as a territory of the united kingdom, the head of state is elizabeth ii. there is no governor appointed to represent the queen on the territory, as there are no longer any native inhabitants. the head of government is the commissioner, currently ben merrick (since august 2017, replacing john kittmer), and administrator john mcmanus (since april 2011, replacing joanne yeadon), all of whom reside in the united kingdom. the commissioner's representative in the territory is the officer commanding the detachment of british forces.