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.
The current Governor of Queensland, Paul de Jersey, was sworn in on 29 July 2014. 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.

Official residence

The Governor of Queensland has resided at Government House, Brisbane since 1910. The mansion, set in 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, 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 State 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- born Governor of Queensland was Lieutenant-General Sir John Lavarack. 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
PortraitCountry of birthTook officeLeft officeTime
1George Bowen
 United Kingdom10 December 18594 January 18688 years, 25 days
2Samuel Blackall
 United Kingdom14 August 18682 January 18712 years, 141 days
3George Phipps
 United Kingdom12 August 187112 November 18743 years, 92 days
4William Cairns
 United Kingdom23 January 187514 March 18772 years, 50 days
5Arthur Kennedy
 United Kingdom20 July 18772 May 18835 years, 286 days
6Anthony Musgrave
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.png" /> British West Indies6 November 18839 October 18884 years, 338 days
7Henry Norman
 United Kingdom1 May 188931 December 18956 years, 244 days
8Charles Cochrane-Baillie
 United Kingdom9 April 189619 December 19015 years, 254 days
9Herbert Chermside
 United Kingdom24 March 190210 October 19042 years, 200 days
10Frederic Thesiger
 United Kingdom30 November 190526 May 19093 years, 177 days
11William MacGregor
 United Kingdom2 December 190916 July 19144 years, 226 days
12Hamilton Goold-Adams
 United Kingdom15 March 19153 February 19204 years, 325 days
13Matthew Nathan
 United Kingdom3 December 192017 September 19254 years, 288 days
14John Goodwin
13 July 19277 April 19324 years, 299 days
15Leslie Wilson
 United Kingdom13 June 193223 April 194613 years, 314 days
16John Lavarack
 Colony of Queensland1 October 19464 December 195711 years, 64 days
17Henry Abel Smith
 United Kingdom18 March 195818 March 19668 years
18Alan Mansfield
21 March 196621 March 19726 years
19Colin Hannah
21 March 197220 March 19775 years, 213 days
20James Ramsay
22 April 197721 July 19858 years, 90 days
21Walter Campbell
22 July 198529 July 19927 years, 7 days
22Leneen Forde
29 July 199229 July 19975 years
23Peter Arnison
29 July 199729 July 20036 years
24Quentin Bryce
29 July 200329 July 20085 years
25Penelope Wensley
29 July 200829 July 20146 years
26Paul de Jersey
29 July 2014present

Living former governors

Four former governors of Queensland are alive, the oldest being Leneen Forde.
NameTerm as governorDate of birth
Leneen Forde1992-1997
Peter Arnison1997-2003
Dame Quentin Bryce2003-2008
Penelope Wensley2008-2014

The most recent death of a former governor was that of Sir Walter Campbell, on 4 September 2004.

List of Administrators and Lieutenant-Governors of Queensland

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. The following are the Administrators and Lieutenant-Governors of Queensland:
NameTermNotes
Maurice Charles O’Connell4 January 1868 – 14 August 1868Administrator
Maurice Charles O'Connell2 January 1871 – 12 August 1871Administrator
Maurice Charles O'Connell12 November 1874 – 23 January 1875Administrator
Maurice Charles O'Connell14 March 1877 – 10 April 1877Administrator
Arthur Edward Kennedy10 April 1877 – 20 July 1877Administrator
Joshua Peter Bell19 March 1880 – 22 November 1880Administrator
Arthur Hunter Palmer2 May 1883 – 6 November 1883Administrator
Arthur Hunter Palmer20 April 1886 – 13 December 1886Administrator
Arthur Hunter Palmer9 October 1888 – 1 May 1889Administrator
Arthur Hunter Palmer15 November 1895 – 9 April 1896Lieutenant Governor Administrator
Samuel Griffith21 June 1901 – 24 March 1902Lieutenant Governor
Hugh Muir Nelson10 October 1904 – 30 November 1905Lieutenant Governor
Arthur Morgan27 May 1909 – 2 December 1909Lieutenant Governor
Arthur Morgan16 July 1914 – 15 March 1915Lieutenant Governor
William Lennon3 February 1920 – 3 December 1920Lieutenant Governor
William Lennon17 September 1925 – 13 June 1927Lieutenant Governor
William Lennon8 May 1929 – 2 June 1929Lieutenant Governor
James William Blair7 April 1932 – 1 June 1932Administrator
James William Blair17 May 1937 – 21 November 1937Administrator
Frank Cooper24 April 1946 – 30 September 1946Lieutenant Governor
Alan Mansfield25 January 1957 – 18 March 1958Administrator
Alan Mansfield31 March 1960 – 24 May 1960Administrator
Alan Mansfield18 April 1963 – 18 October 1963Administrator
William Mack10 March 1966 – 21 March 1966Administrator
William Mack20 March 1969 – 30 June 1969Administrator
Joseph Aloysius Sheehy30 June 1969 – 18 September 1969Administrator
Mostyn Hanger9 March 1972 – 21 March 1972Administrator
Mostyn Hanger21 March 1977 – 22 April 1977Administrator