Governor of Queensland facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Governor of Queensland
Flag of the governor
Badge of the governor
Incumbent Jeannette Young AC PSM since 1 November 2021
Viceregal
Style	Her Excellency The Honourable
Residence	Government House, Brisbane (Fernburg)
Nominator	Premier of Queensland
Appointer	Monarch of Australia on the advice of the Premier
Term length	At His Majesty's pleasure (usually 5 years by convention)
Formation	10 December 1859
First holder	Sir George Bowen
Salary	£5,000 (1900) A$488,686 (2019)

The governor of Queensland is the representative in the state of Queensland of the Australian monarch, currently King Charles III. In an analogous way to the governor-general 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, former Chief Health Officer of Queensland Jeannette Young, was sworn in on 1 November 2021.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, currently Helen Bowskill, acts in the position of governor in the governor's absence. In June 2014, Queen Elizabeth II, 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 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 the governor was initially established by letters patent issued by Queen Victoria on the founding of Queensland in 1867. However, up until 1977 the office was not formally recognised in Queensland legislation, with the powers of the governor set down in the letters patent and in an imperial order in council which preserved the effect of the Australian Constitutions Act 1842 (Imp) (the document that granted NSW a semi-elected assembly) as regard to the governor and restricted the power of the Queensland assembly to remove the position. However, following the 1975 Dismissal crisis then premier Sir Joh Bjelke-Peterson amended the Constitution Act 1867 (Qld) to replicate the provisions of the order in council. This was done as the order in council only applied due to the continuing authority of the British Parliament in regard to the states. It was feared that a future Commonwealth government would either assert or acquire by consent the exiting powers of the imperial Parliament over the states, giving them the power to either abolish the office or make it subordinate to the governor-general, allowing the Commonwealth to order the state governor to refuse royal assent to state bills. This amendment provision was doubly entrenched, requiring a referendum for the provisions about the governor to be amended or removed. Following the passage of the Australia Act 1986, the power of the British Parliament to legislate for the states has been removed. However, there remains academic doubts of the legal effectivness of the double entrenchment provisions.

The Constitution Act 2001 consolidated the previous constitutional documents, including the most recent letters-patent, leaving the role of the governor fully defined by Australian law. However, the doubly entrenched provisions of the 1867 constitution remains in place as a referendum was not sought to amend them.

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 the new leader of the National Party, Bjelke-Petersen initially refused to resign as premier and Sir Walter resisted calls to dismiss him. Bjelke-Petersen 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's standard comprises a union jack with a white roundel in the centre 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

• 

  1870–1876

• 

  1876–1901, bearing an Imperial crown

• 

  1901–1963, bearing a Tudor crown

• 

  1963–present, bearing a St. Edward's crown

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 (a relative of the royal family), 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.

Prior to the separation of Queensland in 1859, it was part of New South Wales under the governors of New South Wales.

No.	Portrait	Title Governor Office (Birth–Death)	Term of office		Monarch
1		The Right Honourable Sir George Bowen GCMG (1821–1899)	10 December 1859	4 January 1868	Victoria (1837–1901)
			8 years and 26 days
2		Colonel the Honourable Samuel Blackall (1809–1871)	14 August 1868	2 January 1871
			2 years and 142 days
3		The Right Honourable George Phipps Earl of Mulgrave GCB, GCMG (1819–1890)	12 August 1871	12 November 1874
			3 years and 93 days
4		The Honourable Sir William Cairns KCMG (1828–1888)	23 January 1875	14 March 1877
			2 years and 51 days
5		The Honourable Sir Arthur Kennedy GCMG, CB (1809–1883)	20 July 1877	2 May 1883
			5 years and 287 days
6		The Honourable Sir Anthony Musgrave GCMG (1828–1888)	6 November 1883	9 October 1888
			4 years and 339 days
7		Field Marshal the Honourable Sir Henry Norman GCB, GCMG, CIE (1826–1904)	1 May 1889	31 December 1895
			6 years and 245 days
8		The Right Honourable Charles Cochrane-Baillie 2nd Baron Lamington (1860–1940)	9 April 1896	19 December 1901
			5 years and 255 days		Edward VII (1901–1910)
9		Lieutenant General the Honourable Sir Herbert Chermside GCMG, CB (1850–1929)	24 March 1902	10 October 1904
			2 years and 201 days
10		The Honourable Frederic Thesiger 3rd Baron Chelmsford KCMG (1868–1933)	30 November 1905	26 May 1909
			3 years and 178 days
11		The Right Honourable Sir William MacGregor GCMG, CB, AM (1846–1919)	2 December 1909	16 July 1914
			4 years and 227 days		George V (1910–1936)
12		Major The Honourable Sir Hamilton Goold-Adams GCMG, CB (1858–1920)	15 March 1915	3 February 1920
			4 years and 326 days
13		Lieutenant Colonel the Honourable Sir Matthew Nathan GCMG (1862–1939)	3 December 1920	17 September 1925
			4 years and 289 days
14		Lieutenant General the Honourable Sir John Goodwin KCB, KCMG, DSO (1871–1960)	13 July 1927	7 April 1932
			4 years and 270 days
15		Lieutenant Colonel the Right Honourable Sir Leslie Wilson GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, DSO (1876–1955)	13 June 1932	23 April 1946	Edward VIII (1936)
			13 years and 315 days		George VI (1936–1952)
16		Lieutenant General the Honourable Sir John Lavarack KCMG, KCVO, KBE, CB, DSO (1885–1957)	1 October 1946	4 December 1957
			11 years and 65 days		Elizabeth II (1952–2022)
17		Colonel the Honourable Sir Henry Abel Smith KCMG, KCVO, DSO (1900–1993)	18 March 1958	18 March 1966
			8 years and 1 day
18		The Honourable Sir Alan Mansfield KCMG, KCVO (1902–1980)	21 March 1966	21 March 1972
			6 years and 1 day
19		Air Marshal the Honourable Sir Colin Hannah KCMG, KBE, CB (1914–1978)	21 March 1972	20 March 1977
			5 years and 0 days
20		Commodore the Honourable Sir James Ramsay KCMG, KCVO, CBE, DSC, RAN (1916–1986)	22 April 1977	21 July 1985
			8 years and 91 days
21		Flight Lieutenant the Honourable Sir Walter Campbell AC, QC (1921–2004)	22 July 1985	29 July 1992
			7 years and 8 days
22		The Honourable Leneen Forde AC (b. 1935)	29 July 1992	29 July 1997
			5 years and 1 day
23		Major General the Honourable Peter Arnison AC, CVO (b. 1940)	29 July 1997	29 July 2003
			6 years and 1 day
24		The Honourable Quentin Bryce AC (b. 1942)	29 July 2003	29 July 2008
			5 years and 1 day
25		The Honourable Penelope Wensley AC (b. 1946)	29 July 2008	29 July 2014
			6 years and 1 day
26		Lieutenant the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, CVO, QC (b. 1948)	29 July 2014	1 November 2021
			7 years and 96 days
27		Her Excellency the Honourable Jeannette Young AC, PSM (b. 1963)	1 November 2021	Incumbent
					Charles III (2022 - present)
			3 years and 19 days

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). The following are the administrators and lieutenant-governors of Queensland: