Governor of Gibraltar in the context of "Henry Clinton (British Army officer, born 1730)"

The capture of Gibraltar by Anglo-Dutch forces of the Grand Alliance occurred between 1 and 4 August 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession. Since the beginning of the war the Alliance had been looking for a harbour in the Iberian Peninsula to control the Strait of Gibraltar and facilitate naval operations against the French fleet in the western Mediterranean Sea. An attempt to seize Cádiz had ended in failure in September 1702, but following the Alliance fleet's successful raid in Vigo Bay in October that year, the combined fleets of the "Maritime Powers", the Netherlands and England, had emerged as the dominant naval force in the region. This strength helped persuade King Peter II of Portugal to sever his alliance with France and Bourbon-controlled Spain, and ally himself with the Grand Alliance in 1703 as the Alliance fleets could campaign in the Mediterranean using access to the port of Lisbon and conduct operations in support of the Austrian Habsburg candidate to the Spanish throne, the Archduke Charles, known to his supporters as Charles III of Spain.

Prince George of Hesse-Darmstadt represented the Habsburg cause in the region. In May 1704 the prince and admiral George Rooke, commander of the main Grand Alliance fleet, failed to take Barcelona in the name of "Charles III"; Rooke subsequently evaded pressure from his allies to make another attempt on Cádiz. In order to compensate for their lack of success the Alliance commanders resolved to capture Gibraltar, a small town on the southern Spanish coast. Following a heavy bombardment the town was invaded by English and Dutch marines and sailors. The governor, Diego de Salinas, agreed to surrender Gibraltar and its small garrison on 4 August. Three days later Prince George entered the town with Austrian and Spanish Habsburg troops in the name of Charles III of Spain. The Grand Alliance failed in its objective of replacing Philip V with Charles III as King of Spain, but in the peace negotiations Gibraltar was ceded to Britain.

Don Diego Esteban Gómez de Salinas y Rodríguez de Villarroel (Madrid, 3 August 1649 – 27 November 1720) was the last Spanish Governor of Gibraltar. He held the post when The Rock was captured by an Anglo-Dutch fleet in August 1704.

Field Marshal John Standish Surtees Prendergast Vereker, 6th Viscount Gort (10 July 1886 – 31 March 1946), was a senior British Army officer. As a young officer during the First World War, he was decorated with the Victoria Cross for his actions during the Battle of the Canal du Nord. During the 1930s he served as Chief of the Imperial General Staff (the professional head of the British Army). He is best known for commanding the British Expeditionary Force that was sent to France in the first year of the Second World War, only to be evacuated from Dunkirk the following year. Gort later served as Governor of Gibraltar and Malta, and High Commissioner for Palestine and Transjordan.

His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar is the democratically elected government of the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The head of state is King Charles III who is represented by the Governor. Elections in Gibraltar are held every four years, with a unicameral parliament of 18 members of which 17 members are elected by popular vote and one, the Speaker, appointed by Parliament.

The chief minister of Gibraltar is the head of His Majesty's Government of Gibraltar who is elected by the Gibraltar Parliament, and formally appointed by the governor of Gibraltar, representative of the British monarch. The incumbent chief minister is Fabian Picardo, since 9 December 2011, leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour Party.

Lieutenant General Sir James Benjamin "Jim" Dutton, KCB, CBE (born 21 February 1954) is a retired Royal Marines officer and former Governor of Gibraltar. He held various staff positions in his early career, before commanding 40 Commando. As a brigadier, he held two high-level staff posts—the first at the Ministry of Defence in London, as Director of NATO policy, and the second as a British liaison to The Pentagon shortly after the September 11 attacks, where he was involved in the planning for the subsequent invasion of Afghanistan.

After the planning for the invasion, Dutton took command of 3 Commando Brigade, which was already serving in Afghanistan. In 2003, he led the brigade into the start of Iraq War, supported by units from the British Army as well as the United States Marine Corps, making Dutton the first British officer to command American troops since the Second World War. He commanded his men through heavy resistance from Iraqi forces in the early days of the war.

The Convent has been the official residence of the governor of Gibraltar since 1728. It was originally a convent of Franciscan friars, hence its name, and was built in 1531, and heavily rebuilt during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The dining room at the Convent has the most extensive display of heraldry in the Commonwealth of Nations.