| Post: | Governor |
| Body: | Tasmania |
| Flag: | Flag of the Governor of Tasmania.svg |
| Flagsize: | 150px |
| Flagcaption: | Flag of the Governor |
| Insignia: | Royal Cypher of King Charles III.svg |
| Insigniasize: | 65px |
| Insigniacaption: | Royal Cypher of King Charles III |
| Incumbent: | Barbara Baker |
| Incumbentsince: | 16 June 2021 |
| Department: | Viceregal |
| Residence: | Government House, Hobart |
| Seat: | Hobart |
| Appointer: | Monarch |
| Appointer Qualified: | on the advice of the premier |
| Termlength: | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Termlength Qualified: | (usually 5 years by convention) |
| Formation: | 8 January 1855 |
| First: | Sir Henry Fox Young |
The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the governor is Government House located at the Queens Domain[1] in Hobart. The governor's primary task is to perform the sovereign's constitutional duties on their behalf.[2]
As with the other state governors, the governor performs similar constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as the governor-general of Australia does at the national level. The position has its origins in the positions of commandant and lieutenant-governor in the colonial administration of Van Diemen's Land. The territory was separated from the Colony of New South Wales in 1825 and the title "governor" was used from 1855, the same year in which it adopted its current name. In accordance with the conventions of the Westminster system of parliamentary government, the governor now acts solely on the advice of the head of the elected government, the premier of Tasmania.
Tasmania retained British-born governors longer than most other states. The first Australian-born governor was Sir Stanley Burbury (appointed 1973) and the first Tasmanian-born governor was Sir Guy Green (appointed 1995). Since Burbury, all Tasmanian governors have been Australian-born, except for Peter Underwood who was born in Britain but emigrated to Australia when a teenager.
Since December 2014, the incumbent and all future Tasmanian governors have been entitled to be styled as The Honourable for life.[3]
The personal flag of the governor of Tasmania is the same design as the British blue ensign with the Union Flag at the upper left quarter. On the right side, the state badge of Tasmania, consisting of a white disk with a red lion passant, is surmounted by St. Edward's Crown. The flag was adopted in 1977. If the standard is flying at Government House, on a vehicle or vessel, or at an event, this indicates that the governor is present.
Between 1804 and 1813, Van Diemen's Land was divided along the 42nd parallel, and the two sections governed as separate lieutenant-governorships under the governor of New South Wales.[4] [5] Collins was the only officially appointed lieutenant-governor—upon his death in 1810, the government in Hobart Town was administered, by the Commandants at Hobart Town (Lord, Murray and Geils). The northern settlement at Port Dalrymple (now George Town) was administered by four commandants until the settlements were merged to form the single colony under the governorship of Thomas Davey in 1813.[6]
| No. | Lieutenant-governor | From | To | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel David Collins | 1804 | 1810 | ||
| 2 | Lieutenant Edward Lord (Commandant at Hobart Town) | March 1810 | July 1810 | ||
| 3 | Captain John Murray (Commandant at Hobart Town) | 1810 | 1812 | ||
| 4 | Lieutenant-Colonel Andrew Geils (Commandant at Hobart Town) | 1812 | 1813 |
| No. | Commandant at Port Dalrymple | From | To | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel William Paterson | 1804 | 1808 | ||
| 2 | Captain John Brabyn | 1808 | 1810 | ||
| 3 | Major George Alexander Gordon | 1810 | 1812 | ||
| 4 | Captain John Ritchie | 1812 | 1812 |
The colony was called Van Diemen's Land until 1856.
| No. | Lieutenant-governor | From | To | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel Thomas Davey | 4 February 1813 | 9 March 1817 | ||
| 2 | Colonel William Sorell | 9 March 1817 | 14 May 1824 | ||
| 3 | Sir George Arthur | 14 May 1824 | 29 October 1836 | ||
| 4 | 5 January 1837 | 21 August 1843 | |||
| 5 | Sir John Eardley-Wilmot | 21 August 1843 | 13 October 1846 | ||
| 6 | Sir William Denison | 25 January 1847 | 8 January 1855 |
| No. | Governor | From | To | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel Sir Thomas Browne KCMG CB | 11 December 1862 | 30 December 1868 | ||
| 2 | Sir Charles Du Cane KCMG | 15 January 1869 | 30 November 1874 | ||
| 3 | The Hon. Sir Frederick Weld GCMG | 13 January 1875 | 5 April 1880 | ||
| 4 | The Hon. Sir John Henry Lefroy CB, GCMG | 1880 | 1881 | ||
| 5 | Major Sir George Strahan KCMG | 7 December 1881 | 28 October 1886 | ||
| 6 | Sir Robert Hamilton KCB | 11 March 1887 | 30 November 1892 | ||
| 7 | The 14th Viscount Gormanston, GCMG | 8 August 1893 | 14 August 1900 | ||
| 8 | Captain Sir Arthur Havelock GCSI GCMG GCIE | 8 November 1901 | 16 April 1904 | ||
| 9 | Sir Gerald Strickland KCMG | 28 October 1904 | 20 May 1909 | ||
| 10 | Major-General Sir Harry Barron KCMG CVO | 16 September 1909 | 3 March 1913 | ||
| 11 | The Rt Hon. Sir William Ellison-Macartney KCMG | 4 June 1913 | 31 March 1917 | ||
| 12 | Sir Francis Newdegate GCMG KStJ | 30 March 1917 | 22 February 1920 | ||
| 13 | Sir William Allardyce KCMG | 16 April 1920 | 27 January 1922 | ||
| 14 | Sir James O'Grady KCMG | 23 December 1924 | 23 December 1930 | ||
| 15 | Sir Ernest Clark GCMG KCB CBE | 4 August 1933 | 4 August 1945 | ||
| 16 | Admiral Sir Hugh Binney KCB KCMG DSO | 24 December 1945 | 8 May 1951 | ||
| 17 | The Rt Hon. Sir Ronald Cross, 1st Bt KCMG KCVO PC | 22 August 1951 | 4 June 1958 | ||
| 18 | The 2nd Baron Rowallan KT KBE MC TD | 21 October 1959 | 25 March 1963 | ||
| 19 | Lieutenant-General Sir Charles Gairdner GBE KCMG KCVO CB | 24 September 1963 | 11 July 1968 | ||
| 20 | Lieutenant-General Sir Edric Bastyan KCMG KCVO KBE CB | 2 December 1968 | 30 November 1973 | ||
| 21 | The Hon. Sir Stanley Burbury KCMG KCVO KBE | 5 December 1973 | 16 March 1982 | ||
| 22 | Sir James Plimsoll AC CBE KStJ | 1 October 1982 | 8 May 1987 | ||
| 23 | General Sir Phillip Bennett AC KBE DSO KStJ | 19 October 1987 | 2 October 1995 | ||
| 24 | The Hon. Sir Guy Green AC KBE CVO | 2 October 1995 | 3 October 2003 | ||
| 25 | Richard Butler AC | 3 October 2003 | 9 August 2004 | ||
| 26 | 15 December 2004 | 2 April 2008 | |||
| 27 | The Hon. Peter Underwood AC | 2 April 2008 | 7 July 2014 | ||
| 28 | The Hon. Professor Kate Warner AC | 10 December 2014 | 9 June 2021 | ||
| 29 | The Hon. Barbara Baker AC | 16 June 2021 | present |