 September 1910 | Philippe Émile Jullien, Governor | |
| 18 September 1910 to 28 July 1912 | François Pierre Rodier, Governor | |
| 30 August 1912 to 22 November 1913 | Hubert Auguste Garbit, Governor | |
| 23 November 1913 to 1 June 1919 | Pierre Louis Alfred Duprat, Governor | |
| 2 June 1919 to 26 July 1920 | Victor Jean Brochard, Governor | |
| 27 July 1920 to 5 September 1922 | Frédéric Estèbe, Governor | |
| 6 September 1922 to 21 August 1923 | Henri Cleret de Langavant, Governor | |
| 22 August 1923 to 2 October 1924 | Maurice Pierre Lapalud, Governor | |
| 31 March 1925 to 28 November 1932 | Jules Vincent Repiquet, Governor | |
| 29 November 1932 to 13 June 1934 | Louis Fabre, Governor | |
| 14 June 1934 to 29 May 1936 | Alphonse Paul Albert Choteau, Governor | |
| 29 May 1936 to 16 August 1936 | Charles Victor Allard, interim Governor | |
| 17 August 1936 to 27 October 1938 | Léon Hippolyte Truitard, Governor | |
| 28 October 1938 to 29 December 1939 | Joseph Urbain Court, Governor | |
| 30 December 1939 to 1 December 1942 | Pierre Émile Aubert, Governor | Deposed after liberation of Réunion by the Free French Forces |
| 1 December 1942 to 19 March 1946 | Jean Charles André Capagorry, Governor | |
| French overseas département | ||
| 19 March 1946 to 17 July 1947 | Jean Charles André Capagorry, Governor | |
| 16 August 1947 to 1 June 1950 | Paul Demange, Prefect | |
| 1 June 1950 to 4 July 1952 | Roland Luc Béchoff, Prefect | |
| 4 July 1952 to 14 May 1956 | Pierre Philip, Prefect | |
| 12 June 1956 to 1 March 1963 | Jean François Pierre Perreau-Pradier, Prefect | |
| 1 March 1963 to 1 September 1966 | Alfred Diefenbacher, Prefect | |
| 11 September 1966 to 22 October 1969 | Jean Vaudeville, Prefect | |
| 29 October 1969 to 21 August 1972 | Paul Cousseran, Prefect | |
| 28 August 1972 to 14 April 1975 | Claude Edmond Vieillescazes, Prefect | |
| 14 April 1975 to 12 May 1977 | Robert Lamy, Prefect | |
| 16 May 1977 to 22 May 1980 | Bernard Landouzy, Prefect | |
| 29 May 1980 to 1 August 1981 | Jacques Seval, Prefect | |
| 1 August 1981 to 10 May 1982 | Michel Francis Levallois, Prefect | |
| 10 May 1982 to 15 March 1984 | Michel Francis Levallois, Commissioner of the Republic | |
| 26 March 1984 to 9 April 1986 | Michel Blangy, Commissioner of the Republic | |
| 9 April 1986 to 25 April 1986 | Jean-Marc Rebière, acting Commissioner of the Republic | |
| 25 April 1986 to 24 February 1988 | Jean Anciaux, Commissioner of the Republic | |
| 24 February 1988 to 11 September 1989 | Jean Anciaux, Prefect | |
| 11 September 1989 to 18 July 1991 | Daniel Constantin, Prefect | |
| 18 July 1991 to December 1992 | Jacques Dewatre, Prefect | |
| 2 December 1992 to 2 January 1995 | Hubert Fournier, Prefect | |
| 9 January 1995 to 27 November 1995 | Pierre Steinmetz, Prefect | |
| 27 November 1995 to 29 November 1995 | Yves Dassonville, acting Prefect | 1st time |
| 29 November 1995 to 15 July 1998 | Robert Pommies, Prefect | |
| 15 July 1998 to 5 August 1998 | Yves Dassonville, acting Prefect | 2nd time |
| 5 August 1998 to 2 July 2001 | Jean Daubigny, Prefect | |
| 2 July 2001 to 31 July 2001 | Vincent Bouvier, acting Prefect | |
| 31 July 2001 to 28 March 2003 | Gonthier Friederici, Prefect | |
| French overseas region | ||
| 28 March 2003 to 13 August 2004 | Gonthier Friederici, Prefect | |
| 13 August 2004 to 16 August 2004 | Franck-Olivier Lachaud, acting Prefect | 1st time |
| 16 August 2004 to 4 June 2005 | Dominique Vian, Prefect | |
| 4 June 2005 to 16 July 2005 | Franck-Olivier Lachaud, acting Prefect | 2nd time |
| 16 July 2005 to 22 August 2006 | Laurent Cayrel, Prefect | |
| 22 August 2006 to 28 August 2006 | Franck-Olivier Lachaud, acting Prefect | 3rd time |
| 28 August 2006 to Present | Pierre-Henry Maccioni, Prefect | |