An acting governor is a constitutional position created in some U.S. states when the governor dies in office or resigns. In some states, the governor may also be declared to be incapacitated and unable to function for various reasons, including illness and absence from the state for more than a specified period.

In these instances, the state constitution will declare which official is to serve as governor, and whether this person will have all of the powers of the office or only specified ones. In many states, the person succeeding to the governorship or becoming acting governor is the lieutenant governor; however, not all states have such a position. If the state constitution provides for an acting governor in the event of the governor's disability, it will also provide for a method by which the governor can be declared to be no longer disabled.

Examples of acting governors[link]

New Jersey[link]

In New Jersey, a state which now has an office of lieutenant governor, in the event of a vacancy in the office of governor or the inability of the current governor to fulfill his/her duties through injury, the Lieutenant Governor serves as the acting governor. The acting governor serves either until the next general election, until the governor recovers from his/her injuries, or, if the governor dies/resigns occurs less than 16 months before end of the term, until the end of the term. Richard Codey served as acting governor of New Jersey until January 2006 following the resignation of Jim McGreevey in late 2004. Following the resignation of Christine Todd Whitman in 2001 to become EPA Administrator, Donald DiFrancesco assumed the acting governor's post. The position of Lieutenant Governor was created in the 2005 state election effective with the 2009 election. The Current Lieutenant Governor is Kim Guadagno. From then onward, the holder of that office will succeed in the event of vacancy in the Governor's office.

Also, following Whitman's resignation and DiFrancesco's departure, John O. Bennett also served as acting governor for three and a half days. During that time, he signed a few bills into law, gave a State of the State Address, and held parties at Drumthwacket, the New Jersey Governor's Mansion. Similarly, Richard J. Codey served as acting governor as well; owing to how control of the New Jersey State Senate was split, thus making two Senate Presidents, Codey and Bennett; each held the office of acting governor for three days. Perhaps this spectacle as much as any other factor led to the voters' decision to amend the state constitution to create the office of Lieutenant Governor.

Massachusetts[link]

In Massachusetts, in the event of a vacancy in the governor's office, the lieutenant governor assumes the duties of the office, but not the office for the remainder of the term, thus becoming acting governor, while retaining the lieutenant governor's office. In 1997, when William Weld resigned to pursue the ambassadorship to Mexico, Paul Cellucci took over as acting governor until his 1998 election as governor. In 2001 when Cellucci resigned to become ambassador to Canada, Jane Swift became the acting governor for the remainder of the term.

West Virginia[link]

In West Virginia, if the governorship becomes vacant, the Senate President takes the position of acting governor. If more than one year remains in the governor's term at the time of vacancy, a new election is held; otherwise, the Senate President serves the remainder of the term.^[1] A bill passed in 2000 grants the Senate President the honorary title of Lieutenant Governor,^[2] but this title is rarely used in practice and the terms of the Senate President do not correspond with governorships. Then-Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin is the first person under the current state Constitution to assume the duties of Acting Governor following the November 15, 2010 resignation of Joe Manchin following his election to the United States Senate seat vacated by the death of Robert Byrd. As there was more than one year remaining on Manchin's term as governor, a special election was held, which Tomblin won.

Disputes over powers of acting governors[link]

The powers of an acting governor came into dispute during the 1980 Democratic primary presidential campaign of Jerry Brown, then governor of California. When he was campaigning out of state, which was often in late 1979 and early 1980, Mike Curb, a Republican who was then serving as Lieutenant Governor of California often used his position as acting governor to veto legislation, promulgate executive orders, issue proclamations, and to do other things that Brown would not likely have done had he been present in the state. This eventually resulted in litigation, much of which went in Curb's favor.

Powers of an acting governor had previously been questioned in the mid-1970s in Kentucky. In her capacity as acting governor of Kentucky in Julian Carroll's absence, Thelma Stovall, then-Lieutenant Governor, acting as governor, issued pardons, called the Kentucky General Assembly into special session to enact legislation limiting property tax increases, and purported to veto the legislature's repeal of its ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment. The authority of the Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky to act as governor when the elected governor is out of state was repealed under a 1992 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution.

In 1993, in Pennsylvania, Governor Robert P. Casey underwent surgery that left him incapacitated for months, thus leaving Lieutenant Governor Mark Singel as acting governor. During that time, Singel fulfilled all duties of the office of governor.

Following the death of New Hampshire Governor Hugh Gallen, Vesta M. Roy, as president of the state Senate, served as acting governor of New Hampshire from December 30, 1982 to January 6, 1983.

On December 28, 2006, Kris Kolluri served as acting Governor of New Jersey, while New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine was out of town, as was the Senate president, Assembly speaker and attorney general, all ahead of Kolluri in the line of succession. Under state law, an acting governor has to be appointed whenever the governor is absent from the state. New Jersey will get a lieutenant governor, but not until 2010. [1]

Practices in this area are anything but uniform from state to state. In Rhode Island, for example, the Lieutenant Governor never acts as governor, even if the Governor has left the state. In many states, if the Lieutenant Governor succeeds to the governorship, he or she is regarded as a new and succeeding governor in every sense, just as occurs when the Vice President of the United States becomes President of the United States when that office is vacated by death or resignation.

See also[link]

• Acting President
• Acting (law)

References[link]

1. ^ WV Constitution article VII, § 16.
2. ^ "H.B. 4781 (Enrolled March 11, 2009)". West Virginia Legislature, 2000 Sessions. http://www.legis.state.wv.us/Bill_Text_HTML/2000_SESSIONS/RS/Bills/hb4781%20enr.htm. Retrieved August 16, 2009. 

Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, CVO
37th Governor of New South Wales
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 March 2001
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Bob Carr Morris Iemma Nathan Rees Kristina Keneally Barry O'Farrell
Lieutenant	James Spigelman Tom Bathurst
Preceded by	Gordon Samuels
17th Chancellor of the University of Sydney
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 June 2007
Preceded by	Kim Santow
Personal details
Born	(1930-12-01) 1 December 1930 (age 81) Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia
Spouse(s)	Sir Nicholas Shehadie
Children	Michael Shehadie Susan Shehadie Alexandra Shehadie
Residence	Mosman, New South Wales Government House, Sydney
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Profession	Medicine and Psychiatry

Marie Roslyn Bashir AC, CVO (born 1 December 1930) is the present Governor of New South Wales since 2001 and also the Chancellor of the University of Sydney since 2007. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions, with a particular emphasis in psychiatry. In 1993 Bashir was appointed as the Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area, which she held until she was appointed as Governor in March 2001. She was further appointed in June 2007 as Chancellor of the University of Sydney.

Early life and education[link]

Marie Roslyn Bashir was born in 1930 in Narrandera, New South Wales, to Lebanese-born parents Michael Bashir and Victoria Melick.^[1][2] Her father and her paternal uncle were both medical graduates from the American University of Beirut while her maternal family had come to Australia in the 19th century.^[2]

Bashir attended Narrandera Public School and enrolled in 1943 in Sydney Girls High School, where her mother had also attended.^[3] Bashir then moved to Sydney to live with her grandmother in order to attend. Upon graduating, Bashir studied at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, becoming a proficient violinist.^[4]

She completed the degrees of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS) in 1956 at the University of Sydney, residing at The Women's College from 1950 to 1955. In 1959, she was elected to the College Council, became Honorary Secretary in 1960 and was Chair from 1982 to 1990. She took up life membership of the College Union in 1969.^[5] While at university, she met rising rugby player, Nicholas Shehadie, whom she married on 23 February, 1957, in St Philip's Church, Sydney by Felix Arnott, then the Warden of St Paul's College, University of Sydney.^[4] Together, they had their first child, Michael, in 1959, followed by two daughters, Susan and Alexandra.

Medical career[link]

Upon her graduation in medicine, Bashir took up a posting as a junior resident medical officer at St Vincent's Hospital and then to the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. After first living in Elizabeth Bay, Bashir and Shehadie moved their family to Pendle Hill in Western Sydney, where Bashir worked as a General Practitioner. However, wanting to assist people suffering from mental illnesses, Bashir eventually decided to take up postgraduate studies in Psychiatry. To make this easier, Bashir and her family moved back into central Sydney to Mosman on the North Shore.^[6]

In 1971 Bashir was named as "Australian Mother of the Year". When Shehadie was made Lord Mayor of Sydney, Bashir became the Lady Mayoress of Sydney from 1971 to 1973. When Shehadie was knighted in 1976, Bashir acquired the title 'Lady Shehadie', but seldom uses it, preferring to use her maiden name. After completion of postgraduate studies in psychiatry, she was made a Member of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists in 1971, becoming a Fellow in 1980. From 1972, Bashir was a teacher, lecturer and mentor to medical students at The University of Sydney.^[7]

In 1972 Bashir was appointed Director of the Rivendell Child, Adolescent and Family Service, which provides consultative services for young people with emotional and psychiatric issues. In 1987 she was appointed director of the Community Health Services in the Central Sydney Area, which put emphasis on early childhood services, migrant and Indigenous health as well as the elderly. On 13 June 1988 she was made an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) "In recognition of service to medicine, particularly in the field of adolescent mental health".^[8]

From 1990 to 1992, she served on the New South Wales Women's Advisory Council. In 1993, she was appointed as Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Sydney, and in 1994 as the Clinical Director of Mental Health Services for the Central Sydney Area. This was a time of major reform in mental health service delivery, which contributed to substantial change in the provision of public sector mental health services and she served until 2001.^[7] In her university role, Bashir instrumental in developing collaborative teaching programs between colleagues in Vietnam and Thailand with Australian psychiatrists, chairing the University of New South Wales Third World Health Group (1995–2000) and supporting various financial and social support programmes for International students.^[9]

In 1995, in a partnership with the Aboriginal Medical Service, Redfern, she established the Aboriginal Mental Health Unit, which provides regular clinics and counselling at both the Aboriginal Medical Service in Sydney and mainstream centres. From 1996, Bashir also took up the consultative role of senior psychiatrist to the Aboriginal Medical Service. As well as championing the health of indigenous Australians, Bashir also continued her focus on youth and juvenile issue, particularly through her terms chairing the NSW Juvenile Justice Advisory Council (1991–1999) and as conultative psychiatrist to Juvenile Justice Facilities (1993–2000).^[7] On 1 January 2001, Bashir was awarded the Centenary Medal.^[10]

Governor and Chancellor[link]

In early 2001, on the recommendation of Premier Bob Carr, Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, appointed Bashir Governor of New South Wales, making her the state's first female governor, and the first governor of any Australian state of Lebanese descent. She was sworn in on 1 March 2001, and on 30 March she was appointed as a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).^[11] Upon her appointment, Sydney Morning Herald journalist David Marr noted, "what could be more valuable behind the scenes in Macquarie St than this woman's unique expertise with troubled adolescents?"^[12] Bashir's appointment was welcomed by both sides of politics and commended in a Sydney Morning Herald editorial as "an inspired choice" as well as noting that Bashir would be "a powerful advocate for the powerless".^[13]

In that role, Bashir departed from past practice. For Australian aborigines, Bashir launched an indigenous health initiative to support indigenous medicine and nursing students as well as supporting the progress of reconciliation. Bashir also took up the position of Patron of the Gay and Lesbian Counselling Service, which addresses mental and social issues in the LGBT community. In 2002, Bashir became Patron of the Australia-Vietnam Medical Trust and became intimately involved in collaborative health programs in Vietnam, particularly in rural areas.^[14] On 17 May 2001, the Governor-General, Sir William Deane, invested Bashir as a Dame of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (DStJ).^[15] Having previously studied violin at the Conservatorium of Music, Sydney, in 2002 Bashir was asked to become the Patron of the Sydney University Graduate Choir. She is also a Patron of Opera Australia and the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

In 2003 Bashir received the Mental Health Princess Award, awarded by Princess Galyani Vadhana of Thailand, for contribution to collaborative mental health programs between Australia and Thailand and in 2004 she was recognised as an Australian Living Treasure.^[16][17] In 2004 she was made an Honorary Member of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).^[16] In March 2004, during a visit to Lebanon, Bashir was appointed a Grand Officer of the National Order of the Cedar by General Emile Lahoud, President of the Republic of Lebanon.^[18] On 14 September, Premier Carr announced that he would recommend to the Queen that Bashir's term be extended for another three years. Buckingham Palace confirmed his recommendation on 1 October saying that: "The Queen is content for Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, to remain in her current position until February 2008 as recommended."^[19]

On 31 March 2006, the Queen appointed her a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO).^[20] In April 2007 Bashir was elected by the University Senate to take up a four-year appointment as Chancellor of the University of Sydney on 1 June 2007.^[21] It was announced on 15 October 2007 that the Queen, on the recommendation of Premier Morris Iemma, had extended Bashir's appointment as Governor for a further four years to February 2012.^[22] On 4 November 2009, she was invested as a Chevalier of the Ordre National de la Légion d'Honneur by the President of France, Nicolas Sarkozy, and presented by the Ambassador of France to Australia, Michel Filhol.^[23]

As the longest serving State Governor, Bashir holds a dormant commission to act as the Administrator of the Commonwealth when the Governor-General of Australia is absent from Australia.^[24] She has held the position of Administrator many times: from 10 July to 17 July 2007, 30 September to 12 October 2007, 20 April to 4 May 2008 in the absence of Michael Jeffery, and from 30 July to 6 August 2008, 5 November to 19 November 2008, 17 March to 2 April 2009, 7 June to 12 June 2010, in the absence of Quentin Bryce.

In May–June 2010, the New South Wales Government experienced a series of resignations: Karyn Paluzzano over expenses abuse, David Campbell over a personal scandal, Ian Macdonald over expenses abuse and Graham West's retirement. These were widely seen as highlighting the NSW Government's inability to govern effectively and in response to this there were various calls for Bashir to take action as Governor and dismiss the government.^[25] She played down these calls in a radio interview on 10 June, saying that:

"The only way that they [the NSW Government] can disappear, so to speak, is if there's a vote of no confidence... Elections do come round from time to time so it's back in the hands of the people."^[26]

In late 2010, Mosman Municipal Council decided to name the new Sports centre in Rawson Park for Bashir in recognition of her service to both New South Wales and the Mosman community. She officially opened the "Marie Bashir Mosman Sports Centre" on 10 December 2010 with the Mayor, Cr. Anne Connon.^[27][28] On 14 September 2011, Liberal Premier Barry O'Farrell announced that he had recommended to the Queen that Bashir's term be extended for another two years to 2014, which had been accepted: "Over the past 10 years the Governor's caring nature, her genuine interest in local communities and her extraordinary work rate have endeared her to people everywhere...Because of her diverse background, career and interests, Professor Bashir has given a historic and important post a contemporary relevance and resonance."^[29]

On 19 April 2012, Bashir was presented with the insignia of a Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar by the President of Lebanon, General Michel Suleiman, at Government House, Sydney, during his state visit to Australia.^[30] At a meeting of the University of Sydney Senate in May 2012, Bashir announced her intention to retire as Chancellor.^[31]

Titles, styles and honours[link]

Titles[link]

Viceregal styles of Marie Bashir
Reference style	Her Excellency
Spoken style	Your Excellency
Alternative style	Ma'am

• 1930 – 1956: Miss Marie Bashir
• 1956 – 1971: Doctor Marie Bashir
• 1971 – 1973: Doctor Marie Bashir, Lady Mayoress of Sydney
• 1973 – 1976: Doctor Marie Bashir
• 1976 – 1988: Doctor Marie Bashir, Lady Shehadie
• 1988 – 1993: Doctor Marie Bashir AO, Lady Shehadie
• 1993 – 2001: Professor Marie Bashir AO, Lady Shehadie
• 2001 – 2006: Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC, Governor of New South Wales
• 2006 – present: Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Governor of New South Wales
  • As Administrator: Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Administrator of the Commonwealth of Australia.^[32]
  • As Chancellor: Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir AC CVO, Chancellor of the University of Sydney

The Governor's style and title in full is: Her Excellency Professor Marie Bashir, Companion of the Order of Australia, Commander of the Royal Victorian Order, Governor of the State of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia.^[33]

Honours[link]

	Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)	2001[11]
	Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)	1988[8]
	Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO)	2006[20]
	Dame of Grace of the Venerable Order of St John of Jerusalem	2001[15]
	Centenary Medal	2001[10]
	Grand Cordon of the National Order of the Cedar (Lebanon)	2012[30]
	Grand Officer of the National Order of the Cedar	2004[18]
	Chevalier of the Legion of Honour (France)	2009[23]

Appointments[link]

• In 1980 she was made a Fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (FRANZCP).
• In 2004 she was made an Honorary Member of the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).
• Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (2006).
• Honorary Member of the Australian Medical Association (2007).

Honorary degrees[link]

• On 11 October 2002, she was appointed a Doctor of Medicine (honoris causa) by the University of Sydney.^[34]

On 20 April 2012, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by Macquarie University.^[35]

Honorary military appointments[link]

• 1 March 2001 – : Honorary and Regimental Colonel in the Royal New South Wales Regiment.^[36]
• 1 March 2001 – : Honorary Air Commodore of No. 22 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force.^[37]
• 9 October 2008 – : Honorary Commodore, Navy Warfare Training, Royal Australian Navy.^[38]

Honorific eponyms[link]

Awards

•  New South Wales: Marie Bashir Peace Awards, National Council of Women of New South Wales

Geographic Locations

•  New South Wales: Marie Bashir Mosman Sports Centre, Mosman.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Governor of New South Wales official website
• University of Sydney – Chancellor Marie Bashir
• Photo: Bashir with RADM Nigel Coates, Commander Australian Fleet, at 2009 RAN Fleet Review.
• Photo: Bashir as Honorary Colonel
• Photo: Bashir with ADCs at ANZAC Day 2008.

v t e Governors of New South Wales Before Federation Phillip Hunter King Bligh Macquarie Brisbane Darling Bourke Gipps FitzRoy Denison Young Belmore Robinson Loftus Carrington Jersey Duff Hampden Beauchamp After Federation Rawson Chelmsford Strickland Davidson de Chair Game Hore-Ruthven Anderson Wakehurst Northcott Woodward Cutler Rowland Martin Sinclair Samuels Bashir