New head of state gets pomp, ceremony
Dame Patsy Reddy was sworn in as New Zealand’s 21st governorgeneral in Wellington yesterday.
Hundreds of people were at Parliament’s grounds for the ceremony.
Reddy, who succeeds Sir Jerry Mateparae, accepted the Rakau Tapu ceremonial challenge and was welcomed to the ceremony.
She and husband Sir David Gascoigne then met with mana whenua for hongi and several short haka.
Reddy received a general salute from the Royal Guard of Honour and was then sworn in, with Chief Justice Sian Elias administering the affirmation of allegiance and the affirmation of office.
Later, Reddy, 62, inspected the Royal Guard in front of Parliament.
Addressing the ceremony, Prime Minister John Key said governors-general in recent years had better reflected New Zealand’s diversity.
The first New Zealand-born governor-general was installed in 1967.
Dr Hiria Hape then bestowed a korowai (cloak) on the new governor-general.
In her new role, Reddy is commander-in-chief of New Zealand’s armed forces and the Queen’s representative in the Realm of New Zealand, which includes Niue, Tokelau, the Cook Islands and the Ross Dependency in Antarctica.
In her first official speech, Reddy pledged to honour the ‘‘unique relationship between the Crown and Maori’’.
She approached her role with some trepidation, but also enthusiasm, she said, and was happy to have been approached about the job.
‘‘I want to encourage greater diversity in our leadership.’’
She thanked Gascoigne, whom she described as her ‘‘support, confidante and adviser’’.
Married to former judicial conduct commissioner Sir David Gascoigne.
Born in Matamata, and brought up in Te Akau and Minginui, where her parents, Neil and Kay Reddy, were school teachers. She went to Hamilton Girls’ High School.
Her interests include the arts – especially film, the visual arts and opera.
In 1982 she joined law firm Watts and Patterson (now Minter Ellison Rudd Watts), and became the first female partner in 1983, specialising in tax, corporate and film law.
In 1987 she joined Brierley Investments as group legal counsel and subsequently became group manager for special projects.
John Key has described her as ‘‘thoughtful, articulate’’ and having a ‘‘brilliant legal mind’’.
The new governor-general also thanked other family members, friends, and previous governorsgeneral.
Reddy made special mention of her immediate predecessor Mateparae, and Dames Cath Tizard and Silvia Cartwright, New Zealand’s first and second female governors-general.
She said she had spent about six months preparing for her new role.
Reddy followed in the footsteps of lawyers and judges Sir Michael Hardie Boys, Cartwright, and Sir Anand Satyanand.
The governor-general gives ‘‘royal assent’’ to the laws Parliament passes, attends important public ceremonies like Waitangi Day and Anzac Day, and hosts welcoming ceremonies for visiting heads of state.
Reddy most recently hit the headlines for her work on a review of New Zealand’s spy agencies.