governor general meaning: definition, quotations

governor general

nounalso spelled governor-general

US /ˈɡʌvənɚ ˌdʒɛn(ə)ɹəl/ · UK /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə ˌdʒɛnɹəl/

Australia, Canada, New Zealand An official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.

In 1968, as one of the projects sponsored by the federal Centennial Commission, Irma Coucill was asked to add drawings of all the Governors General and Prime Ministers since Confederation.2005, Irma Coucill, Preface: Canada′s Prime Ministers, Governors General and Fathers of Confederation, page 7:
But in a minority government scenario, the governor general might still be called upon to play a part.2009, Rand Dyck, Canadian Politics, page 320:

Government, Politics An official in a similar position in other countries.

The practice and usage have been recognised in a variety of instances by the Governors General of Louisiana.1831, United States Congress, Congressional Edition, Volume 203, page 5:
Because of the military′s autonomy in the Japanese political system, the relationships of the governors general in Korea to the prime minister′s office in Japan remained ambiguous.1988, John Whitney Hall, The Cambridge History of Japan: Heian Japan, page 246:

noun

UK An official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.

It is a historical and analytical study of the position of Viceroy and Governor-General in the Indian constitutional system.1940, Abani Bhushan Rudra, The Viceroy and Governor-General of India, page xi:
The vulnerability of the Governor-General should not be overstated.1997, New Zealand Law Journal, page 217:

1 more example

2003, The Far East and Australasia 2003, Europa Publications, page 122, The legislative power of the Commonwealth of Australia is vested in a Federal Parliament, consisting of HM the Queen (represented by the Governor-General), a Senate, and a House of Representatives.

An official in a similar position in other countries.

Nikolai Bobrikov served as governor-general of the Grand Duchy of Finland from 1898 until his untimely death in 1904.
[…]the proper warrants thereon shall be issued by the auditor and countersigned by the governor-general.1901, Puerto Rico Governor, Annual Report, page 311:

3 more examples

The Governor-General of Amur resides at Khabarovka (哈巴羅甫喀，即，伯利), in the Primorsk Province (東海濱省).1904, C. D. Tenney, “俄屬 [RUSSIA IN ASIA]”, in Geography of Asia, New York: MacMillan and Co, →OCLC, page 36:
A real acuerdo (decision reached by a full session of the high court presided over by the governor-general) gradually came to have the force of law in the form of administrative ordinances embracing a wide range of subjects.1996, Greg Bankoff, Crime, Society, and the State in the Nineteenth-Century Philippines, page 105:
2007, Taiwan under Japanese Rule, 1895—1945, Murray A. Rubinstein (editor), Taiwan: A New History, page 222, In the meantime the Taiwan governors-general were gradually brought under closer supervision of the home government in Tokyo.

A zongdu.