Governor-General
In 1977, Holyoake was unexpectedly and controversially appointed Governor-General by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of the then Prime Minister Robert Muldoon. The announcement was made by the Queen at the end of her tour of New Zealand on 7 March 1977, from the Royal Yacht HMY Britannia in Lyttelton Harbour.
This choice was deemed controversial by some, as Holyoake was a sitting Cabinet minister and former Prime Minister. Many opponents of Muldoon's government claimed that it was a political appointment. The Leader of the Opposition, Bill Rowling stated that he would remove Holyoake as Governor-General should the Labour Party win the 1978 general election, and openly suggested that he would have appointed Sir Edmund Hillary as Governor-General. This suggestion was in turn criticised by the Government, as Sir Edmund had backed Labour in 1975 as part of the "Citizens for Rowling" campaign.
As a result of the appointment, Holyoake resigned from Parliament, leading to the Pahiatua by-election of 1977. He was succeeded from his seat by John Falloon.
Holyoake's conduct while in office, however, was acknowledged to be fair and balanced. In particular, Holyoake refused to comment on the 1978 general election, which gave Labour a narrow plurality of votes but a majority to National. Social Credit leader Bruce Beetham said Holyoake as Governor-General had "a scrupulous impartiality that confounded the critics of his appointment". His term as Governor-General was only for three years, on account of his age. Usually Governors-General serve for five years, but Holyoake was the oldest Governor-General to date. His term ended in 1980.
Read more about this topic: Keith Holyoake