Vice-President of the Executive Council (New South Wales)

Vice-President of the Executive Council
Incumbent Duncan Gay since 6 May 2014
Style	The Honourable
Appointer	Governor of New South Wales
Inaugural holder	Edward Deas Thomson
Formation	23 May 1857

The Vice-President of the Executive Council of New South Wales is a position in the Australian state of New South Wales governments, whose holder acts as presiding officer of the Executive Council of New South Wales in the absence of the Governor.^[1]

The Vice-President of the Executive Council is appointed by the Governor on the advice of the Premier.^[2] The Vice-President is usually a senior minister and may summon executive councillors and preside at Council meetings when the Governor is not present. However, the Vice-President cannot sign Executive Council documents on behalf of the Governor. The current Vice-President of the Executive Council is Duncan Gay, MLC.

Duties and history

As the duties of the post are not rigorous, it is usually given to a government minister who holds another portfolio. In this sense, it is usually not a 'Minister without portfolio' such as the equivalent position, Lord President of the Council, is in the United Kingdom, although it has sometimes been used thus in the past, particularly in the pre-Federation period. Since 1920 it has typically been given to the Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council or its chief representative.

Vice-Presidents of the Executive Council

Ordinal	Vice-President	Party affiliation	Period
1	Edward Deas Thomson	None	23 May 1857 – 7 September 1857
–	Office not in use		7 September 1857 – 1 September 1861
–	Charles Cowper, Jr[3]		1 September 1861 – 15 October 1863
2	John Plunkett		23 November 1863 – 2 February 1865
–	Office not in use		2 February 1865 – 14 May 1872
3	Saul Samuel		14 May 1872 – 8 February 1875
–	Office not in use		8 February 1875 – 17 August 1877
4	Joseph Docker		17 August 1877 – 17 December 1877
5	John Marks		18 December 1877 – 20 December 1878
6	Sir John Robertson		21 December 1878 – 10 November 1881
7	Frederick Darley		14 November 1881 – 4 January 1883
8	Sir Patrick Jennings		5 January 1883 – 31 July 1883
–	Office not in use		31 July 1883 – 20 January 1887
9	Sir Henry Parkes	Protectionist	20 January 1887 – 6 March 1887
10	Julian Salomons		7 March 1887 – 16 January 1889
11	Sir John Lackey	Free Trade	17 January 1889 – 7 March 1889
12	William Suttor, Jnr		30 April 1889 – 22 October 1891
–	Julian Salomons	Protectionist	23 October 1891 – 26 January 1893
13	Henry MacLaurin		5 April 1893 – 2 August 1894
–	William Suttor, Jnr	Free Trade	7 August 1894 – 15 March 1895
14	Andrew Garran		19 March 1895 – 18 November 1898
23	John Hughes		22 November 1898 – 13 September 1899
24	William Lyne	Protectionist	14 September 1899 – 15 September 1899
24	James Mackay		15 September 1899 – 24 April 1900
25	Francis Suttor		12 June 1900 – 23 May 1903
–	James Mackay		6 June 1903 – 29 August 1904
–	John Hughes	Liberal Reform	29 August 1904 – 20 October 1910
26	Fred Flowers	Labor	21 October 1910 – 27 April 1915
27	John Fitzgerald		27 April 1915 – 15 November 1916
		Nationalist	15 November 1916 – 30 July 1919
28	David Hall		30 July 1919 – 9 February 1920
29	George Fuller		9 February 1920 – 27 February 1920
30	Edward Kavanagh	Labor	21 April 1920 – 20 December 1921
31	Sir Joseph Carruthers	Nationalist	20 December 1921
–	Edward Kavanagh	Labor	20 December 1921 – 13 April 1922
–	Sir Joseph Carruthers	Nationalist	13 April 1922 – 17 June 1925
32	Albert Willis	Labor	17 June 1925 – 18 October 1927
33	Francis Boyce	Nationalist	18 October 1927 – 3 November 1930
–	Albert Willis	Labor	4 November 1930 – 2 April 1931
34	James Concannon		3 April 1931 – 13 May 1932
35	James Ryan	United Australia	16 May 1932 – 17 June 1932
36	Henry Manning		18 June 1932 – 16 May 1941
37	Reg Downing	Labor	16 May 1941 – 13 May 1965
38	Arthur Bridges	Liberal	13 May 1965 – 22 May 1968
39	Sir John Fuller	Country	10 July 1968 – 14 May 1976
40	Paul Landa	Labor	14 May 1976 – 5 April 1984
41	Barrie Unsworth		5 April 1984 – 4 July 1986
42	Jack Hallam		4 July 1986 – 25 March 1988
43	Ted Pickering	Liberal	25 March 1988 – 22 October 1992
47	John Hannaford		22 October 1992 – 4 April 1995
48	Michael Egan	Labor	4 April 1995 – 21 January 2005
49	John Della Bosca		3 August 2005 – 2 April 2007
50	Tony Kelly		2 April 2007 – 8 September 2008
–	John Della Bosca		8 September 2008 – 1 September 2009
51	John Hatzistergos		1 September 2009 – 28 March 2011
52	Michael Gallacher	Liberal	3 April 2011 – 2 May 2014
53	Duncan Gay	Nationals	6 May 2014 – present

References

1. "Constitution Act 1902 (NSW) - Section 35D". New South Wales Consolidated Acts. Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
2. "Constitution Act 1902 (NSW) - Section 35C(3)". New South Wales Consolidated Acts. Australasian Legal Information Institute. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
3. Served as 'Clerk of the Executive Council'

External links

• NSW Government Directory - Current ministers