1. Prime Minister John Key advised the Queen to appoint Patsy Reddy to succeed Sir Jerry Mateparae as the Queen's representative, and Patsy Reddy was sworn in for a five-year term on 28 September 2016.
35 Facts About Patsy Reddy
1. 2.
Patsy Reddy was raised in the small Waikato towns of Te Akau and Minginui until her family moved to Hamilton when she was six years old.
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Patsy Reddy completed tertiary study at Victoria University of Wellington, graduating in 1976 as a Bachelor of Laws and in 1979 as a Master of Laws, with first-class honours.
4.
Patsy Reddy was a junior lecturer and then lecturer at Victoria University's faculty of law.
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Patsy Reddy later took up a position at Brierley Investments, where she was employed for 11 years, and worked on large acquisition negotiations such as the privatisation of Air New Zealand.
6.
Patsy Reddy served as chair of the New Zealand Film Commission and Education Payroll Ltd and was a director of Payments NZ Ltd and Active Equity Holdings Ltd.
7.
Patsy Reddy was a chief Crown negotiator for Treaty of Waitangi settlements and a lead reviewer for the Performance Improvement Framework for the State Services Commission.
8.
Patsy Reddy was the deputy chair of the New Zealand Transport Agency.
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Patsy Reddy was involved in a number of non-governmental organisations, particularly in the arts and gender equality.
10.
Patsy Reddy was one of the founding members in 2009 of Global Women New Zealand, a group of prominent women who advocate for inclusion and diversity in leadership.
11.
On 9 December 2024, Dame Patsy Reddy took over as chair of the Climate Change Commission from Rod Carr.
12.
Patsy Reddy became the third woman to hold the position, after Dame Catherine Tizard and Dame Silvia Cartwright.
13.
Patsy Reddy gave her first Royal assent as governor-general on 18 October 2016.
14.
On 7 November 2016, Patsy Reddy welcomed King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands to New Zealand.
15.
On 12 December 2016, subsequent to the resignation of John Key, Patsy Reddy swore in Bill English as prime minister and Paula Bennett as deputy prime minister.
16.
On 7 February 2017, Patsy Reddy delivered her first annual Waitangi Day Bledisloe Address at the Bledisloe Garden reception at Government House, Wellington.
17.
Patsy Reddy was welcomed by Tom Marsters, the Queen's Representative in the Cook Islands.
18.
On 6 May 2017, Patsy Reddy travelled to Italy, where she visited various cultural events in Rome and Venice.
19.
On 30 September 2017, Patsy Reddy travelled to Israel for a two-day trip, in which she represented New Zealand at official commemorations to mark the centennial of the Battle of Beersheba during the First World War.
20.
Patsy Reddy was received by Israeli President Reuven Rivlin and later met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
21.
On 26 October 2017, Patsy Reddy presided at the swearing-in of the new Executive Council.
22.
Patsy Reddy signed warrants appointing the new prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, and other ministers.
23.
On 24 October 2017, Reddy hosted a state welcome for the president of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, at Government House.
24.
On 5 December 2017, Patsy Reddy began a three-day trip to Malaysia.
25.
On 1 January 2018, Patsy Reddy issued her New Year video message.
26.
Patsy Reddy focused on gender equality and respect for women; Reddy noted the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage in New Zealand.
27.
Patsy Reddy welcomed former US President Barack Obama to Government House on 22 March 2018.
28.
On 28 October 2018, Patsy Reddy welcomed members of the Royal Family, Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, to Wellington.
29.
Patsy Reddy hosted a reception at Government House honouring the 125th anniversary of women's suffrage.
30.
On 15 March 2019, Patsy Reddy released a message expressing condolences to the victims of the Christchurch mosque shootings.
31.
On 7 June 2019, Patsy Reddy represented New Zealand at the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings at Portsmouth in the United Kingdom.
32.
Patsy Reddy completed her term as Governor-General of New Zealand on 28 September 2021.
33.
Patsy Reddy is married to the former New Zealand Judicial Conduct Commissioner, Sir David Gascoigne.
34.
Patsy Reddy was promoted as an Additional Dame Grand Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit and appointed an Additional Companion of the Queen's Service Order on 27 June 2016 in preparation for becoming governor-general.
35.
Patsy Reddy was appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order in the 2022 New Year Honours.