Anand Satyanand

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The Right Honourable
Sir Anand Satyanand
GNZM QSO KStJ
File:Anand Satyanand 2014.jpg
19th Governor-General of New Zealand
In office
23 August 2006 – 23 August 2011
Monarch Elizabeth II
Prime Minister Helen Clark
John Key
Preceded by Silvia Cartwright
Succeeded by Jerry Mateparae
Personal details
Born (1944-07-22) 22 July 1944 (age 80)
Auckland, New Zealand
Spouse(s) Susan Sharpe, QSO
Alma mater University of Auckland
Profession Lawyer
Judge
Ombudsman
Religion Roman Catholicism[1]

Sir Anand Satyanand GNZM

QSO

KStJ

(born 22 July 1944) is a former lawyer, judge and ombudsman. He was the 19th Governor-General of New Zealand. He is now Chair of the Commonwealth Foundation.[2]

Early life and family

File:Anand Satyanand - ANZAC Day-2011.jpg
Satyanand putting flowers on the Tomb of the Unknown warrior, April 2011

Satyanand was born and raised in Auckland to an Indo-Fijian family in 1944. His grandparents arrived in Fiji from Andhra, India in 1911, and were married on Nukulau Island. His father, Mutyala Satyanand OBE, a medical doctor, was born in Sigatoka in 1913 and arrived in New Zealand in 1927 to attend high school.[3] His mother Tara Tillak was a nurse from Suva. She married his father after moving to New Zealand.

Satyanand attended Sacred Heart College in Auckland, and then moved to Dunedin to take a medical intermediate course at the University of Otago.[4] He was not successful in gaining entry to the medical school and later said "...in reality I did not do well enough ... (but)... Looking back over that year, I remembered that one of the things I had really enjoyed was the debating and forum meetings involving students."[5] So instead he took up law, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Auckland in 1970. He worked as a lawyer for the next 12 years, initially for Greig, Bourke and Kettelwell. Later he worked as a barrister for the Crown Law Office. He served on the Council of the Auckland District Law Society from 1979 until his appointment as a judge of the District Court of New Zealand in 1982.

During the 1975 general election Satyanand and his wife helped David Lange in his first, unsuccessful attempt at election. Later, when Satyanand was a law student, he helped Clive Edwards (later Tongan deputy prime minister) when he stood in Auckland Central for National.[6]

In 1995 he was appointed an ombudsman and he served two five-year terms. Between 2005 and his appointment as Governor-General he chaired the Confidential Forum for Former In-Patients of Psychiatric Hospitals.

Satyanand married Susan Sharpe in Auckland in 1970. She was born in Sydney, Australia in 1947 and moved to New Zealand with her family in 1955. He and his wife have three adult children.[7] Satyanand's daughter Anya is an advocate of gay marriage, being in a civil union with her partner Ange.[8] In 2002, Satyanand and his wife were involved in a serious car accident in Dome Valley north of Warkworth, Northland. An oncoming car crossed the centre line and crashed head-on into their car. The accident resulted in serious spinal injury to Satyanand, he broke his C2 and C3 vertebrae. He had to wear a halo traction to keep his head straight.[9]

As well as English, Satyanand also speaks Fijian, Hindi and Māori.

Governor-General of New Zealand

In 2006, Satyanand was appointed Governor-General of New Zealand by Queen Elizabeth II on the advice of Prime Minister Helen Clark.[10][not in citation given] He replaced Dame Silvia Cartwright as Governor-General on 23 August 2006.[11] His appointment was welcomed by every Parliamentary party leader.[12] He was the first Governor-General of Indian descent and the first Roman Catholic Governor-General.[1]

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, Grand Prior of the Order of St John, received Satyanand as Governor-General designate on 7 July 2006 and invested him as a Knight of Justice of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem (KStJ).[13]

In May 2007 changes were made to the Queen's Service Order. Under the previous Royal Warrant, the Governor-General was ex-officio Principal Companion of the Order but was not a member of the Order. The Royal Warrant now provides for the appointment of the Governor-General as a Companion of the Order in his or her own right.[14][15][16][not in citation given]

The first bill to which he granted Royal Assent was the Coroners Bill.

Starting on New Year's Day 2009, Satyanand issued a "New Year's Message" intended "to bring to attention a number of issues New Zealanders might consider as they looked to the future".[17]

Satyanand was the first Governor-General not to hold a knighthood before entering office (Colonel Thomas Gore Browne, Governor of New Zealand 1855–1861, was knighted in office). However, following the changes to the New Zealand honours system announced by Prime Minister John Key on 8 March 2009,[18] the Queen approved Satyanand's redesignation from a Principal Companion in the New Zealand Order of Merit (PCNZM) to a Knight Grand Companion of that Order (GNZM) on 27 March 2009.[19][19][20][21][22]

On assuming the role of Governor-General he received the style The Honourable for life; in 2010, he was advanced to the style of The Right Honourable. This style was accorded for life to all future Governors-General, Prime Ministers, Chief Justices, and Speakers of Parliament.[23]

Satyanand completed his term of office as Governor-General on 23 August 2011[24]

Finances

The New Zealand Government pays for the costs associated with the Queen's representative, the Governor-General, in their exercising of the powers of the Crown on behalf of the Queen, including travel, security, residences, offices, ceremonial occasions. In the 2010 Budget, the total cost of supporting the Governor-General was $3,591,000 for Support Services and Maintenance of the residences, $1,710,000 for Depreciation Expenses on Government Houses, $1,279,000 Remuneration and Travel and an estimated $1,680,000 for Policy Advice and Co-ordination; a total of $7,610,000. And $11 million on capital investment in Government House, Wellington, principally used for its conservation, a total of over $18 million.[25]

Fijian coup talks

On 30 November 2006 Satyanand hosted a meeting between the Prime Minister of Fiji Laisenia Qarase and Fiji's military commander Commodore Frank Bainimarama at Government House in Wellington in an attempt to resolve the escalating crisis in Fiji. Although he hosted the meeting, he did not take part in the discussions, which were chaired by New Zealand's Foreign Minister, Winston Peters.[26] This was the last serious effort by the international community to avert a military coup, which followed on 5 December.

Public transport in Auckland

At the opening of the new New Lynn Train Station on 25 September 2010, Satyanand stated heavy investment in motorways and the decline of public transport after trams were taken off the roads in the 1950s had led to severe congestion to the detriment of both individuals and the economy.[27]

Paul Henry controversy

On 5 October 2010 TVNZ Breakfast show host Paul Henry questioned whether Sir Anand was "even a New Zealander". He then repeated the question, saying of Sir Anand's replacement "Are you going to choose a New Zealander who looks and sounds like a New Zealander this time ... are we going to go for someone who is more like a New Zealander this time?"[28][29] Henry attracted criticism from both sides of politics and New Zealand's race relations commissioner Joris de Bres. Henry later apologised,[28][30] was suspended, and then resigned from TVNZ.[31]

Styles and honours

  • His Honour Judge Anand Satyanand (1982 – 5 June 2005)
  • His Honour Judge Anand Satyanand, DCNZM (6 June 2005 – 4 June 2006)
  • His Honour Judge Anand Satyanand, PCNZM (5 June 2006 – 22 August 2006)
  • His Excellency The Honourable Anand Satyanand, PCNZM, Governor-General of New Zealand (23 August 2006 – 20 May 2007)
  • His Excellency The Honourable Anand Satyanand, PCNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand (21 May 2007 – 26 March 2009)
  • His Excellency The Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand (27 March 2009 – 2 August 2010)
  • His Excellency The Right Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, Governor-General of New Zealand (3 August 2010 – 23 August 2011)
  • The Right Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO (24 August 2011 – Present)

References

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External links

Government offices
Preceded by Governor-General of New Zealand
2006–2011		 Succeeded by
Jerry Mateparae
  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ The New Zealand Herald, A natural in the Big House. Saturday 23 September 2006 Source
  7. ↑ NZ Governor General's website
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ "Commission Appointing Anand Satyanand, P.C.N.Z.M., to be Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Realm of New Zealand" (24 August 2006) 101 The New Zealand Gazette 2995
  12. ↑ PM welcomes Anand Satyanand as next Governor-General, New Zealand Government press release
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Statutes of the Queen's Service Order (SR 1975/200) Reg 4.
  15. ↑ "Special Honours List – The Queen's Service Order" (24 May 2007) 56 The New Zealand Gazette 1423 at 1451.
  16. ↑ Beehive – Changes to QSO and QSM Honours affect Gov Gen
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 "Special Honours List" (12 August 2009) 118 The New Zealand Gazette 2691.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Additional Statutes of The New Zealand Order of Merit (SR 2009/90) reg 3(2)(a)&(c)
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ "Revocation of the Commission Appointing The Right Honourable Sir Anand Satyanand, GNZM, QSO, to be Governor-General and Commander-in-Chief in and over the Realm of New Zealand" (22 August 2011) 129 The New Zealand Gazette 3617.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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