The governor of Western Australia is the representative in
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person ...
. As with the other
governors of the Australian states
The governors of the Australian states are the representatives of Australia's monarch in each of Australia's six states. The governors are the nominal chief executives of the states, performing the same constitutional and ceremonial function ...
, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and community functions, including:
* presiding over the Executive Council;
* proroguing and dissolving the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council;
* issuing writs for
election
An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office.
Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operat ...
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a panel of judges. A judge hears all the witnesses and any other evidence presented by the barristers or solicitors of the case, assesses the credibility an ...
s,
Magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judic ...
s and
Justices of the Peace
A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or '' puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission (letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sam ...
.
Furthermore, all bills passed by the
Parliament of Western Australia
The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Western Australia, forming the legislative branch of the Government of Western Australia. The parliament consists of a lower house, the Legislati ...
require the governor's signature before they become acts and pass into law. However, since convention almost always requires the governor to act on the advice of the
premier
Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier.
A premier will normally be a head of governm ...
and the cabinet, such approval is almost always a formality.
Until the appointment of Sir James Mitchell in 1948, all governors of Western Australia had been British officials. After Mitchell's appointment, a further three Britons served as governor: Mitchell's two immediate successors, and then, from 1980 to 1983, Rear-Admiral Sir
Richard Trowbridge
Rear Admiral Sir Richard John Trowbridge, (21 January 1920 – 4 May 2003), was a senior officer in the Royal Navy and the 25th Governor of Western Australia, serving from 25 November 1980 to 24 November 1983. He was the last British-born vice- ...
who was the last British governor of any Australian state.
Styles
The governor of Western Australia is styled "
His Excellency
Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the ri ...
" during his term in office (or Her Excellency for a female governor). In August 2014, three of the four living past governors –
John Sanderson
Lieutenant General John Murray Sanderson, (born 4 November 1940) is a retired senior Australian Army officer and vice-regal representative. He served as Force Commander of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia from 1992 to 199 ...
,
Ken Michael
Ken or KEN may refer to:
Entertainment
* ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer.
* ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film.
* ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine.
* Ken Masters, a main character in ...
and
Malcolm McCusker
Malcolm James McCusker (born 6 August 1938) is an Australian barrister and philanthropist who was the 31st Governor of Western Australia, serving from July 2011 to June 2014.
Born in Perth, McCusker was educated at Hobart High School (in Hob ...
– were given the style "
The Honourable
''The Honourable'' (British English) or ''The Honorable'' ( American English; see spelling differences) (abbreviation: ''Hon.'', ''Hon'ble'', or variations) is an honorific style that is used as a prefix before the names or titles of certa ...
", on the recommendation of the premier. The other living former governor, Michael Jeffery, already held the style in virtue of his later service as
governor-general of Australia
The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.
File: Flag of the Governor of Western Australia (1870–1953).svg, 1870–1953
File: Flag of the Governor of Western Australia (1953–1988).svg , 1953-1988
File: Flag of the Governor of Western Australia.svg, 1988 -present
List of lieutenant-governors of the Swan River Colony and governors of Western Australia
This is a list of governors and lieutenant-governors of Western Australia.
Lieutenant-governors of the Swan River Colony
Stirling was in fact only commissioned as the governor of Western Australia from 4 March 1831, rectifying the absence of a legal instrument providing the authority detailed in Stirling's Instructions of 30 December 1828. Stirling had said of his own position:
I believe I am the first Governor who ever formed a settlement without Commission, Laws, Instructions and Salary. - see als Scan of 1st page of parchment original and
Western Australia
Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to t ...