governor general

• governor-general

• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌvənɚ ˌdʒɛn(ə)ɹəl/
• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈɡʌv(ə)nə ˌdʒɛnɹəl/
• (New Zealand) IPA^(key): /ˈɡɐv(ɘ)nɘ ˌdʒenɹɘl/,

• Audio (General Australian):

  (file)

governor general (plural governors general)

1. (Canada, Australia, New Zealand) An official appointed by the reigning British monarch to govern a Commonwealth realm as the monarch's representative.
   • 2005, Irma Coucill, Preface: Canada′s Prime Ministers, Governors General and Fathers of Confederation, page 7:

     In 1968, as one of the projects sponsored by the federal Centennial Commission, Irma Coucill was asked to add drawings of all the Governors General and Prime Ministers since Confederation.

   • 2009, Rand Dyck, Canadian Politics‎, page 320:

     But in a minority government scenario, the governor general might still be called upon to play a part.

2. (politics) An official in a similar position in other countries.
   • 1831, United States Congress, Congressional Edition, Volume 203‎, page 5:

     The practice and usage have been recognised in a variety of instances by the Governors General of Louisiana.

   • 1922, Philippines Gobernador-General, Report of the Governor General of the Philippine Islands to the Secretary of War‎:
   • 1988, John Whitney Hall, The Cambridge History of Japan: Heian Japan‎, page 246:

     Because of the military′s autonomy in the Japanese political system, the relationships of the governors general in Korea to the prime minister′s office in Japan remained ambiguous.

• (abbreviation): GG, G-G, G.G., G.-G., G. G.

• governor
• lieutenant governor
• lord lieutenant
• viceroy