Sir Arthur Edward Kennedy GCMG CB (Chinese: 堅尼地; 5 April 1809 – 3 June 1883) was a British colonial administrator who served as governor of a number of British colonies, namely Sierra Leone, Western Australia, Vancouver Island, Hong Kong and Queensland.

Arthur Kennedy was born in Cultra, County Down, Ireland on 5 April 1809, the fourth son of Hugh Kennedy and his wife Grace Dorothea (née Hughes).^[2] He was educated by private tutor and in 1823–24 attended Trinity College, Dublin,^[2] where he met his predecessor as Governor of Hong Kong, Sir Richard Graves MacDonnell.

Kennedy entered the British Army, and was gazetted an Ensign in the 27th Foot 11th Regiment on 15 August 1827.^[3] Until 1837 he served with infantry regiments on Corfu. He spent 1838–1839 and 1841–1844 in British North America. In 1841 he purchased a Captaincy in the 68th Foot.^[2]

Kennedy returned to Ireland in 1846, and the following year sold his captaincy and took up an appointment with the Poor Law Commission. His job was to administer relief to the many inhabitants of County Clare who were affected by the Great Famine.^[2] He was shocked by what he saw and had serious differences with the local Landlord, Colonel Crofton Moore Vandeleur.^[4]

In 1851, the famine having ended, Kennedy's position was abolished, and he applied for a position in the Colonial Service. In May 1852 he was appointed Governor of The Gambia,^[5] but before assuming office he was appointed Governor of Sierra Leone instead.^[6] He served in this office until 1854, during which time he made many administrative changes in an attempt to reform the corrupt and inefficient government. In 1854 he was appointed Consul-General in the Sherbro country in addition to his existing role.^[7]

On his resignation as Governor of Queensland, Kennedy boarded the Orient with the intention of returning to England. On 3 June 1883, when the Orient was off Aden in the Red Sea, Kennedy died. He was buried at sea.

In 1839, Kennedy married Georgina MacCartney, who died on 3 October 1874. They had two daughters and a son, Arthur Herbert Williams, who entered the army. His daughter, Elizabeth, married Richard Meade, 4th Earl of Clanwilliam. Kennedy's other daughter, Georgina Mildred, was honoured by having the Georgina River named after her in 1880, during his time in office in Queensland. William Landsborough had named this river the Herbert in 1861, but it was decided that it needed a new name because there was another river in Queensland that had that same name.^[19]

• Kennedy Town, an area in the Western District of Hong Kong
• Kennedy Road, located in the Mid-levels of Wan Chai in Hong Kong
• Kennedy Lake, a large freshwater lake near Port Alberni, Vancouver Island, British Columbia
• Kennedy Range, in Gascoyne region of Western Australia
• Kennedy Sound overlooked by Mount Arthur in the Mackay Region, Queensland^[20][21]
• Arthur Terrace and Kennedy Terrace in the Ithaca and Red Hill suburbs of Brisbane, Queensland