Editing Governor-General of Australia (section)

===Backgrounds of governors-general===
All the governors-general until 1965 were British-born, except for Australian-born Sir [[Isaac Isaacs]] (1931–1936) and Sir [[William McKell]] (1947–1953). They included six [[baron]]s, two [[viscount]]s, two [[earl]]s, and one [[British prince|prince]].<ref>{{cite web |date=22 November 2013 |title=Governor-General Quentin Bryce backs gay marriage, Australia becoming a republic in Boyer Lecture |url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-22/governor-general-quentin-bryce-backs-gay-marriage-republicanism/5112020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131122110646/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-11-22/governor-general-quentin-bryce-backs-gay-marriage-republicanism/5112020 |archive-date=22 November 2013 |access-date=22 November 2013 |work=ABC News}}</ref> There have been only Australian occupants since then, although Sir [[Ninian Stephen]] (1982–1989) had been born in Britain. [[Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester]], was a senior member of the royal family. Dame [[Quentin Bryce]] (2008–2014) was the first woman to be appointed to the office. Sir Isaac Isaacs and Sir [[Zelman Cowen]] were [[Jewish]]; [[Bill Hayden]] was an avowed [[atheist]]<ref>{{cite news |first=Kristian|last=Silva|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-19/bill-hayden-turns-to-god-at-85-baptism-brisbane/10280724 |title=Bill Hayden, former Labor leader, turns to God despite atheist past |work=ABC News |date=19 September 2018 |access-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181001031655/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-09-19/bill-hayden-turns-to-god-at-85-baptism-brisbane/10280724 |archive-date=1 October 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> during his term and he made an [[Affirmation (law)|affirmation]] rather than swear an oath at the beginning of his commission; the remaining governors-general have been Christian.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}}

Various governors-general had previously served as governors of an Australian state or colony: [[John Hope, 1st Marquess of Linlithgow|John Hope, 7th Earl of Hopetoun]] (Victoria 1889–1895); [[Hallam Tennyson, 2nd Baron Tennyson]] (South Australia 1899–1902); [[Alexander Hore-Ruthven, 1st Earl of Gowrie]] (South Australia 1928–34; and New South Wales 1935–1936); Major General [[Michael Jeffery (Australian Army officer)|Michael Jeffery]] (Western Australia 1993–2000); Dame Quentin Bryce (Queensland 2003–2008); General [[David Hurley]] (New South Wales 2014–2019). Sir [[Ronald Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar|Ronald Munro Ferguson]] had been offered the governorship of South Australia in 1895 and of Victoria in 1910, but refused both appointments. [[Henry Northcote, 1st Baron Northcote]] was [[governor of Bombay]]. Lord Casey was [[governor of Bengal]] in between his periods of service to the [[Parliament of Australia|Commonwealth Parliament]].

Former leading politicians and members of the judiciary have figured prominently. [[William Ward, 2nd Earl of Dudley]] was [[Lord Lieutenant of Ireland]] (1902–1905). [[John Baird, 1st Viscount Stonehaven]] (as John Baird) was minister for Transport in the cabinets of [[Bonar Law]] and [[Stanley Baldwin]]; and after his return to Britain he became chairman of the UK [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. Sir Isaac Isaacs was successively Commonwealth attorney-general, a High Court judge, and chief justice. Sir William McKell was premier of New South Wales. [[William Morrison, 1st Viscount Dunrossil]] (as William Morrison) was [[Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)|Speaker of the UK House of Commons]]. [[William Sidney, 1st Viscount De L'Isle]] was [[secretary of State for Air]] in [[Winston Churchill]]'s cabinet from 1951 to 1955. More recent governors-general in this category include Lord Casey, Sir [[Paul Hasluck]], Sir [[John Kerr (governor-general)|John Kerr]], Sir Ninian Stephen, [[Bill Hayden]] and Sir [[William Deane]].

Of the eleven Australians appointed governor-general since 1965, Lord Casey, Sir Paul Hasluck and Bill Hayden were former federal [[Member of Parliament|parliamentarians]]; Sir John Kerr was the [[Chief Justice|chief justice]] of the [[Supreme Court of New South Wales]]; Sir Ninian Stephen and Sir William Deane were appointed from the bench of the [[High Court of Australia|High Court]]; Sir Zelman Cowen was a [[Vice-Chancellor|vice-chancellor]] of the [[University of Queensland]] and constitutional lawyer; [[Peter Hollingworth]] was the [[Anglican Church of Australia|Anglican]] [[Archbishop]] of [[Brisbane]]; and Major General Michael Jeffery was a retired [[Officer (armed forces)|military officer]] and former [[governor of Western Australia]]. Quentin Bryce's appointment was announced during her term as [[governor of Queensland]]; she had previously been the Federal [[Sex Discrimination Commissioner]]. General David Hurley was a retired [[Chief of the Defence Force (Australia)|chief of Defence Force]] and former governor of New South Wales.

Significant post-retirement activities of earlier governors-general have included: Lord Tennyson was appointed [[List of Governors of the Isle of Wight|deputy governor of the Isle of Wight]]; Sir Ronald Munro Ferguson (by now Lord Novar) became [[secretary of State for Scotland]]; and Lord Gowrie became chairman of the [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] ([[Henry Forster, 1st Baron Forster]] had also held this post, before his appointment as governor-general).