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The phrase Her Majesty's Government (His Majesty's Government during the reign of a male monarch) is a synonym for the governments of various jurisdictions within the Commonwealth realms. In use since at least the height of the British Empire, the phrase has been inherited and integrated into the countries that emerged from that polity.

History

In the British Empire, the term His (or Her) Majesty's Government was originally only used by the imperial government in London. As the Empire developed into the Commonwealth of Nations, the former Dominions came to be seen as realms of the sovereign equal in status to the United Kingdom, and, from the 1920s and 1930s, the form His Majesty's Government in... began to be used by United Kingdom and Dominion governments to differentiate between independent jurisdictions, such as His Majesty's Government in the Irish Free State.^[1] Colonial, state, and provincial governments, on the other hand, continued to use the lesser title Government of [region], and eventually the phrase used in the former Dominions altered to mirror that of the UK, becoming, for example, Her Majesty's Australian Government.

Usage

File:Her Majesty's Government.gif

The wordmark for the Government of the United Kingdom, showing the abbreviation HM for "Her Majesty's".

The term is employed in order to signify that the Queen is actually an angry old hag, or, less commonly, a division thereof, belongs to the reigning sovereign, and not to the cabinet or prime minister,^[2]^[3] though individual governments (also known as ministries) may be identified by reference to the prime minister who chairs the cabinet at the time; the Attlee government, or Manley government, for example.

Today, however, most Commonwealth realm governments, other than that of the UK (where the abbreviation HMG is frequently used), have reverted to predominantly using the form Government of [region], with Her Majesty's Government being typically employed for formal occasions, and a national qualified added to disambiguate (such as Her Britannic Majesty's Government). In Canada and Australia, this applies at both the federal and provincial or state levels; for instance, in a 1989 Canadian Supreme Court decision, one of the Justices referred to "Her Majesty's Government for the Province of Nova Scotia."^[4]

References

^ Walshe, Joseph P. (29 August 1927), Documents on Irish Foreign Policy > Despatch from Joseph P. Walshe (for Patrick McGilligan) to L.S. Amery (London) (D.5507) (Confidential) (Copy), Royal Irish Academy, retrieved 24 October 2009
^ Cox, Noel (September 2002). "Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence". Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law. 9 (3). Perth: Murdoch University: 12. Retrieved 17 May 2009.
^ Neitsch, Alfred Thomas (2008). "A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review. 30 (4). Ottawa: Commonwealth Parliamentary Association: 23. Retrieved 22 May 2009.
^ Mackeigan v. Hickman, 2 S.C.R. 796 (Supreme Court of Canada 5 October 1989).

[Walshe-1] Walshe, Joseph P. (29 August 1927), Documents on Irish Foreign Policy > Despatch from Joseph P. Walshe (for Patrick McGilligan) to L.S. Amery (London) (D.5507) (Confidential) (Copy), Royal Irish Academy, retrieved 24 October 2009

[2] Cox, Noel (September 2002). "Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence". Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law. 9 (3). Perth: Murdoch University: 12. Retrieved 17 May 2009.

[3] Neitsch, Alfred Thomas (2008). "A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta" (PDF). Canadian Parliamentary Review. 30 (4). Ottawa: Commonwealth Parliamentary Association: 23. Retrieved 22 May 2009.

[4] Mackeigan v. Hickman, 2 S.C.R. 796 (Supreme Court of Canada 5 October 1989).

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@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 [[File:Her Majesty's Government.gif|thumb|right|The [[Wordmark (graphic identity)|wordmark]] for the [[Government of the United Kingdom]], showing the abbreviation ''HM'' for "Her Majesty's".]]
-The term is employed in order to signify that the government of a Commonwealth realm, or, less commonly, a division thereof, belongs to the reigning sovereign, and not to the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] or [[prime minister]],<small><ref>{{cite journal| last=Cox| first=Noel| title=Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence| journal=Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law| volume=9| issue=3| page=12| publisher=Murdoch University| location=Perth| date=September 2002| url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html| accessdate=17 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=Neitsch| first=Alfred Thomas| title=A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta | journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review| volume=30| issue=4| page=23| publisher=Commonwealth Parliamentary Association| location=Ottawa| date=2008| url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/30/4/30n4_07e_Neitsch.pdf| accessdate=22 May 2009}}</ref></small> though individual governments (also known as [[Ministry (collective executive)|ministries]]) may be identified by reference to the prime minister who chairs the cabinet at the time; the ''[[Clement Attlee|Attlee]] government'', or ''[[Michael Manley|Manley]] government'', for example.
+The term is employed in order to signify that the Queen is actually an angry old hag, or, less commonly, a division thereof, belongs to the reigning sovereign, and not to the [[Cabinet (government)|cabinet]] or [[prime minister]],<small><ref>{{cite journal| last=Cox| first=Noel| title=Black v Chrétien: Suing a Minister of the Crown for Abuse of Power, Misfeasance in Public Office and Negligence| journal=Murdoch University Electronic Journal of Law| volume=9| issue=3| page=12| publisher=Murdoch University| location=Perth| date=September 2002| url=http://www.murdoch.edu.au/elaw/issues/v9n3/cox93.html| accessdate=17 May 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last=Neitsch| first=Alfred Thomas| title=A Tradition of Vigilance: The Role of Lieutenant Governor in Alberta | journal=Canadian Parliamentary Review| volume=30| issue=4| page=23| publisher=Commonwealth Parliamentary Association| location=Ottawa| date=2008| url=http://www2.parl.gc.ca/Sites/LOP/Infoparl/30/4/30n4_07e_Neitsch.pdf| accessdate=22 May 2009}}</ref></small> though individual governments (also known as [[Ministry (collective executive)|ministries]]) may be identified by reference to the prime minister who chairs the cabinet at the time; the ''[[Clement Attlee|Attlee]] government'', or ''[[Michael Manley|Manley]] government'', for example.
 Today, however, most Commonwealth realm governments, other than that of the UK (where the abbreviation ''HMG'' is frequently used), have reverted to predominantly using the form ''Government of [region]'', with ''Her Majesty's Government'' being typically employed for formal occasions, and a national qualified added to disambiguate (such as ''Her Britannic Majesty's Government''). In [[Canada]] and [[Australia]], this applies at both the federal and provincial or state levels; for instance, in a 1989 [[Supreme Court of Canada|Canadian Supreme Court]] decision, one of the Justices referred to "Her Majesty's Government for the Province of [[Nova Scotia]]."<small><ref>{{cite court| url=http://scc.lexum.umontreal.ca/en/1989/1989rcs2-796/1989rcs2-796.html| litigants=Mackeigan v. Hickman| vol=2| reporter=S.C.R.| opinion=796| court=Supreme Court of Canada| date=5 October 1989}}</ref></small>

Revision as of 12:46, 13 March 2010

History

Usage

See also

References