The formal head of the Isle of Man Government is the Lieutenant Governor, the personal representative of the Lord of Mann (currently Charles III).
After the Revestment in 1765, the Lieutenant Governor and his officials were the agents of the British Government, and not democratically responsible to the Manx people.
Conflict between the House of Keys (popularly elected after 1866) and the Lieutenant Governor came to a head during the tenure of the 3rd Baron Raglan (1902–18).
After the First World War, the Lieutenant Governor gradually ceded control to Tynwald, a process guided by the reports of commissions and other bodies in 1911,[26] 1959[27] and 1969.
However, although direct taxation was levied by Tynwald, the Boards' freedom of action before the 1960s was limited by the Lieutenant Governor's control of the Island's budget and his power to appoint certain of their members.