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Governor-General of Pakistan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Governor-General of Pakistan was the resident representative of King George VI in Pakistan from 1947 to 1952 and then Queen Elizabeth II ("Queen of Pakistan") from 1952 until 1956 when Pakistan was proclaimed a republic.
When Pakistan became an independent, self-governing nation in 1947, it, like post-independent India, provisionally continued to use the Government of India Act 1935, as its written constitution until a post-independence constitution could be drafted; by default this contemplated the continuation of the constitutional monarchy as a Commonwealth realm dominion.
The monarch appointed a Governor-General, upon the advice of the Prime Minister of Pakistan to serve as de facto Head of State.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah, considered Quaid-e-Azam ("Father of the Nation"), informed Lord Mountbatten: "when I am Governor-General the Prime Minister will do what I tell him to" -- however Jinnah's rapidly declining health made the issue moot.
After Jinnah's death the Governor-General of Pakistan continued to serve a larger role than the India Act prescribed, dismissing multiple Prime Ministers and consolidating power.
The office of Governor-General was replaced by the office of President of Pakistan when Pakistan became a republic in 1956. The then Governor-General, Iskander Mirza, became Pakistan's first president.
