English

Alternative forms

• governor-general

Noun

governor general ‎(plural governors general)

1. (Canada, Australia) An official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.
   • 2005, Irma Coucill, Preface, Canada′s Prime Ministers, Governors General and Fathers of Confederation, page 7,

     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.

   • 2006, Barbara Jane Messamore, Canada's Governors General, 1847-1878: Biography and Constitutional Evolution.
   • 2009, Rand Dyck, Canadian Politics, page 320,

     But in a minority government scenario, the governor general might still be called upon to play a part.

2. (politics) An official in a similar position in other countries.
   • 1831, United States Congress, Congressional Edition, Volume 203, page 5,

     The practice and usage have been recognised in a variety of instances by the Governors General of Louisiana.

   • 1922, Philippines Gobernador-General, Report of the Governor General of the Philippine Islands to the Secretary of War.
   • 1988, John Whitney Hall, The Cambridge History of Japan: Heian Japan, page 246,

     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.

Synonyms

• (abbreviation): GG, G-G, G.G. , G.-G. , G. G.

Translations

See also

• governor
• lieutenant governor
• lord lieutenant
• viceroy