List of governors-general of Australia

Flag of the governor-general of Australia

Sam Mostyn is the current and 28th governor-general of Australia since 2024.

The governor-general of Australia is the federal representative of the Australian monarch (currently Charles III). ^[1] The position came into being on 29 October 1900 with the establishment of the first Commonwealth office, ^[2] just prior to the adoption of the new national constitution and has been held by 28 people since then. Because governors-general are appointed at His Majesty's pleasure, there is no fixed term, but governors-general are usually given a 5-year term. ^[1]

Background

For the first two decades after federation, governors-general were selected solely by the British government. The monarch was consulted on the decision into the 1930s. The first four governors-general were peers; Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson (appointed 1914) was the first commoner to hold the position, although he was also later elevated to the peerage. In 1920, Billy Hughes became the first prime minister to be consulted over the governor-generalship. Stanley Bruce (1925) and Joseph Lyons (1935) either asked for or were given a list of suitable candidates to choose from.

James Scullin (1930) became the first prime minister of Australia to exercise complete discretion in the appointment; his nomination of Sir Isaac Isaacs made Australia the first Dominion to have a native-born governor-general. In 1945, John Curtin nominated Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester, to the post. Henry was the first and only royal officeholder to take up the office — in October 1938, Prince George, Duke of Kent had been announced as successor to Lord Gowrie with effect from November 1939, ^{[3] [4]} but on 11 September 1939, the Duke's appointment was postponed due to the outbreak of the Second World War. Prince George died in 1942 and thus his appointment never eventuated, instead Lord Gowrie continued in office in Australia until 1945, creating a still-unsurpassed record term of over 9 years. ^[5] A second Australian (William McKell) was appointed in 1947; he was followed by three more Britons, each chosen by Sir Robert Menzies. Menzies's fourth nomination was Richard Casey, who took office in 1965; he and all subsequent governors-general have been Australian citizens. All Australian states except South Australia and Tasmania have provided at least one appointee (although the latter of these provided an Administrator of the Commonwealth for several months in 2003). The first female governor-general, Quentin Bryce, took office in 2008.

List of officeholders

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Monarch Reign	Prime Minister Term of office	Ref.
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		John Hope 7th Earl of Hopetoun} (1860–1908)	1 January 1901 [a]	17 July 1902 [b]	1 year, 197 days	Victoria (1837–1901)	Edmund Barton (1901–1903)	[6]
						Edward VII (1901–1910)
2		Hallam Tennyson 2nd Baron Tennyson (1852–1928)	9 January 1903	21 January 1904	1 year, 12 days
							Alfred Deakin (1903–1904)
3		Henry Northcote 1st Baron Northcote (1846–1911)	21 January 1904	9 September 1908	4 years, 232 days
							Chris Watson (1904)
							George Reid (1904–1905)
							Alfred Deakin (1905–1908)
4		William Ward 2nd Earl of Dudley (1867–1932)	9 September 1908	31 July 1911	2 years, 325 days
							Andrew Fisher (1908–1909)
							Alfred Deakin (1909–1910)
							Andrew Fisher (1910–1913)
						George V (1910–1936)
5		Thomas Denman 3rd Baron Denman (1874–1954)	31 July 1911	18 May 1914	2 years, 291 days
							Joseph Cook (1913–1914)
6		Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson (1860–1934)	18 May 1914	6 October 1920	6 years, 141 days
							Andrew Fisher (1914–1915)
							Billy Hughes (1915–1923)
7		Henry Forster 1st Baron Forster (1866–1936)	6 October 1920	8 October 1925	5 years, 2 days
							Stanley Bruce (1923–1929)
8		John Baird 1st Baron Stonehaven (1874–1941)	8 October 1925	2 October 1930 [c]	4 years, 359 days
							James Scullin (1929–1932)
9		Sir Isaac Isaacs (1855–1948)	21 January 1931	23 January 1936	5 years, 2 days
							Joseph Lyons (1932–1939)
						Edward VIII (1936)
10		Brigadier-General Alexander Hore-Ruthven 1st Baron Gowrie (1872–1955)	23 January 1936	30 January 1945	9 years, 7 days
						George VI (1936–1952)
							Earle Page (1939)
							Robert Menzies (1939–1941)
							Arthur Fadden (1941)
							John Curtin (1941–1945)
11		Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester (1900–1974)	30 January 1945	11 March 1947	2 years, 40 days
							Frank Forde (1945)
							Ben Chifley (1945–1949)
12		Sir William McKell (1891–1985)	11 March 1947	8 May 1953	6 years, 58 days
							Robert Menzies (1949–1966)
						Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
13		Field Marshal Sir William Slim (1891–1970)	8 May 1953	2 February 1960	6 years, 270 days
14		William Morrison 1st Viscount Dunrossil (1893–1961)	2 February 1960	3 February 1961 [d]	1 year, 1 day
15		William Sidney 1st Viscount De L'Isle (1909–1991)	3 August 1961	7 May 1965	3 years, 277 days
16		Richard Casey Baron Casey (1890–1976)	7 May 1965	30 April 1969	3 years, 358 days
							Harold Holt (1966–1967)
							John McEwen (1967–1968)
							John Gorton (1968–1971)
17		Sir Paul Hasluck (1905–1993)	30 April 1969	11 July 1974	5 years, 72 days
							William McMahon (1971–1972)
							Gough Whitlam (1972–1975)
18		Sir John Kerr (1914–1991)	11 July 1974	8 December 1977	3 years, 150 days
							Malcolm Fraser (1975–1983)
19		Sir Zelman Cowen (1919–2011)	8 December 1977	29 July 1982	4 years, 233 days
20		Sir Ninian Stephen (1923–2017)	29 July 1982	16 February 1989	6 years, 202 days
							Bob Hawke (1983–1991)
21		Bill Hayden (1933–2023)	16 February 1989	16 February 1996	7 years
							Paul Keating (1991–1996)
22		Sir William Deane (born 1931)	16 February 1996	29 June 2001	5 years, 133 days
							John Howard (1996–2007)
23		Peter Hollingworth (born 1935)	29 June 2001	28 May 2003 [e]	1 year, 333 days
24		Major General Michael Jeffery (1937–2020)	11 August 2003	5 September 2008	5 years, 25 days
							Kevin Rudd (2007–2010)
25		Dame Quentin Bryce (born 1942)	5 September 2008	28 March 2014	5 years, 204 days
							Julia Gillard (2010–2013)
							Kevin Rudd (2013)
							Tony Abbott (2013–2015)
26		General Sir Peter Cosgrove (born 1947)	28 March 2014	1 July 2019	5 years, 95 days
							Malcolm Turnbull (2015–2018)
							Scott Morrison (2018–2022)
27		General David Hurley (born 1953)	1 July 2019	1 July 2024	5 years
							Anthony Albanese (since 2022)
						Charles III (since 2022)
28		Sam Mostyn (born 1965)	1 July 2024	Incumbent	1 year, 75 days			[7]

See also

• History of Australia
• Constitutional history of Australia
• Administrators of the Commonwealth of Australia
• Governors of the Australian states
• British Empire
• Governor-general (links to other countries which have governors-general)

Notes

1. Queen Victoria appointed Lord Hopetoun as Australia's first governor-general on 14 July 1900 and signed this document, legally establishing the office, on 29 October 1900. However, it was not until 1 January 1901 that he took the oath of office at the inauguration ceremony.
2. Hopetoun left for England on 17 July 1902. Lord Tennyson, the governor of South Australia, was appointed Administrator of the Government until formally taking over the governor-generalship on 9 January 1903.
3. Stonehaven left for England on 2 October 1930. Arthur Somers-Cocks, 6th Baron Somers, the Governor of Victoria, was appointed Administrator of the Government until Sir Isaac Isaacs took over the governor-generalship on 21 January 1931.
4. Dunrossil died in office on 3 February 1961. Sir Dallas Brooks, the governor of Victoria, was appointed Administrator of the Government until Lord De L'Isle took over the governor-generalship on 3 August 1961.
5. Hollingworth resigned on 28 May 2003. Sir Guy Green, the governor of Tasmania, was appointed Administrator of the Government until Michael Jeffery took over the governor-generalship on 11 August 2003.

References

1. "Governor-General". Parliamentary Education Office. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
2. "Letters Patent constituting the office of Governor-General 29 October 1900 (UK)". foundingdocs.gov.au. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
3. "The Duke of Kent: Appointment in Australia", The Times (26 October 1938): 14.
4. "Marina, a tragic but well-loved Princess". The Sydney Morning Herald. London. 28 August 1968. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
5. "Duke of Kent and Australia", The Times (12 September 1939): 6.
6. "Former Governors-General". Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 27 May 2025.
7. "New Governor-General Sam Mostyn sworn in". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. 2 July 2024. Retrieved 27 May 2025.

Further reading

• Christopher Cunneen (1983). Kings' Men: Australia's Governors-General from Hopetoun to Isaacs. Allen and Unwin. ISBN   0-86861-238-3.
• Bill Hayden (1996). Hayden: An Autobiography. Angus & Robertson. ISBN   0-207-18769-X. (pp 515, 519, 548)

External links

• The Office of the Governor-General
• The use of the reserve powers
• A Mirror to the People a 58-minute documentary film on the Office of Governor-General of Australia 1999. Dir: Daryl Dellora. Features Sir William Deane, Sir Zelman Cowen, Sir Ninian Stephen. Special Commendation ATOM Awards.