Governor General of New Ulster
| Governor General of New Ulster | |
|---|---|
 Badge of the Governor General | |
 Flag of the Governor General | |
| Style | His/Her Excellency The Right Honourable |
| Appointer | Monarch of the United Kingdom |
| Term length | At His Majesty's pleasure |
| Formation | 26 September 2022 |
| First holder | Geoffrey Marsden |
The Governor General of New Ulster is the representative of the monarch in New Ulster. The primary role of the Governor General is to appoint the Prime Minister, to convene and dissolve the House of Assembly, and to "ensure the good governance" of the country.
The title can, and occasionally is, written with a hyphen, "Governor–General", but—as in Canada—this practice is not generally observed in New Ulster. The plural is "Governors General" and not "Governor Generals".
History
New Ulster was founded as a British Overseas Territory on 1 August 2021. Following established convention for other British Overseas Territories, New Ulster's Constitution Act designated the representative of the monarch within the territory as "Governor". In theory, the Government of the United Kingdom was in charge of defence and foreign policy but, as New Ulster is not internationally recognized let alone by the United Kingdom, this led to the Government of New Ulster de facto handling its own defence of foreign policy. This generated a debate about whether or not New Ulster should in fact be a Commonwealth realm or Dominion rather than an overseas territory.
In September 2022, a referendum on New Ulster's status resolved that the country should become a Commonwealth Realm or Dominion. This came into effect on 26 September 2022 and—again, following historic convention—the title of "Governor" was replaced with "Governor General".
Appointment
The Governor General is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the government of New Ulster. Due to New Ulster being unrecognized, the founders built a "no contest" clause into the Constitution Act regarding appointments to be directly made by the monarch. Under this clause, if there is "no objection or alternative proposal" from the monarch within 10 working days of a nomination by the government of New Ulster, then the nomination for the appointment is considered to stand and the nominee assumes the office. Between nomination and assumption of office, an individual is referred to as Governor General-designate.
The current Governor General is Sir Geoffrey Marsden, who was nominated by then Premier Ethan McAllister on 2 August 2021. As per the aforementioned "no contest" clause, as no objection or alternative proposal was received from Queen Elizabeth II within 10 working days, Sir Geoffrey became Governor of New Ulster effective midday 16 August 2021. With the change in status from Overseas Territory to Commonwealth Realm, Sir Geoffrey's title—and that of all of his successors—automatically changed to "Governor General".
Flag
The Governor General has his or her own flag in New Ulster. It is the Union Flag defaced with the escutcheon (shield) from the Coat of Arms of New Ulster.
List of officer holders
Governors
| № | Portrait | Name | Term | Monarch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 
|
His Excellency The Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey Marsden PC |
16 August 2021 — 26 September 2022 | Elizabeth II 1 August 2021 – 8 September 2022 |
| Charles III 8 September 2022 – 26 September 2022 |
Governors General
| № | Portrait | Name | Term | Monarch | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
His Excellency The Right Honourable Sir Geoffrey Marsden PC |
26 Septemeber 2022 — present | Charles III 26 September 2022 – present | |