The Governor-General of the Philippines (Spanish: Gobernador-General de Filipinas; Filipino: Gobernador-Heneral ng Pilipinas) was the title of the government executive during the colonial period of the Philippines, governed mainly by Spain (1565–1898) and the United States (1898–1946), and briefly by Great Britain (1762–1764) and Japan (1942–1945). They were also the representative of the executive of the ruling power.