Fredrick Augustus Pickering (1835–1926) was the first President of the British Virgin Islands of African descent.
[2] Pickering had previously served as the President's clerk and was a popular local figure.
The appointment of Pickering occurred at a time of considerable decline in the history of the British Virgin Islands.
Not long after Pickering stepped down, the Legislative Council itself was dissolved, and the legislative powers were transferred by the Colonial Office to the Federal Legislature of the Leeward Islands, in which the British Virgin Islands had no representation.
The Commissioner had virtually no real power; executive authority was vested in the Governor of the Leeward Islands.