Australian politics - Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
Sam Mostyn will become Australia’s next governor general, Anthony Albanese has announced.
King Charles accepted the prime minister’s recommendation to appoint the business and community leader to the role.
She will be Australia’s 28th governor general – and the second woman to serve in the post.
“Sam Mostyn is an exceptional leader who represents the best of modern Australia,” Albanese said on Wednesday.
She will be sworn into the role in July, taking over from David Hurley.
“I’m deeply honoured by this great privilege and look forward to representing the values, hopes and aspirations of all Australians,” Mostyn said. “I will never underestimate or take for granted the expectations that come with high office and I am ready to serve with integrity, compassion and respect.”
Mostyn was appointed an officer of the Order of Australia in 2021 for distinguished service to business, the community and women.
She described herself as the daughter of an army officer and a beneficiary of the public education system when she spoke to reporters on Wednesday, not far from the old Canberra hospital where she was born.
Mostyn studied arts and law at the Australian National University, starting her career as an associate in the New South Wales supreme court of appeal.
The ANU awarded her an honorary doctorate of laws in 2018.
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She has been on the board of companies and not-for-profits including Transurban and Virgin Australia and the chair of Citibank Australia, and now sits on the Mirvac board while chairing Aware Super and the Alberts music group.
She was the first woman appointed as commissioner of the Australian Football League has been and a driving force behind the AFLW competition.
“Millions of Australians know this to be true, that being of service is what often provides a person with their greatest happiness and sense of purpose,” Mostyn said. “That is certainly the case for me, and I can think of no greater purpose … than to serve this country I love as governor general.”
Governors general are the monarch’s representative in Australia – the nation’s highest office. They serve at the pleasure of the sovereign, typically for a term of five years.