Governor-General of Papua New Guinea

Government House in Port Moresby, early 1900s, before Australia took administration of British New Guinea and changed its name to Papua.

Unlike most other Commonwealth realms, the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea is nominated by the country's Parliament,[1] rather than being proposed by its prime minister (as is the convention in the other Commonwealth realms). The appointment is made by the head of state of Papua New Guinea, Queen Elizabeth II, following a simple majority vote of the National Parliament.[2]

The term in office is six years.[3]

To be appointed for a second term, the Governor-General must be supported by a two-thirds majority in the National Parliament.[4] No person may serve for more than two terms.[4] Thus far all retired Governors-General have been knighted.

If the office of Governor-General becomes vacant, due to death or dismissal, the speaker of the National Parliament of Papua New Guinea becomes acting Governor-General until a new appointment is made.[5]

The Governor-General may be dismissed by either a decision of the National Executive Council or an absolute majority of the National Parliament.[6] No Governor-General has been dismissed from office, although in 1991, Sir Vincent Serei Eri resigned from office after Prime Minister Sir Rabbie Namaliu advised the Queen to dismiss him.

Following is a list of people who have served as Governor-General of Papua New Guinea since independence in 1975.

Symbols

No.	Portrait	Name (Birth–Death)	Term of office			Monarch (Reign)
			Took office	Left office	Time in office
1		Sir John Guise (1914–1991)	16 September 1975	1 March 1977	1 year, 166 days	Elizabeth II (1975–present)
2		Sir Tore Lokoloko (1930–2013)	1 March 1977	1 March 1983	6 years, 0 days
3		Sir Kingsford Dibela (1932–2002)	1 March 1983	1 March 1989	6 years, 0 days
4		Sir Ignatius Kilage (1941–1989)	1 March 1989	31 December 1989[†]	305 days
–		Dennis Young (b. 1936) Acting Governor-General	31 December 1989	27 February 1990	58 days
5		Sir Vincent Serei Eri (1936–1993)	27 February 1990	4 October 1991	1 year, 219 days
–		Dennis Young (b. 1936) Acting Governor-General	4 October 1991	18 November 1991	45 days
6		Sir Wiwa Korowi (b. 1948)	18 November 1991	20 November 1997	6 years, 2 days
7		Sir Silas Atopare (1951–2021)	20 November 1997	20 November 2003	6 years, 0 days
–		Bill Skate (1953–2006) Acting Governor-General	21 November 2003	28 May 2004	189 days
–		Jeffery Nape (1964–2016) Acting Governor-General	28 May 2004	29 June 2004	32 days
8		Sir Paulias Matane (1931–2021)	29 June 2004	13 December 2010	6 years, 167 days
–		Jeffery Nape (1964–2016) Acting Governor-General	13 December 2010	25 February 2011	74 days
9		Sir Michael Ogio (1942–2017)	25 February 2011	18 February 2017[†]	5 years, 359 days
–		Theo Zurenuoc (b. 1965) Acting Governor-General	18 February 2017	28 February 2017	10 days
10		Sir Bob Dadae (b. 1961)	28 February 2017	Incumbent	4 years, 291 days

• List of Administrators and High Commissioners of Papua New Guinea

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Constitution of the Independent State of Papua New Guinea/Part V