Ninian Stephen - Governor-General

Governor-General

In March 1982, on the advice of the Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, Queen Elizabeth II (as Queen of Australia) appointed Stephen as Governor-General. When Fraser was defeated by the Labor Party under Bob Hawke in 1983, Stephen had no difficulty working with a Labor government. In 1987, on Hawke's advice, the Queen extended Stephen's term by 18 months as a mark of personal respect and also to allow Bill Hayden (to whom Hawke had promised the position) to leave politics at a time of his choosing. Stephen is the only governor-general to have approved two double dissolutions – in 1983 (Malcolm Fraser) and 1987 (Bob Hawke).