In some exciting news, New Zealand’s next Governor General is going to be a desi, Judge Anand Satyanand [Thanks 3rd Eye]. Satyanand was born and raised in New Zealand (his parents were Indo-Fijians) and last held the job of the Parliament’s ombudsman. I think he’s the first desi Governor General outside of a South Asian country.
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Lord of the sheep, a true sepia mutton-ier! |
You do realize what this means, don’t you? A desi is (nominally) in charge of the great country of New Zealand. He could veto all their new laws, order the government to dissolve, or command their army to invade Australia! Well, not really, it’s a symbolic position now, but it wasn’t always.
The Governor General is a vestigial organ left over from when the Empire became the Commonwealth. It’s the old Imperial Viceroy job; in India, Mountbatten simply switched titles with Independence. Once upon a time, it was a very powerful position:
Governors-General notionally hold the prerogative powers of the monarch he is representing, and also hold the executive power of the country to which he is assigned. This means that the Governor-General has the power to certify or veto law (Royal Assent), and is also the head of the armed forces in his territory… Because of the Governor-General’s control of the military in the territory, the post was as much a military appointment as a civil one.The Governor-General may exercise almost all the reserve powers of the Monarch. Except in rare cases, the Governor-General only acts in accordance with constitutional convention and upon the advice of the Prime Minister. A rare and controversial case of a Governor General independently exercising his authority occurred in 1975, when the Governor-General of Australia, Sir John Kerr, dismissed the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam. [Link]
And even though the role is largely ceremonial today, it’s an important symbolic position:
The governor general officiates at state functions such as the opening of the parliament, signs off on laws and appoints judges and commissioned officers in the military. [Link]
The position used to be held by British royalty. Now it is held by a citizen of the state in question, who is selected by the home government:
The convention was gradually established throughout the Commonwealth that the Governor-General (or Governor General) is a citizen of the country concerned, and is appointed on the advice of the government of that country, with no input from the British government. [Link]
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p>As such, it is very significant that the New Zealand government chose a desi man to represent the country as its symbolic head. Interestingly, this is actually part of a trend away from choosing white men to fill the post towards choosing women and minorities, presumably as a gesture of inclusion:
Until the early 1970s the post of governor general was the preserve of members of the British nobility, with the first indigenous Maori New Zealander, Sir Paul Reeves, appointed in the 1980s. [Link]LAST year Canada appointed its first black governor-general, Haiti-born Michaelle Jean, the third woman in the job, replacing Adrienne Clarkson. Now New Zealand is to get its first governor-general of Asian descent. Ethnic Indian judge Anand Satyanand will replace Silvia Cartwright when her five-year term expires in August. Until now, New Zealand governors-general have been of European or Maori descent and two of the past three have been women. Prime Minister Helen Clark said Satyanand, whose parents migrated to New Zealand from Fiji, had close ties with Asia and the Pacific, Opposition National Party leader Don Brash lauded the appointment and New Zealand First leader Winston Peters added his approval, saying the judge was “well acquainted with the nuances of our evolving nation while respectful of our traditions and mixed heritages”. No one asked where had all the white men gone. [Link]
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Diasporic desis represent on the other side of the world!
that rocks 🙂
the governor-general of canada is a haitian woman. to give her her full name and title: “Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.”
decolonization is rampant! or something.
We live in a post-colonial world, brother man. Better get with it.
former british colonies appointing people from other former colonies to serve in anachronistic figurehead positions that serve as the last, clinging, annoying tie to the queen… whatever though, might as well be a brown skinned person than not
Actually, he’s not from India. He’s a New Zealander by birth, with roots in India via Fiji. It’s a great diasporic story. And while he’s a figurehead for the Queen, he’s still in an important symbolic post. He’s the face of the nation in some ways.
i dont know ananthan … disagree on several levels…
it isnt really a case of ‘our (wo)man in the colony’ – i dont think the patriotism of either the incumbent or her predecessor could be in doubt.
i like the idea of having someone to look up to. one of the weaknesses of the US government, in my opinion, is that the elected head of the government is the same as the head of the state. people who cherish the notion of the president as the head of state feel that disagreeing with the president is out of bounds, etc. in that respect – it’s good to have some scrappy chappie fighting it out in the parliament and the figurehead as a ‘pure’ figure who can make pronouncements on what is right and what is not (with due consultation from the governmetn and the judiciary of course).
yea… i’m no fan of rosebud myself.
this is cool news. way to go Kiwis
big deal!! he might not even consider himself desi, forget being brown.
I wasn’t questioning her patriotism, I just think it’s sort of ironic that we can refer to this as decolonisation when it’s actually more of a reaffirmation that we (Canada, NZ) are still not fully independent. It’s progressive in the sense that it’s now minorities in the role, but they are just continuing the same old colonial institution.
Maybe this is our own form of postcolonialism. Rather than a clean break, we have this GG position that we appoint people like Jean and Clarkson to… I guess it’s a type of compromise.
I sort of agree with you about figureheads though, I liked what Adrienne Clarkson did in terms of her cultural work. I really just dislike the symbolism of the post. They should make up a different title (something less domineering) and put an end to the UK tie.
Hmmm, I’m with Ananthan on this one. No offence to the lovely M.J. whose CBC presence is still sorely missed…even if she is a closet sovereignist. The position itself has turned archaic and down right frilly. Having said that, being GG could still be a very big deal and a killer platform to do good work if one is so inclined.
i think New Zealand, Canada, Australia are still part of the “anglosphere” and the continued use of these positions is less about a subservience to Brtian as an affirmation that they are still all connected in an “anglosphere”
GAH! I’ve been totally guilting over how much I fly and what a horribly high carbon footprint that gives me and was successfully putting away my wishesfor a globetrotting 2006—but damn you Ennis, you’ve just woken up my yearning for a NewZealand trip!!!!!
or sarcastic, which was the way i meant it.
Give in. After all, they’re going to run those planes anyway, so you might as well be on them 😉
All of his official biographies refer to him as having Indo-Fijian parentage. Furthermore, he’ll be seen as desi whether he thinks of himself as such or not, and the people who selected him had to be aware of that.
The reports refer to Judge Satyanand as being of “Indo-Fijian” parentage. His father was born in Andhra Pradesh, moved to Fiji with his family when young, and met his (Christian) wife there. They moved to New Zealand, where Judge Satyanand was born and went to school and university. He’s married a lady from here, who’s not of Indian origin. He’s as close as you can come to perfectly assimilated, I think. He was a crown prosecutor, then District Court Judge and Ombudsman here. I don’t think anyone disputes that he’s ideally qualified for the role. He’s generally recognised as a very nice man in legal circles and otherwise here, and is sure to perform the ceremonial functions well.
How big a deal is it? The GG is a figurehead in NZ as elsewhere. S/he goes to openings of interesting buildings, opens Parliament, signs legislation into being. In theory, s/he could dissolve parliament, but it’s unlikely to ever happen. (The last person to do so was Sir John Kerr in Australia.) In terms of doing good, I think Judge Satyanand did plenty of good here as the Ombudsman, where he’s universally recognised as having done excellent work.
The GG doesn’t have much power at all – s/he does as much or as little as a figurehead president would, and Britain has absolutely no control over our (NZ) affairs at all. The Queen appears on our coins, but none of our stamps, and we sing our own national anthem. We don’t even go to England for our final level of appeals anymore. Even if NZ does become a republic, not much will really change over here. Our coins might look a little bit different, but that’s about it. It’s easy enough to get on bandwagons when you don’t know the reality on the ground. At the moment, it’s comparatively cheap having a sovereign who lives a few thousand miles and three continents away, so it works. A President would require more upkeep, and that’s about all.
The ideal GG is someone who won’t be controversial and doesn’t have a dodgy past (like the Australian archbishop). The last two have been former High Court judges (Dame Silvia Cartwright and Sir Michael Hardie-Boys). Generally they’re good choices. I’m sure Judge Satyanand will be, as well.
my bad then, it doesn’t carry well on the internet.
the governor-general of canada is a haitian woman. to give her her full name and title: “Her Excellency the Right Honourable Michaëlle Jean, C.C., C.M.M., C.O.M., C.D., Governor General and Commander-in-Chief of Canada.”
The one before this one is Chinese-Canadian. 4/5 previous Governor Generals have been journalists. I’m told the husbands of the last two are “firebrands” by a Canadian. More than that, however, they have the awesome titles of Viceregal Consort. How fly is that?
Graduate, you beat me to it. But wouldn’t a President cost as much as a GG if you arrange it right?!
The GG is a largely ceremonial role, unless things get nasty like they did on that fateful day in 1975. There is little or no referral to the Queen in such matters. It would be interesting to see how NZ republicanism would fare: Australia’s failed model involved a ceremonial President in a role similar to that of the current GG.
Anyway, well done NZ, you’re still way ahead of us…
That sounds like such a perfect male drone job. Sign me up for it! Future Canadian Viceroys are hereby alerted that I am in the market.
… or is it on the market?
when compared with, let’s say, Zimbabwe? Wales and Scotland too are edominions right?
Kinda OT but just wanted to say – New Zealand is THE MOST BEAUTIFUL country in the world. It doesn’t have any nasty snakes or dangerous animals and it only has a handful of spiders.
On the downside, New Zealanders speak funny.
The anti-imperialist struggle is not over.
Look at well-educated young brown people talking about the Queen as “someone to look up to.”
Sticking it to the man by kow-towing to empire.
Ironising our selves to death.
bengali> yeah,might give up on Bomber Beazely and move there. Few spiders, gorgeous scenery, great people and a rather fabulous PM.
But there is that funny accent 😉
flygirl:
That can be overcome if Australia invades 😉
Speaking of Bomber Beazely, I wish he would just hurry up and retire, resign or move to pluto and make way for the wonderful Ms Julia Gillard. It’s the only way forward for the infantile creche that is the Labor party.
bengali: Yes…why can’t he and most of the Shadow Cabinet just politely rack off? Cut out the old dead wood. And Julia? Julia! The press will tear her apart. She’s no Condi Rice, unfortunately (and fortunately). More reports on her hair colour and weight to follow.
Graduate, are there any rumblings of a movement towards a Republic in NZ?
Hi there, thanks for the link to my website. BTW, what exactly does ‘desi’ mean? I thought it actually referred to an Indian Indian (i.e. and Indian born in India) as opposed to someone like our new GG, who is only ethnically Indian, and born in NZ.
Flygirl – Yes there is; I’m part of it! See my website. I might add that I do admire the Indian republican model somewhat, although recently I have come to like the post-apartheid South African model also.
P.S. Funny accent? Ever heard an Australian? 🙂
See the FAQ.
Hi,
My comments on Judge Satyanand’s appointment, as published in the NZ Herald on 6 April, below:
Reactions to Judge Satyanand’s appointment are amusing. Fijians are happy because he is of Fijian origin. Indians make a claim on his Indian heritage. Pansy Wong is proud that he is an Asian. Chris Carter shows him off as a member of the “ethnic” community. And if that was not enough, someone on Newstalk ZB this morning said, “He makes us all proud as Catholics. He’s the first Catholic to be appointed the head of state not only in New Zealand, but in the entire world.” By “entire world”, he was referring to Commonwealth of course. Can any other appointment make so many people happy? The media releases from the PM’s office as well as ethnic affairs minister’s office are written entirely around Judge Satyanand’s ethnicity. Recipients of these media releases will be forgiven if they think that the appointment was a way to score a political point with the ethnic communities.
The NZ Herald article below: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/search/story.cfm?storyid=0006AFF8-537F-1433-A1A183027AF1010F
i live in nz. too many white power skinheads. saying that a gg like this is changing the stupid racist way neo-nazis think in nz. pround to have a gg who is not shy of who he is.