In the 18th and 19th centuries, a growing number of British colonies appointed agents in Great Britain and Ireland and occasionally elsewhere in Europe to promote immigration to the colonies. Eventually, agents-general were appointed by some colonies to represent their commercial, legal, and diplomatic interests in Britain and to the British government and Whitehall.[1] They were appointed, and their expenses and salaries provided, by the governments of the colonies they represented.[2]
Starting in 1886, Quebec and the federal Canadian government also appointed agents-general to Paris. The first, Hector Fabre, was dispatched by the province of Quebec but was asked by the federal government to represent all of Canada. He and his successor, Philippe Roy, continued to represent both Quebec City and Ottawa in France until 1912 when the federal government asked Roy to resign his Quebec position to avoid conflicts of interest. Canadian provinces have also appointed agents-general (called delegates-general by Quebec beginning in the 1970s) to other countries and major cities.
Following a military coup in Nigeria in 1966, the federal system was abolished, and the posts of the agents-general of Nigerian regions in London were subsumed in the Nigerian High Commission.
By the 1990s, some Australian state governments regarded the office of their agent-general in London as a costly anachronism, even for promoting tourism and investment, and have since been closed and subsumed into the Australian High Commission. The majority of Australian states continue to have agents-general in London, but operate from Australia House rather than maintain separate premises.
Many Canadian provinces similarly are no longer represented by an agent-general, although Quebec continues to have a Government Office in London (Délégation générale du Québec à Londres) and in several other cities around the world. Ontario, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba have representatives who work out of the Canadian Embassy in Washington, DC.[3]
The New South Wales Office in London was one of several overseas offices established by the colonies of Australia to represent their interests. The London Office was established after the appointment of the first Agent-General on 1 May 1864. In June 1932, the Agent-General's Office was abolished as a cost-cutting measure and was replaced by the New South Wales Government Offices, London, to be headed by an "Official Representative".[4] The title was renamed Agent-General in 1937, but was left vacant from 1939 to 1946 due to the Second World War. From 1972 to 1993, the Agent-General's Office was located in separate premises from Australia House, at the nearby address of 66 The Strand, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in May 1972.[5][6]
In October 1992, the position of NSW Agent-General in London was abolished by the Fahey government. This occurred following an expenses scandal by the last Agent-General, Neil Pickard, who had been appointed as a consolation for losing his seat in parliament.[7] Following its abolition, Fahey noted to Parliament: "It was abundantly clear to me, to all Cabinet and to all Government that we no longer needed an agent-general's office in London. That was a throwback to colonial days - to the days when it was important to have garden parties and to participate in ceremonies. Quite frankly, little or no benefit accrued to New South Wales by participating in such a process."[8] The Agent-General's Office was replaced by the NSW Government Trade and Investment Office, London, which had no ceremonial function, but focused on the promotion of investment and trade in the UK and Europe.[9] The NSW Government of Gladys Berejiklian considered reviving the Agent-General position in late-2019, noting that "We know the post-Brexit environment is going to be very different and NSW can gain a lot of opportunities in business from the UK".[10][11]
The position was revived in 2021, with an expanded remit to additionally cover Europe and Israel.[12]
As it was difficult to compete with larger provinces like Ontario and Quebec, the province of Manitoba decided to leave trade promotion to the federal government and accordingly recalled their agent-general in 1965 without appointing a replacement.[29]
Quebec uses the title agent-general or delegate-general. In 1936, legislation was passed by the government of Maurice Duplessis closing all Quebec government offices abroad. The government of Adélard Godbout repealed the legislation and opened an office in New York City in 1940. When Duplessis returned to power in 1944, his government retained the New York City office and its agent-general but opened no others. In the early 1960s, the government of Jean Lesage began to open additional offices abroad appointing in Paris (1961), London (1962), Rome and Milan (1965) and subsequent governments opened offices in Chicago (1969), Boston, Lafayette, Dallas and Los Angeles (1970), Munich and Berlin (1971), Brussels (1972), Atlanta (1977), Washington (1978), Mexico City and Tokyo (1980), Beijing and Santiago (1998), Shanghai and Barcelona (1999), Mumbai (2007), São Paulo (2008) and Moscow (2012).[37] In 1971, the title of agent-general was officially changed to delegate-general although previous title is still often used, particularly for the government's representative to London.
As of 2024[update], the Government of Quebec has 35 offices abroad, including 9 delegates-general.[38]
With the granting of responsible self-government to Malta in 1921, a proposal of the government of Lord Strickland to appoint an agent-general to "encourage the migration of Maltese to the Northern Territory and north-west Australia" was presented to the parliament. Strickland, who was Governor of Western Australia (1909–1913) suggested former Colonial Secretary and Agent-General of Western Australia in London, Sir James Connolly.[54] The position was discontinued with the suspension of the constitution in November 1933 and was replaced by a Trade Commissioner, who was in turn replaced by a Commissioner-General in 1947.[55]
Prior to the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910, the four constituent British colonies of southern Africa all sent agents-general to London, coinciding with the establishment of responsible self-government in each colony.
The Transvaal Colony sent an agent-general from the establishment of responsible self-government in 1907 until the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. Solomon then served as the first South African High Commissioner in London from 1910 to 1913.
↑ "AGENT-GENERAL FOR QUEENSLAND". The Australian Star. No.2392. New South Wales, Australia. 4 October 1895. p.6. Retrieved 15 February 2018– via National Library of Australia.
↑ "THE AGENT-GENERAL OF QUEENSLAND". South Australian Register. Vol.LX, no.15, 280. South Australia. 2 November 1895. p.5. Retrieved 15 February 2018– via National Library of Australia.
↑ "Queensland Agent-General". Evening News. No.9536. New South Wales, Australia. 29 December 1897. p.5. Retrieved 15 February 2018– via National Library of Australia.
↑ Spaull, Andrew (1986). "McBride, Sir Peter (1867–1923)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Vol.10. National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. pp.205–206. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
↑ Sutherland, David A. (1982). "Annand, William". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol.11. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
↑ Southam, Peter (2003). "Pelletier, Pantaléon". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol.15. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
↑ Simard, Sylvain; Vaugeois, Denis (2003). "Fabre, Hector". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol.13. University of Toronto/Université Laval. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
↑ Dalziel, R.M. (1975). The origins of New Zealand diplomacy: the Agent-General in London, 1870-1905. Wellington: Price Milburn for Victoria University Press. p.46. ISBN978-0705505505.
↑ "The Agent-General's Department". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand. Wellington: The Cyclopedia Company Limited. 1897. pp.117–119. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the Australian states perform constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level. The governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the premier of New South Wales, and serves in office for an unfixed period of time—known as serving At His Majesty's pleasure—though five years is the general standard of office term. The current governor is retired judge Margaret Beazley, who succeeded David Hurley on 2 May 2019.
Sir James Martin, QC was three times Premier of New South Wales, and Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1873 to 1886.
Sir Charles Gregory Wade KCMG, KC, JP was Premier of New South Wales 2 October 1907 – 21 October 1910. According to Percival Serle, "Wade was a public-spirited man of high character. His ability, honesty and courage were quickly recognized and, though he could not be called a great leader, he was either in office or leader of the opposition for nearly the whole of his political life of 14 years. His career as a judge was short, but his sense of justice and grasp of principles and details, eminently fitted him for that position."
Sydney Water, formally, Sydney Water Corporation, is a Government of New South Wales–owned statutory corporation that provides potable drinking water, wastewater and some stormwater services to Greater Metropolitan Sydney, the Illawarra and the Blue Mountains regions, in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Sir William Portus Cullen was an Australian barrister, the 7th Chief Justice of New South Wales, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, and Chancellor of the University of Sydney.
Sir William Montagu Manning was an English-born Australian politician, judge and University of Sydney chancellor.
Sir Frederick Matthew Darley was the sixth Chief Justice of New South Wales, an eminent barrister, a member of the New South Wales Parliament, Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales, and a member of the British Privy Council.
Sir Julian Emanuel Salomons was a barrister, royal commissioner, Solicitor General, Chief Justice and member of parliament. He was the only Chief Justice of New South Wales to be appointed and resign before he was ever sworn into office. Salomons was said to be short of stature and somewhat handicapped by defective eyesight. However, he had great industry, great powers of analysis, a keen intellect and unbounded energy and pertinacity. His wit and readiness were proverbial, and he was afraid of no judge.
The Sydney Opera House Trust operates and maintains the Sydney Opera House in Sydney for the Government of New South Wales in Australia.
The third Dibbs ministry, the 27th ministry of the Colony of New South Wales, was led by Sir George Dibbs, leader of the Protectionist Party, following the 1891 New South Wales election, which saw the Labour Party win seats in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and the balance of power. With no party having a majority, Sir Henry Parkes held on as Premier until October 1891 when he lost a vote in the Legislative Assembly, causing Parkes to resign as Premier and leader of the Free Trade Party. Dibbs formed the ministry on 23 October 1891, with Labour support, and comprised 10 ministers.
Thomas Garrett was a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly, newspaper proprietor and land agent.
The Postmaster-General of New South Wales was a position in the government of the colony of New South Wales. This portfolio managed the postal department of the New South Wales Government and was in charge of all postal and communications services in the colony prior to the Federation of Australia, from 1835 to 1901. Upon Federation, Section 51(v) of the Constitution of Australia gave the Commonwealth exclusive power for "postal, telegraphic, telephonic, and other like services".
Sir Robert Wisdom, was a politician in colonial New South Wales and Attorney General of New South Wales.
The Agent-General for New South Wales is the representative of the State of New South Wales in the United Kingdom who is responsible for the promotion of New South Wales' trade and economic interests in the United Kingdom, Europe and Israel. The holder is a state government public servant, as part of the Investment NSW agency, and also concurrently serves as New South Wales' Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner for Europe and Israel.
Solicitor General for New South Wales, known informally as the Solicitor General, is one of the Law Officers of the Crown, and the deputy of the Attorney General. They can exercise the powers of the Attorney General in the Attorney General's absence. The Solicitor General acts alongside the Crown Advocate, and Crown Solicitor, and serves as one of the legal and constitutional advisers of the Crown and its government in the Australian state of New South Wales.
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council who served from 1877 to 1880 were appointed for life by the Governor on the advice of the Premier. This list includes members between the elections commencing on 24 October 1877 and the elections commencing on 17 November 1880. The President was Sir John Hay.
Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council who served from 1856 to 1861 were appointed for a fixed term by the Governor on the advice of the Premier. The 1855 Constitution of New South Wales provided that the first council following self-government was for a period of 5 years from the first appointments, but that subsequent members would be appointed for life. The first appointments were on 13 May 1856 so that the first term lapsed on 13 May 1861. The number of members of the council had to be at least 21 and subsequent appointments also lapsed on 13 May 1861. The President was Sir Alfred Stephen until 28 January 1857, John Plunkett until 6 February 1858 and then Sir William Burton.
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