page_title: Governor-General of New Zealand
section_title: Swearing-in ceremony
hierarchical_section_title: Governor-General of New Zealand / Appointment / Swearing-in ceremony
caption_attribution_description: English: Being sworn in by Chief Justice Dame Sian Elias
context_page_description: The governor-general of New Zealand is the viceregal representative of the monarch of New Zealand, currently Queen Elizabeth II. As the Queen is concurrently the monarch of 15 other Commonwealth realms, and lives in the United Kingdom, she, on the advice of her New Zealand prime minister, appoints a governor-general to carry out her constitutional and ceremonial duties within the Realm of New Zealand.
  The current office traces its origins to when the administration of New Zealand was placed under the Colony of New South Wales in 1839 and its governor was given jurisdiction over New Zealand. However, New Zealand would become its own colony the next year with its own governor. The modern "governor-general" and his or her functions came into being in 1917 and the office is currently mandated by Letters Patent issued in 1983, constituting "the Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief of the Realm of New Zealand". Constitutional functions of the governor-general include presiding over the Executive Council, appointing ministers and judges, granting royal assent to legislation, and summoning and dissolving parliament.
context_section_description: Before the governor-general enters office, his or her commission of appointment is publicly read in the presence of the chief justice and the members of the Executive Council. He or she must take the Oath (or Affirmation) of Allegiance, and the Oath (or Affirmation) of Office, which the chief justice or other High Court judge administers.
caption: Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy (right) takes the affirmation after being sworn in by the Chief Justice, Dame Sian Elias, on 28 September 2016
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