Governor
The Governor is the Queen's representative in Victoria. The Governor performs a number of important roles in Victoria's parliamentary system, including -
- appointing the Premier and Ministers of the Crown;
- opening Parliament;
- giving Royal Assent to Acts;
- proclaiming operative date for Acts.
The Governor also has the power to dissolve Parliament and call an election following a vote of no confidence in the Government.
The Governor is appointed by the Queen, on the recommendation of the Premier. The current Governor is the Honourable Linda Dessau AC. Further details on the role of the Governor can be found on the Governor's website.
The table below lists the Governor's of Victoria and their terms of office. In those intervals between the retirement of a Governor and the assumption to office of a successor, the responsibilities of the position were assumed by a Lieutenant-Governor, a Deputy or an administrator. Between 1931 and 1934 the position of governor was not filled.
|
Term commenced |
Term ended |
Governor |
|
22 May 1855 |
31 December 1855 |
Captain Sir Charles Hotham, RN, KCB |
|
26 December 1856 |
10 September 1863 |
Sir Henry Barkly, KCB |
|
11 September 1863 |
7 May 1866 |
Sir Charles Henry Darling, KCB |
|
15 August 1866 |
2 March 1873 |
The Hon. Sir John Henry Thomas Manners-Sutton, KCB |
|
30 July 1873 |
22 February 1879 |
Sir George Ferguson Bowen, GCMG |
|
29 April 1879 |
18 April 1884 |
The Most Hon. George Augustus Constantine Phipps, Marquis of Normanby, GCMG, PC |
|
15 July 1884 |
15 November 1889 |
Sir Henry Brougham Loch, GCMG, KCB |
|
28 November 1889 |
12 July 1895 |
The Right Hon. John Adrian Louis Hope, Earl of Hopetoun, GCMG |
|
25 October 1895 |
31 March 1900 |
The Right Hon. Baron Brassey, KCB |
|
10 December 1901 |
24 November 1903 |
Sir George Sydenham Clarke, KCMG, FRS |
|
25 April 1904 |
6 July 1908 |
Major-General the Hon. Sir Reginald Arthur James Talbot, KCB |
|
27 July 1908 |
19 May 1911 |
Sir Thomas David Gibson Carmichael, Bt, KCMG |
|
24 May 1911 |
31 January 1914 |
Sir John Michael Fleetwood Fuller, Bt, KCMG |
|
23 February 1914 |
30 January 1920 |
The Hon. Sir Arthur Lyulph Stanley, KCMG |
|
24 February 1921 |
7 April 1926 |
Colonel the Right Hon. George Edward John Mowbray, Earl of Stradbroke, KCMG, CB CVO, CBE |
|
28 June 1926
|
23 June 1931 |
Lt.-Colonel the Right Hon. Arthur Herbert Tennyson, Baron Somers, KCMG, DSO, MC |
|
14 May 1934 |
4 April 1939 |
Captain the Right Hon. William Charles Arcedeckne, Baron Huntingfield, KCMG |
|
17 July 1939 |
20 February 1949 |
Major-General Sir Winston Joseph Dugan, GCMG, CB, DSO |
|
18 October 1949 |
7 May 1963 |
General Sir Reginald Alexander Dallas Brooks, KCB, KCMG, KCVO, DSO, K.St.J. |
|
8 May 1963
|
31 May 1974 |
Major-General Sir Rohan Delacombe, KCMG, KVCO, KBE, CB, K.St.J. |
|
1 June 1974
|
1 March 1982 |
The Hon. Sir Henry Arthur Winneke, KCMG, KVCO, OBE, K.St.J., QC |
|
1 March 1982
|
3 October 1985 |
Rear Admiral Sir Brian Stewart Murray, KCMG, K.St.J., AO |
|
18 February 1986 |
31 March 1992 |
The Reverend Dr John Davis McCaughey, AC |
|
23 April 1992 |
23 April 1997 |
The Hon. Richard Elgin McGarvie, A.C., Q.C. |
|
24 April 1997 |
31 December 2000 |
The Hon. Sir James A. Gobbo, A.C., C.V.O. |
|
1 January 2001 |
7 April 2006 |
John Landy, A.C., M.B.E. |
|
7 April 2006 |
7 April 2011 |
Professor David de Kretser, A.C. |
| 8 April 2011 | 30 June 2015 | The Hon. Alex Chernov AC, QC |
| 1 July 2015 | The Hon. Linda Dessau AC |
- Last Updated: Friday, 25 August 2017 18:18