Australia appoints second woman governor-general in 123 years to represent British monarch

Associated Press

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia has appointed Sam Mostyn as only its second woman governor-general, a largely ceremonial role representing the British monarch as the nation’s head of state. It is the first such Australian appointment since the reign of King Charles III began in 2022 and the first by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor Party government that wants to replace the British monarch with an Australian president as head of state. The businesswoman and gender equality advocate was sworn in Monday. She quoted Australia’s first woman governor-general Quentin Bryce who described her role in 2013 as “striking a balance between observing traditions and protocol and being thoroughly contemporary.”