Governor-General of Australia

The **Governor-General of Australia** is the representative in Australia of Australia's head of state, Charles III. The current Governor-General is Sam Mostyn.

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

|No.|Term|Name||
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
|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|1 July 2024|David Hurley|
|28|1 July 2024||Sam Mostyn|

## Living former governors-general

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||
|Peter Hollingworth|2001–2003||
|Dame Quentin Bryce|2008–2014||
|Sir Peter Cosgrove|2014–2019||
|David Hurley|2019–2024||

## Other websites

- Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia

## Infobox (official post)

- **post**: Governor-General
- **body**: Australia
- **flag**: Flag of the Governor-General of Australia (1953–2024).svg
- **flagcaption**: Flag of the Governor-General of Australia, Flag of the Governor-General
- **flagsize**: 160px
- **flagborder**: yes
- **insignia**: Badge of the Governor-General of Australia (St Edward's Crown).svg
- **insigniasize**: 100px
- **insigniacaption**: Badge
- **image**: Sam Mostyn.jpg
- **incumbent**: Sam Mostyn
- **incumbentsince**: 1 July 2024
- **department**: Viceroy#Commonwealth realms, Viceregal
- **style**: Excellency, His Excellency the Honourable
- **residence**: Government House, Canberra, Government House (Canberra)
Admiralty House, Kirribilli, Admiralty House (Sydney)
- **seat**: Canberra
- **nominator**: Prime Minister of Australia
- **appointer**: Monarchy of Australia, Monarch of Australia
- **appointer qualified**: on the advice of the Prime Minister
- **termlength**: At His Majesty's pleasure
- **termlength qualified**: (usually 5 years by Constitutional convention (political custom), convention)
- **formation**: 1 January 1901
- **first**: John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun, The Earl of Hopetoun
- **salary**: 495,000