The lieutenant-governor of New South Wales is a government position in the

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

New South Wales, Australia New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a state on the east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria to the south, and South Australia to the west. Its coast borders the Coral and Tasman Seas to the east. T ...

, acting as a deputy to the

governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the representative of the monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, Governor-General of Australia at the national level, the governor ...

. The office was first created in October 1786, before the arrival of the First Fleet, to act as a deputy to the first governor,

Arthur Phillip Arthur Phillip (11 October 1738 – 31 August 1814) was a British Royal Navy officer who served as the first Governor of New South Wales, governor of the Colony of New South Wales. Phillip was educated at Royal Hospital School, Gree ...

. At that time the lieutenant-governor, or its equivalent of "

administrator of the government An administrator (administrator of the government or officer administering the government) in the constitutional practice of some countries in the Commonwealth is a person who fulfils a role similar to that of a governor or a governor-general. ...

", was filled by military officers and was a position only created when needed or in times of long absences by the governor. Since 1872 this office has been held concurrently by the

chief justice of New South Wales The Chief Justice of New South Wales is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and the highest-ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States a ...

but the position may be retained by the chief justice after their retirement from the

Supreme Court of New South Wales The Supreme Court of New South Wales is the highest state court of the Australian States and territories of Australia, State of New South Wales. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil law (common law), civil matters, and hears ...

Role

Originally, the lieutenant-governor had a legislative role with a seat on the first

Legislative Council of New South Wales The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

in 1824; this was later phased out due to the lessening of the powers of the state governor. The role of the governors are enshrined in part 2A of the New South Wales Constitution Act (1902). The office itself has no standing powers but holds a

dormant commission A dormant commission is a commission in a Commonwealth realm that lies dormant or sleeping until a particular event triggers it. A commission in this case means an appointment to a particular government office, which the reigning monarch of the ...

to act in the governor's position when needed. The current role of the lieutenant-governor is to take up the duties of the governor if the governor dies, resigns, or is absent such as in September 2008, when, in the absence of Governor

Marie Bashir Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...

, the Lieutenant-Governor,

James Spigelman James Jacob Spigelman (born 1 January 1946) is a former Australian judge who served as Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1998 to 2011, and also as Lieutenant-Governor of New South Wales from 1998 to 2012. He served on the Court of Final ...

, administered the swearing in of the new cabinet of the

Nathan Rees Nathan Rees (; born 12 February 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 41st Premier of New South Wales and leader of the New South Wales Labor Party from September 2008 to December 2009. Rees was a Member of the New South Wal ...

government. If the lieutenant-governor becomes incapacitated while serving in the office of governor or is absent when the governor is also absent, the next most senior judge of the Supreme Court is sworn in as the

administrator Administrator or admin may refer to: Job roles Computing and internet * Database administrator, a person who is responsible for the environmental aspects of a database * Forum administrator, one who oversees discussions on an Internet forum * N ...

. This occurred in May 1973 when Sir Leslie Herron died suddenly while the governor, Sir Roden Cutler was overseas.

Sir John Kerr Sir John Robert Kerr, (24 September 1914 – 24 March 1991) was an Australian barrister and judge who served as the 18th governor-general of Australia, in office from 1974 to 1977. He is primarily known for his involvement in the 1975 Austral ...

became the administrator until Cutler was able to return.Personal Details Sir John Kerr
State Records of NSW. Retrieved 4 January 2010

Lieutenant-governors and administrators of NSW

References

External links

Official Website of the Governor of New South Wales
{{Government of New South Wales *

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

New South Wales-related lists Government of New South Wales