Style His Excellency First holder John Guise | Formation 16 September 1975 | |
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Residence Government House, Papua New Guinea Appointer Monarch of Papua New Guinea Term length At His/Her Majesty's pleasure | ||
The Governor-General of Papua New Guinea is the viceregal representative of Queen Elizabeth II, known in Tok Pisin as 'Missis Kwin', Papua New Guinea's head of state, performing the duties of the Queen in her absence.
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Appointment
As in Australia, the vice-regal officer's title is spelled with a hyphen. Unlike other Commonwealth realms, the Governor-General of Papua New Guinea is nominated by the country's Parliament, rather than being proposed by its Prime Minister, as is the convention almost everywhere else. The appointment is made by the head of state of Papua New Guinea, currently Queen Elizabeth II, following a simple majority vote of the National Parliament. For a second term, a two-thirds majority is required. No person may serve for more than two terms, a matter made formal relation in Papua New Guinea. Thus far all retired governor-generals have been knighted.
If the office of Governor-General becomes vacant, the Speaker of the National Parliament becomes acting Governor-General until a new appointment is made.
Dismissal
The Governor-General may be dismissed by either a decision of the National Executive Council or an absolute majority of the National Parliament. No Governor-General has been dismissed from office, although in 1991 Sir Vincent Serei Eri resigned from office after Prime Minister Rabbie Namaliu advised the Queen to dismiss him.