General governor of New Zealand

The General governor of New Zealand is the representative of the New Zealand monarch (currently Elizabeth II). This one acts as a Vice-roi in New Zealand and is often regarded as the Head of State '' de facto ''.

The constitutional law of 1986 establishes that " The General governor named by the Sovereign is the representative of the Sovereign in News-Zélande". The term of the office is not specified explicitly, but by convention, the General governor lends oath for one five years approximate duration. The complete title of the mandate in English is: Governor-General And Order-in-Chief in and over New Zealand. (the General governor and Commander-in-chief in and on New Zealand).

The functions and roles of the General governor are described by the Letters patent constituting the load of the General governor of New Zealand of 1983. They include the nomination of ministers and judges, the dissolution of the Parliament, to give Royale approval to the legislations, to emit ordinances for the elections, and to decree the honors. All the duties of the General governor are carried out in the name of the Queen. Beyond these constitutional functions, the General governor occupies a big role at the time of the ceremonies. He travels enormously through the country to open conferences or to witness offices and commemorations. When he travels abroad, the General governor is regarded as the representative of New Zealand and the Queen of New Zealand, and is treated as Head of State in much of circumstances.

The 18th General governor of New Zealand, Dame Silvia Cartwright finished his mandate the August 4th 2006. Its successor, the judge Anand Satyanand, lent oath the August 23rd 2006.

Nomination

The nomination of the General governor is made by the Queen (as Reine of New Zealand), on the opinion of the Prime Minister. The opinion of the Prime Minister is in general the result of a decision of the Cabinet, and thus of the executive of the government of the moment. By convention, the leader of the opposition is also consulted.

Although supposed neutral being at the time of its mandate, certain General governors raised the controversy during their nomination. Several had a political past charged, but none carried out its mandate in manner partisane.

Proposals for elections

From time to time, of the voices rose to propose the election of the General governor. At the time of the first version of the constitutional law of 1852, this one contained a provision allowing the election of the General governor by the Parliament. This provision was however withdrawn of the final text, probably following the will of the colonial office to keep a power to control on the colonial government in New Zealand. In 2006, the political commentator Colin James suggested that the General governor is elected (or, “nominated more exactly” near the Queen) by a vote in the majority of 60%. Its arguments being that the current system is undemocratic, and far from transparent, and that the New Zealand public had the right to take part in this nomination. Such a system already exists for the General governors of New Guinea-News-Guinea and the the Solomon Islands. However, some noticed that to give the General governor a new separate source of legitimacy could result in returning it a potential political rival of the Ministers.

Mandate

The General governor is in place according to the " good plaisir" (from clause II of the letters patent) of the Queen. The tradition wants that this one is the representative of the Queen for one minimum duration five years, but the Prime Minister of New Zealand can advise with the Queen to prolong the mandate of the Vice-Roi. For example, Dame Silvya Cartwright should have finished its mandate the April 6th 2006, but this one was prolonged by the Queen, on the opinion of the Prime Minister Helen Clark, who estimated that the pre-election period and the process of nomination of the General governor was not to take place at the same time.

The Prime Minister can advise with the Queen of " rappeler" the General governor, and, as long as the Prime Minister keeps the confidence of the room of the representatives, the Queen is forced by convention to follow the opinion of its Prime Minister. Like any General governor of New Zealand dislocated forever of its functions, the reaction time of the Queen to such a request is unknown. Certain constitutionnalists doubt that the queen implements measurement, whereas others claim that it would defer the application of it.

Criticisms show finger the possibility for the Prime Minister of advising with the Queen the reference of the General governor: The fault in the constitutional diagram is that it authorizes the Prime Minister as well as the General governor to dislocate the other of its functions. This fault is exacerbated by the reserve of the Souverain to be implied politically. |20px|20px|Lewis Holden|

Three governors of New Zealand were " rappelés" : William Hobson (deceased before being recalled officially), the captain Robert FitzRoy and to sir George Grey.

One vacancy of the station will arrive in the event of resignation, death, incapacity or absence of the New Zealand territory of the General governor. In the absence of General governor, the member senior of the High Court of justice of New Zealand acts as a Administrateur of the government .

Political role

Since New Zealand is a Constitutional monarchy, the role of the General governor is practically exclusively protocolar and apolitical. The constitutional law of 1986 declares that " The General governor named by the Sovereign is the representative of the Sovereign in News-Zélande". The General governor also exerts a certain number of royal prerogatives, and the “capacities of reserve”.

In practice, the great majority of the political power is exerted by the Parlement of New Zealand (which is composed of the Couronne and the Chambre of the Representatives of New Zealand), by the Prime Minister of New Zealand and by the Cabinet. By constitutional convention, the General governor exerts his powers, with very few exceptions, only on the opinion of the Prime Minister and other Ministers. Although the Queen of New Zealand is also the Queen of the the United Kingdom, the British government cannot advise the General governor of New Zealand, under penalty of interfering with the New Zealand businesses, New Zealand being an independent and sovereign country. The Queen preserves all her capacities and her royal prerogative, but it intervenes personally very seldom in the New Zealand political life. Moreover, the majority of its duties are exerted by the General governor, and although it preserves only the right to name this one, it does it only according to the opinion of the Prime Minister.

The General governor is obliged by constitutional Convention to follow the opinion of the Prime Minister in the exercise of his capacities, in so far as the Prime Minister preserves the confidence of the Room, because according to not written constitutional conventions, the General governor must name at this station the individual most likely to preserve the support of the Room of the representatives: usually, it is the leader of the party or the coalition of parties having obtained the majority at the Parliament.

The General governor is symbolically and by name chief of the executive, acting under the constraint of conventions and constitutional precedents. If the General governor had suddenly tried to exert his powers in his proper name, that would most probably lead to a constitutional crisis and a popular outcry. In the large majority of the cases, the General governor exerts his powers in the name of the ministers and of the Prime Minister. New Zealand the Prime Minister and his ministers are then responsible in front of the democratically elected Room of the representatives, and through it, towards the New Zealand people.

The General governor names and returns the Ministers for the Cabinet, as well as the other ministers, but exerts this function only on the opinion of the Prime Minister. In practice, it is thus the latter, and not the General governor who has all control on the composition of his cabinet. The General governor can in theory return the Prime Minister in a unilateral way, but conventions and the precedents prevent such an act.

Functions

The General governor is the representative of the New Zealand monarch, and can exert as such majority of the capacity whose this last is invested. If the monarch is present in New Zealand, however, it can exert its powers personally. Moreover, certain capacities, such as the nomination of the General governor, and the approval of the honorary titles, are the exclusive prerogative of the monarch.

The “capacities conferred” to the General governor are detailed in the letters patent of 1983.

The General governor chairs the Conseil of the executive of New Zealand. The Prime Minister is named with this council, and advises the General governor as for the members of Parliament who must become Ministre parliamentary S and secretaries.

The Council of the executive has like main role to publish the Orders-in-council (Régulation S), under the authority of the “General governor as a Council”. The General governor gathers and dissolves the Parliament. Each parliamentary session starts with the request of the General governor. The new session is marked by the opening of the Parliament, during which the General governor reads the Speech from the throne before the Legislative council, presenting the principal points to the diary of the government. The dissolution of the Parliament encloses a legislature (of maximum three years), and is followed by general elections for all the seats of the room. These capacities are always carried out on the opinion of the Prime Minister. The moment of dissolution is affected by a certain number of factors, the Prime Minister in general choosing the moment most favorable politically for its party. The General governor can in theory refuse dissolution, but the circumstances under which such an act would be guaranteed are not very clear.

Before a bill becomes a law with whole share, it must obtain the royal Sanction (royal approval). The General governor acts in the name of the Monarch, and has in theory two options: he or it can approve the bill, or refuse it. From current constitutional conventions, however, the royal sanction is always granted.

The General governor also has the capacity to name judges, ministers and the other official ones. In practice, those are always chosen by the Prime Minister and the members of his government.

Moreover, the General governor fills some of the functions suitable for a Head of State. He or it carries out visits of State abroad, plays the part of host near the Heads of foreign States, and receives the Ambassadeur S and the high commissioners.

Protocolar role

To represent New Zealand
More and more, the Governor-General represents New Zealand abroad, and sees himself granting the same privileges, and the same respect as the Head of State. Practically, this one can be regarded as the Head of State De facto , while the queen remains Head of State Of swears .

The General governor is also by protocol the Commander-in-chief forces of New Zealand Defense. A legal Flou exists on this subject, because it is not obvious that the command of the New Zealand armed forces can turn to the General governor if it estimated that the Prime Minister or the Minister for Defense promulgated illegal or contrary orders with ethics, or if the General governor could directly send itself of the orders.

The General governor also represented the British government until in 1939, when the diplomatic functions were transmitted to a Haut-Commissaire.

Community role

The General governor provides a leader to the community. The General governors are always the owners of charity associations, sporting, or cultural. The current General governor is the president of almost 200 organizations. The support or patronage of the General governor towards an association shows that this one deserves a generalized support.

Most of the Community role of the General governor takes place at the time of ceremonies, such as the official unveiling of a building, the opening speech of conferences and the launching of certain extraordinary events.

The General governor passes most of his working time to attend banquets of State, to make and receive visits of State, to decree medals, decorations and price.

Capacities of reserves

The Queen has the capacity to name and dislocate her functions the ministers, and other important members of the government, to convene and dissolve the Parliament, to approve the private bills voted by the Room of the representatives, and to approve decrees subjected by the ministers through the Council of the executive. The Queen delegates the majority of her capacities to her representative, the General governor. Although the Queen and her representative exert these powers according to the law, by convention, those act on the council of the democratically elected government, in all the cases of figures, except for exceptional circumstances|Speech of the General governor, rams Silvia Cartwright|http://www.gov-gen.govt.nz/gg/speeches.asp?type=current&ID=270 09-May-2006}}

In certain circumstances (for example, when the Prime Minister lost a vote of confidence), the General governor can act without the opinion of the Prime Minister. They are the capacities of reserves . These capacities include:

To dissolve and defer the Parliament of New Zealand;
To name the government;
To dissolve the government;
To name the Prime Minister;
To return the Prime Minister;
To refuse the request for anticipated elections by the Prime Minister;
To refuse to approve a private bill.

The exercise of the above mentioned functions is the object of constant debates in New Zealand. Several constitutionnalists affirm that the General governor (or the Sovereign) does not have the law to refuse a private bill, for example.

Royal pardon

The General governor also exerts the royal prerogative of mercy, an old right of condemned to cause a revision of their case, if they estimate that an injustice was made at the time of their lawsuit. The royal pardon can be exerted when a person proclaims to be wrongfully considered or condemned.

The General governor acts according to the opinion of the Minister for Justice. The General governor has the right to forgive, return a file in front of the Courses, and to reduce a sorrow. If a file is returned in front of the Courses, those will regard it as if it were about a call.

Precedences and privileges

In the order of precedence New Zealand, the general governor occupies the first position, above all the other individuals, except the Monarch. (Although the Queen itself is not quoted in the order of precedence, it occupies of it the first position as Reine of New Zealand). During their mandate, the General governor and its or his spouse (E) is called " Its Excellence". This term is abandoned as soon as the mandate is finished. Throughout his mandate, the General governor is holder of the titles of chancellor of the Order of Merit of New Zealand and principal companion of the Ordre of the Service rendered to the Queen.

Recent changes guarantee to the General governor the title Honorable at the time of its taking up the duties. This title is carried to life, and the changes are retroactive, which means that old the governor generals still in life will be authorized to carry this title, if they are not already Privy Councillor, in which case they carry the honourable title of Très ".

The flag of the General governor of New Zealand consists since 1931 of the royal Cimier (a lion crowned, upright on the Couronne of Saint-Edouard) on royal blue bottom, and the New Zealand currency on a roller. This flag has precedence of any other flag, except that of the Queen. It can be used on a car transporting the general governor, or on a building which shelters it. Abroad, however, the Drapeau of New Zealand is generally used, being more recognizable.

The wages of the General governor are, in 2006, from 170.600 NZ$ and are exonerated from the Income tax.

The main home of the General governor is Government House , with Wellington. There exists also a small second home: Government House with Auckland.

List general governors of New Zealand

Arthur Foljambe, 2nd Earl off Liverpool (1917– 1920)
John Jellicoe, 1 {{er}} count Jellicoe (1920– 1924)
Charles Fergusson (1924– 1930)
Charles Bathurst, 1st Viscount Bledisloe (1930– 1935)
George Monckton-Arundell, 8th Viscount Galway (1935– 1941)
Cyril Newall, 1st Baron Newall (1941– 1946)
Bernard Freyberg, 1 {{er}} baron Freyberg (1946– 1952)
Charles Norrie, 1st Baron Norrie (1952– 1957)
Charles Lyttelton, 10th Viscount Cobham (1957– 1962)
Bernard Fergusson, Baron Ballantrae (1962– 1967)
Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt (1967– 1972)
Denis Blundell (1972– 1977)
Keith Holyoake (1977– 1980)
David Beattie (1980– 1985)
Paul Reeves (1985– 1990)
Catherine Tizard (1990– 1996)
Michael Bold Servant boys (1996– 2001)
Silvia Cartwright (2001– 2006)
Anand Satyanand (2006–)

References

See the English article to see the text since which this article is translated.

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