It hasn t always been this way. In the days of Empire, Britain appointed New Zealand s Governor-General, or the Governor , as it was called before 1917. In the early days of British settlement when there was no New Zealand Government, we had no say in the matter.
Even after New Zealand politicians got the right to govern themselves, in 1856, they still had no say - not until the early 1900s when Britain started preparing a short list of Crown-approved candidates, which the New Zealand Prime Minister could choose from.
It wasn t until 1945, under the leadership of Labour Prime Minister Peter Fraser, that New Zealand put forward the name of wartime leader Sir Bernard Freyberg to be Governor-General. Since 1972, all have been New Zealand residents.