Governor-General of Australia

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Governor-General of Australia
Badge
Incumbent
General David Hurley
AC DSC FTSE

since 1 July 2019
Viceregal
StyleHis Excellency the Honourable
ResidenceGovernment House (Canberra)
Admiralty House (Sydney)
SeatCanberra
NominatorPrime Minister of Australia
AppointerMonarch of Australia
on the advice of the Prime Minister
Term lengthAt His Majesty's pleasure
(usually 5 years by convention)[1]
Formation1 January 1901
First holderThe Earl of Hopetoun
SalaryA$495,000[2]
Websitegg.gov.au

The Governor-General of Australia is the representative in Australia of Australia's head of state, Charles III. The current Governor-General is David Hurley.

The Governor-General of Australia is a powerful person in the country. The Governor-General is leader of the Executive Council and Commander-in-Chief of the Australian Defence Forces.

List of governors-general[change | change source]

No. Term Name
From To
1 1 January 1901 9 January 1903 John Adrian Louis Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun
2 9 January 1903 21 January 1904 Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson
3 21 January 1904 9 September 1908 Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote
4 9 September 1908 31 July 1911 William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley
5 31 July 1911 18 May 1914 Thomas Denman, 3rd Baron Denman
6 18 May 1914 6 October 1920 Sir Ronald Munro-Ferguson
7 6 October 1920 8 October 1925 Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster
8 8 October 1925 21 January 1931 John Baird, 1st Baron Stonehaven
9 21 January 1931 23 January 1936 Sir Isaac Isaacs
10 23 January 1936 30 January 1945 Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Baron Gowrie
11 30 January 1945 11 March 1947 Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester
12 11 March 1947 8 May 1953 Sir William McKell
13 8 May 1953 2 February 1960 Sir William Slim
14 2 February 1960 3 February 1961 William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil
15 3 August 1961 7 May 1965 William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle
16 7 May 1965 30 April 1969 Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey
17 30 April 1969 11 July 1974 Sir Paul Hasluck
18 11 July 1974 8 December 1977 Sir John Kerr
19 8 December 1977 29 July 1982 Sir Zelman Cowen
20 29 July 1982 16 February 1989 Sir Ninian Stephen
21 16 February 1989 16 February 1996 Bill Hayden
22 16 February 1996 29 June 2001 Sir William Deane
23 29 June 2001 28 May 2003 Dr Peter Hollingworth
24 11 August 2003 9 September 2008 Major-General Michael Jeffery
25 10 September 2008 26 March 2014 Ms Quentin Bryce, AC
26 26 March 2014 1 July 2019 Sir Peter Cosgrove
27 1 July 2019 David Hurley

Living former governors-general[change | change source]

As of October 2023 there are five living former governors-general of Australia. The most recently deceased governor-general, Bill Hayden (1989–1996), died on 21 October 2023.

Name Term of office Date of birth
Sir William Deane 1996–2001 (1931-01-04) 4 January 1931 (age 93)
Peter Hollingworth 2001–2003 (1935-04-10) 10 April 1935 (age 88)
Dame Quentin Bryce 2008–2014 (1942-12-23) 23 December 1942 (age 81)
Sir Peter Cosgrove 2014–2019 (1947-07-28) 28 July 1947 (age 76)

Other websites[change | change source]

References[change | change source]

  1. Governor-General Archived 23 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  2. Australia, Commonwealth Parliament of. "Governor-General Amendment Salary Bill 2019". www.aph.gov.au. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019. Retrieved 2019-06-07.