This is a list of the British Residents of Malay State of Perak, British Malaya.. The position of Resident was an administrative post. By the terms of the Pangkor Treaty

Pangkor Treaty of 1874

The Pangkor Treaty of 1874 was a treaty signed between the British and the Sultan of Perak. Signed on January 20, 1874, on the island of Pangkor off Perak, the treaty is significant in the history of the Malay states as it legitimized British control of the Malay rulers and paved the way for...

, the Resident was an adviser to His Highness Sultan of Perak

Sultan of Perak

Sultan of Perak is one of the oldest hereditary seats among the Malay states.When the Sultanate of Malacca empire fell to Portugal in 1511, Sultan Mahmud Syah I retreated to Kampar, Sumatra and died there in 1528. He left behind two princes named Sultan Alauddin Riayat Shah II and Sultan Muzaffar...

 whose decisions were binding in all matters in administration except for Malay customs and religion. The British Resident post is also equivalent with today's Menteri Besar

Menteri Besar

The Menteri Besar is the chief executive of the state government for states in Malaysia with hereditary rulers. For states without a monarch, the title Chief Minister is used...

 post, where he was the chairman of the Perak State Council and the Sultan was the Lord President of the Council. The official residence for the Resident was at the Residency Hill, Taiping

Taiping, Perak

Taiping is a town located in northern Perak, Malaysia. With a population of 191,104 , it is the second largest town in Perak after Ipoh, the state capital. Taiping took over Kuala Kangsar's role as the state capital from 1876 to 1937, but was then replaced by Ipoh...

. Other residences were also available in Kuala Kangsar

Kuala Kangsar

Kuala Kangsar is the royal town of Perak, Malaysia, located at the downstream of Kangsar River, where it flows into the Perak River. It is the main town in the administrative district of Kuala Kangsar.-History:...

 and Ipoh

Ipoh

Ipoh is the capital city of Perak state, Malaysia. It is approximately 200 km north of Kuala Lumpur on the North-South Expressway....

. After World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, the position of British Resident was replaced by a British Adviser. Eventually, when Malaya achieved Independence

Merdeka

Merdeka is a word in the Indonesian and Malay language meaning Independent or freedom. It is derived from the Sanskrit Maharddhika meaning "rich, prosperous and powerful". In the Malay archipelago, this term had acquired the meaning of a freed slave...

, the British Adviser post was abolished.

British Resident	Portrait	Honour	Entered office	Left office
1. James Wheeler Woodford Birch James W.W. Birch James Wheeler Woodford Birch, commonly known as J. W. W. Birch was the first British Resident in Perak, Malaysia...		none	4 November 1874	2 November 1875
2. Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham Frank Swettenham Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham GCMG CH was the first Resident General of the Federated Malay States which was formed by combining a number of sultanates. He served from 1 July 1896 to 1901. He was also an amateur photographer...		GCMG, CH	5 November 1875	March 1876
3. James Guthrie Davidson		none	11 April 1876	31 March 1877
4. Sir Hugh Low Hugh Low Sir Hugh Low, GCMG was a British colonial administrator and naturalist. After a long residence in various colonial roles in Labuan, he became the first successful British administrator in the Malay Peninsula. His methods became models for future administrators. He made the first documented ascent...		GCMG, KCMG, CMG	1 April 1877	31 May 1889
5. Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham Frank Swettenham Sir Frank Athelstane Swettenham GCMG CH was the first Resident General of the Federated Malay States which was formed by combining a number of sultanates. He served from 1 July 1896 to 1901. He was also an amateur photographer...		GCMG, CH	1 June 1889	30 June 1896
6. Sir William Hood Treacher William Hood Treacher Sir William Hood Treacher, K.C.M.G. was born on 1 December 1849 and died on 3 May 1919. Sir William was the fourth son of Rev. Joseph Skipper Treacher, MA, Vicar of Sandford-on-Thames, by his 1st wife Pauline Louise Pierret. He was the sixth British Resident of Perak and the first Governor of...		KCMG	1 July 1896	12 December 1901
7. Sir John Pickersgill Rodger John Pickersgill Rodger Sir John Pickersgill Rodger, KCMG, CMG was born on 12 February 1851 in Marylebone, London and died on 19 September 1910 in Mayfair, Westminster, London.-Education and career:...		KCMG, CMG	13 December 1901	9 February 1904
8. Sir Ernest Woodford Birch Ernest Woodford Birch Sir Ernest Woodford Birch, ICS, KCMG was the eighth British resident of Perak. Sir Ernest was the eldest son of James Wheeler Woodford Birch.-Family:...		KCMG, CMG	10 February 1904	5 March 1911
9. Sir Henry Conway Belfield Henry Conway Belfield Sir Henry Conway Belfield KCMG JP born on 29 November 1855 and died on 8 January 1923. Sir Henry attended the Rugby School, Warwickshire and University of Oxford. He was a qualified barrister in 1880 and practiced law in England until 1884. Sir Henry joined Malayan Civil Service from 1884 until 1912...		KCMG, CMG, JP	6 March 1911	15 December 1911
10. Oliver Marks			15 December 1911	9 August 1912
11. Colonel William James Parke Hume William James Parke Hume Lieutenant Colonel William James Parke Hume, C.M.G. was born on 25 January 1866, in Batticaloa, Ceylon. He was the son of William Walker Hume and Henrietta Marion Kelly daughter of Luke Kelly. William married Alice Stevenson in 1903...		CMG	9 August 1912	12 August 1912
12. Sir Reginald George Watson Reginald George Watson Reginald George Watson was born in June 1862, in Portland Place, Bath. He was the son of General E.D. Watson of Bengal Army. Watson married Sydney Francis Vivien Presgrave...		CMG	12 August 1912	17 September 1919
13. Sir William George Maxwell William George Maxwell Sir William George Maxwell KBE, CMG was born in 1871 in Singapore and died in 1959. He was the eldest son of William Edward Maxwell and Lilias Grant Mackay. Sir George was a British naturalist and colonial administrator in British Malaya and Straits Settlements. His father W.E...  (acting to 19 December 1919)		KBE, CMG	17 September 1919	12 September 1920
14. Colonel William James Parke Hume William James Parke Hume Lieutenant Colonel William James Parke Hume, C.M.G. was born on 25 January 1866, in Batticaloa, Ceylon. He was the son of William Walker Hume and Henrietta Marion Kelly daughter of Luke Kelly. William married Alice Stevenson in 1903...  (acting for Maxwell to 12 September 1921)		CMG	29 June 1920	13 July 1921
15. Sir Cecil William Chase Parr		CMG, OBE	14 July 1921	20 December 1925
16. Oswald Francis Gerard Stonor			20 December 1925	6 June 1927
17. Henry Wagstaffe Thomson			6 June 1927	1929
18. Charles Walter Hamilton Cochrane Charles Walter Hamilton Cochrane Charles Walter Hamilton Cochrane, MCS, CMG was the 17th British Resident of Perak and Chief Secretary to Government of Malaya from 1929 to 1930....		CMG	1929	1930
19. Bertram Walter Elles Bertram Walter Elles Bertram Walter Elles was born on 3 July 1877 in Wimbledon, London and was the son of Jamieson Elles. On 24 February 1906, Bertham married Jean Challoner Lake daughter of Cannon Henry Lake at Saint Mary Abbots, Kensington...			1931	1932
20. Sir Geoffrey Edmund Cator Geoffrey Edmund Cator Sir Geoffrey Edmund Cator C.M.G. was born in 1884. Sir Geoffrey was the son of Ronert Cator of Bath. Married with Elizabeth Margaret Wynne Mostyn in 1922, he had a son, Peter John Cator and daughter Rosemary Ann Cator. Sir Geoffrey died in 1973 at Lacock, Wiltshire, England.-Career:Sir Geoffrey...		CMG	1933	1939
21. Marcus Rex Marcus Rex Marcus Rex, CMG was born in 1886 and died in 1971. He was the last British Resident of Perak during the World War II waged in British Malaya.-Education and career:...		CMG	1939	1941

British Adviser	Portrait	Honour	Entered office	Left office
22. Arthur Vincent Aston Arthur Vincent Aston Arthur Vincent Aston CMG, MC was born in 1896 in Chester. He was the first British Adviser for Perak after the abolishment of the post British Resident of Perak. He was Resident Commissioner of Penang from 1948 to 1951. He was an internee at Changi and Sime Rd...		CMG, MC	1946	1948
23. James Innes Miller			1948	1951
24. Edwin Cyril Geddes Barrett (acting to Blelloch)		CMG	1953	1954
25. Sir Dato’ Watherstone I. Blelloch Watherstone I. Blelloch Sir Dato’ I.W. Blelloch M.C.S., D.K.B. , C.M.G. was educated at Dunfermline High School, Dunfermline and Edinburgh University. He was the cadet at F.M.S. , District officer of Krian , District Officer of Raub , Acting British Adviser for Terengganu and the last posting British Adviser for Perak...		CMG	1951	1956