Governor of Queensland

The Governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the Queen of Australia. In an analogous way to the Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the Governor performs constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level. In particular the governor has the power to appoint and dismiss the Premier of Queensland and all other ministers in the cabinet, and issue writs for the election of the state parliament.

Governor of Queensland
Badge of the Governor
Flag of the Governor
Incumbent
Paul de Jersey
AC QC

since 29 July 2014
Viceregal
StyleHis Excellency The Honourable
ResidenceGovernment House, Brisbane
SeatBrisbane
NominatorPremier of Queensland
AppointerMonarch of Australia
on the advice of the Premier
Term lengthAt Her Majesty's Pleasure
(usually 5 years by convention)
Formation10 December 1859
First holderSir George Bowen
Websitegovhouse.qld.gov.au

The current Governor of Queensland, Paul de Jersey, was sworn in on 29 July 2014.[1] The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, currently Catherine Holmes, acts in the position of Governor in the governor’s absence. As from June 2014, the Queen, upon the recommendation of then-Premier Campbell Newman, accorded all current, future and living former governors the title 'The Honourable' in perpetuity.[2]

Official residence

The Governor of Queensland has resided at Government House, Brisbane since 1910. The mansion, set in 14 hectares (35 acres) of gardens and bushland in the Brisbane suburb of Paddington, is also known as "Fernberg". Unlike Fernberg, the original Government House was purpose-built and was used from 1862 to 1910; the building still exists today on the grounds of Queensland University of Technology.

Constitutional provisions

The office of Governor is established by the Constitution of Queensland. Section 29 of the Constitution as passed in 2001 provides that the office of Governor must exist and be appointed by the Sovereign, but parts of the earlier Constitution Act of 1867 relating to the Governor are still in force owing to the double entrenchment of them within the constitution by the government of Joh Bjelke-Petersen, who feared that the office and powers of State Governor might be abolished following the controversies of the 1975 Australian constitutional crisis at a federal level.

In accordance with the conventions of the Westminster system of parliamentary government, the Governor nearly always acts solely on the advice of the head of the elected government, the Premier of Queensland. Nevertheless, the Governor retains the reserve powers of the Crown, and has the right to appoint and dismiss Ministers, issue pardons, and dissolve Parliament.

The Queensland constitution expressly provides that the Governor is not subject to direction by any person and is not limited as to the Governor's sources of advice on the appointment or dismissal of Ministers (s. 35), another provision inserted by the Bjelke-Petersen government in the wake of the 1975 federal dismissal. This provision worked against Bjelke-Petersen when, in the dying days of his government in November 1987, he tried and failed to convince Governor Sir Walter Campbell to remove several ministers to shore up his own support within Parliament. When the parliamentary wing of the National Party deposed Bjelke-Petersen and elected one of the dissident ministers, Mike Ahern, as new Leader of the National Party, Sir Joh initially refused to resign as Premier and Sir Walter resisted calls to dismiss him. Sir Joh elected to resign on 1 December 1987.

The Governor is head of the Executive Council, a Queensland equivalent to the Federal Executive Council. The Council is composed of ministers from the government of the day. The Chief Justice of Queensland and other judges in the Queensland judicial system are appointed by the Governor acting on the advice of the Executive Council.

Governor's Standard

The governor standard comprises a union jack with a white roundel in the center with the state badge of Queensland: a light blue Maltese cross, surmounted by a royal crown and surrounded by garland of laurel leaves.

The general design of Standards for British Governors was approved by Queen Victoria in 1869. The design for Governors of Queensland was created and flown as a personal standard since 1876, when the Maltese Cross was adopted as the colonial badge.

If the Standard is flying at Government House, on a vehicle or at an event, this indicates that the Governor is present.

Past and present standards of the governor

List of Governors of Queensland

The first Australian- (and Queensland-) born Governor of Queensland was Lieutenant-General Sir John Lavarack (appointed 1946). His successor, Sir Henry Abel Smith was British. All subsequent governors have been Australian-born, except for Leneen Forde, who was born in Canada but who emigrated to Australia at an early age.

No. Governor
(Birth–Death)
Portrait Country of birth Took office Left office Time
1 George Bowen
(1821–1899)
United Kingdom 10 December 1859 4 January 1868 8 years, 25 days
2 Samuel Blackall
(1809–1871)
United Kingdom 14 August 1868 2 January 1871 2 years, 141 days
3 George Phipps
(1819–1890)
United Kingdom 12 August 1871 12 November 1874 3 years, 92 days
4 William Cairns
(1828–1888)
United Kingdom 23 January 1875 14 March 1877 2 years, 50 days
5 Arthur Kennedy
(1809–1883)
United Kingdom 20 July 1877 2 May 1883 5 years, 286 days
6 Anthony Musgrave
(1828–1888)
British West Indies 6 November 1883 9 October 1888 4 years, 338 days
7 Henry Norman
(1826–1904)
United Kingdom 1 May 1889 31 December 1895 6 years, 244 days
8 Charles Cochrane-Baillie
(1860–1940)
United Kingdom 9 April 1896 19 December 1901 5 years, 254 days
9 Herbert Chermside
(1850–1929)
United Kingdom 24 March 1902 10 October 1904 2 years, 200 days
10 Frederic Thesiger
(1868–1933)
United Kingdom 30 November 1905 26 May 1909 3 years, 177 days
11 William MacGregor
(1846–1919)
United Kingdom 2 December 1909 16 July 1914 4 years, 226 days
12 Hamilton Goold-Adams
(1858–1920)
United Kingdom 15 March 1915 3 February 1920 4 years, 325 days
13 Matthew Nathan
(1862–1939)
United Kingdom 3 December 1920 17 September 1925 4 years, 288 days
14 John Goodwin
(1871–1960)
 British Ceylon 13 July 1927 7 April 1932 4 years, 299 days
15 Leslie Wilson
(1876–1955)
United Kingdom 13 June 1932 23 April 1946 13 years, 314 days
16 John Lavarack
(1885–1957)
Colony of Queensland 1 October 1946 4 December 1957 11 years, 64 days
17 Henry Abel Smith
(1900–1993)
United Kingdom 18 March 1958 18 March 1966 8 years
18 Alan Mansfield
(1902–1980)
 Australia 21 March 1966 21 March 1972 6 years
19 Colin Hannah
(1914–1978)
 Australia 21 March 1972 20 March 1977 5 years, 213 days
20 James Ramsay
(1916–1986)
 Australia 22 April 1977 21 July 1985 8 years, 90 days
21 Walter Campbell
(1921–2004)
 Australia 22 July 1985 29 July 1992 7 years, 7 days
22 Leneen Forde
(1935–present)
 Canada 29 July 1992 29 July 1997 5 years
23 Peter Arnison
(1940–present)
 Australia 29 July 1997 29 July 2003 6 years
24 Quentin Bryce
(1942–present)
 Australia 29 July 2003 29 July 2008 5 years
25 Penelope Wensley
(1946–present)
 Australia 29 July 2008 29 July 2014 6 years
26 Paul de Jersey
(1948–present)
 Australia 29 July 2014 Incumbent 6 years, 195 days

Living former governors

Four former governors of Queensland are alive, the oldest being Leneen Forde (1992–97, born 1935).

NameTerm as governorDate of birth
Leneen Forde 19921997 (1935-05-12) 12 May 1935
Peter Arnison 19972003 (1940-10-21) 21 October 1940
Dame Quentin Bryce 20032008 (1942-12-23) 23 December 1942
Penelope Wensley 20082014 (1946-10-18) 18 October 1946

The most recent death of a former governor was that of Sir Walter Campbell (1985–92), on 4 September 2004.

List of Administrators and Lieutenant-Governors of Queensland

Administrators and Lieutenant-Governors are deputy roles generally appointed to carry out the duties of the Governor when the Governor is unavailable, due to travel or illness. If one is not appointed, then the duties are carried out by the Chief Justice of Queensland (or the most senior judge available).[3] The following are the Administrators and Lieutenant-Governors of Queensland:[4]

NameTermNotes
Maurice Charles O’Connell 4 January 1868 – 14 August 1868 Administrator
Maurice Charles O'Connell 2 January 1871 – 12 August 1871 Administrator
Maurice Charles O'Connell 12 November 1874 – 23 January 1875 Administrator
Maurice Charles O'Connell 14 March 1877 – 10 April 1877 Administrator
Arthur Edward Kennedy 10 April 1877 – 20 July 1877 Administrator
Joshua Peter Bell 19 March 1880 – 22 November 1880 Administrator
Arthur Hunter Palmer 2 May 1883 – 6 November 1883 Administrator
Arthur Hunter Palmer 20 April 1886 – 13 December 1886 Administrator
Arthur Hunter Palmer 9 October 1888 – 1 May 1889 Administrator
Arthur Hunter Palmer 15 November 1895 – 9 April 1896 Lieutenant Governor Administrator
Samuel Griffith 21 June 1901 – 24 March 1902 Lieutenant Governor
Hugh Muir Nelson 10 October 1904 – 30 November 1905 Lieutenant Governor
Arthur Morgan 27 May 1909 – 2 December 1909 Lieutenant Governor
Arthur Morgan 16 July 1914 – 15 March 1915 Lieutenant Governor
William Lennon 3 February 1920 – 3 December 1920 Lieutenant Governor
William Lennon 17 September 1925 – 13 June 1927 Lieutenant Governor
William Lennon 8 May 1929 – 2 June 1929 Lieutenant Governor
James William Blair 7 April 1932 – 1 June 1932 Administrator
James William Blair 17 May 1937 – 21 November 1937 Administrator
Frank Cooper 24 April 1946 – 30 September 1946 Lieutenant Governor
Alan Mansfield 25 January 1957 – 18 March 1958 Administrator
Alan Mansfield 31 March 1960 – 24 May 1960 Administrator
Alan Mansfield 18 April 1963 – 18 October 1963 Administrator
William Mack 10 March 1966 – 21 March 1966 Administrator
William Mack 20 March 1969 – 30 June 1969 Administrator
Joseph Aloysius Sheehy 30 June 1969 – 18 September 1969 Administrator
Mostyn Hanger 9 March 1972 – 21 March 1972 Administrator
Mostyn Hanger 21 March 1977 – 22 April 1977 Administrator

References

  1. "Queensland Governor Paul de Jersey sworn in at Parliament House". ABC News. 29 July 2014. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 29 July 2014.
  2. "20 June 2014" (PDF). Queensland Government Gazette. p. 15. Archived (PDF) from the original on 19 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  3. "The Executive Government of Queensland". Queensland Parliament. Archived from the original on 25 November 2017. Retrieved 25 November 2017.
  4. "Governors and Deputy Governors of Queesland" (PDF). Queensland Parliament. 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 March 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
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