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List of female state governors in Australia

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This is a list of women who served as governors of states and territories of Australia.

As of January 2020, ten women have served or are serving as the governor of an Australian state. The governors 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 functions at the state level as does the Governor-General of Australia at the national or federal level. The state governors are not subject to the constitutional authority of the governor-general, but are directly responsible to the monarch.

Two women have served as Administrator of the Northern Territory, an official appointed by the Governor-General of Australia to represent the government of the Commonwealth in the Northern Territory who performs functions similar to those of a state governor. However, the Administrator is not the direct representative of the Monarch in the Territory as territories are not sovereign in the same way as states.

The first female governor in Australia was Dame Roma Mitchell in South Australia in 1991. To date, Australia has had two female Governor-general, Dame Quentin Bryce (2008-2014), who previously served as Governor of Queensland, and Sam Mostyn, in office since July 2024.

Since 1 February 2023, all state governors excluding Western Australia (5 in total) are female, which is unprecedented in Australian history.

List of female state governors

[edit]
  Incumbent
Portrait Name State Term start Term end Duration Reference
The Honourable Dame Roma Mitchell AC, DBE, CVO, QC 31st Governor of South Australia 6 February 1991 21 July 1996 5 years, 166 days [1]
The Honourable Leneen Forde AC 22nd Governor of Queensland 29 July 1992 29 July 1997 5 years, 0 days [2]
Professor The Honourable Dame Marie Bashir AD, CVO 37th Governor of New South Wales 1 March 2001 1 October 2014 13 years, 214 days [3]
The Honourable Marjorie Jackson-Nelson AC, CVO, MBE 33rd Governor of South Australia 3 November 2001 31 July 2007 5 years, 270 days [4]
The Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO 24th Governor of Queensland 29 July 2003 29 July 2008 5 years, 0 days [5]
The Honourable Penelope Wensley AC 25th Governor of Queensland 29 July 2008 29 July 2014 6 years, 0 days [6]
The Honourable Sally Thomas AC 18th Administrator of the Northern Territory 1 October 2011 10 November 2014 3 years, 40 days [7]
The Honourable Kerry Sanderson AC CVO 32nd Governor of Western Australia 20 October 2014 1 May 2018 3 years, 193 days [8]
Professor The Honourable Kate Warner AC 29th Governor of Tasmania 10 December 2014 9 June 2021 6 years, 181 days [9]
Her Excellency The Honourable Linda Dessau AC 29th Governor of Victoria 1 July 2015 30 June 2023 7 years, 364 days [10]
Her Honour The Honourable Vicki O'Halloran AO 20th Administrator of the Northern Territory 1 October 2017 30 January 2023 5 years, 121 days [11]
Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Beazley AC, QC 39th Governor of New South Wales 2 May 2019 Incumbent 5 years, 193 days [12]
Her Excellency The Honourable Barbara Baker AC 30th Governor of Tasmania 16 June 2021 Incumbent 3 years, 148 days
Her Excellency The Honourable Frances Adamson AC 36th Governor of South Australia 7 October 2021 Incumbent 3 years, 35 days
Her Excellency The Honourable Jeannette Young PSM 27th Governor of Queensland 1 November 2021 Incumbent 3 years, 10 days
Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Gardner 30th Governor of Victoria 9 August 2023 Incumbent 1 year, 94 days [13]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Dame Roma Mitchell: Australian Biography". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Her Excellency" (transcript). Australian Story. Australia: ABC TV. 26 July 1997. Archived from the original on 10 November 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
  3. ^ "General Hurley named as NSW Governor". Sky News. 5 June 2014. Archived from the original on 6 June 2014. Retrieved 5 June 2014.
  4. ^ "Jackson-Nelson, Marjorie". The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  5. ^ "Bryce, Quentin". The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth-Century Australia. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  6. ^ "The Honourable Dr Penelope Wensley AC". The University of Queensland. 21 February 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Her Honour the Honorable Sally Thomas AC". Charles Darwin University. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Kerry Sanderson AO named WA's first female governor". WA Today. 25 August 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
  9. ^ Gutwein, Peter (24 June 2020). "Governor of Tasmania's term extended". www.premier.tas.gov.au. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  10. ^ Anderson, Stephanie (1 July 2015). "Victoria's first female governor, Linda Dessau, sworn in at Government House". ABC News. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Vicki O'Halloran appointed new Northern Territory Administrator". NT News. 31 August 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  12. ^ Sas, Nick (13 January 2019). "New NSW Governor Margaret Beazley fights back tears as she accepts role". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Premier announces 30th Governor of Victoria".
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