Sir Peter Cosgrove sworn in as Australia’s 26th Governor-General

Sir Peter Cosgrove has been sworn in as Australia’s 26th Governor-General, declaring that he comes to the role “agenda free”.

The man who has become Australia’s first knight under Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s revived honours system used his swearing-in address in the Senate to pay tribute to Corporal Cameron Baird, who was posthumously awarded a Victoria Cross in February this year.

“We hail and salute Cameron Baird,” he said. “He lives in the injured hearts of those he left too soon.”

H.E. General the Hon. Sir Peter Cosgrove, as he is now known, was applauded as he walked through Federal Parliament’s marble foyer shortly after receiving a general salute from the guard of honour on the Great Veranda.

Sir Peter succeeds Dame Quentin Bryce, who departed Yarralumla after more than five years in the job.

His first words as Governor-General paid tribute to Indigenous Australians and to his predecessor.

Earlier, the pomp and ceremony began with Prime Minister Tony Abbott and his wife Margie greeting the governor-general designate and his wife Lynne Cosgrove out the front of Parliament House.

He was escorted into the president of the Senate’s private suite before entering the Senate, which was packed with MPs and Senators.

Parliamentarians stood as the Usher of the Black Rod led the governor-general designate into the Senate chamber.

The public galleries were only partially filled for the swearing-in ceremony, which took place before Australia’s Chief Justice Robert French.

Sir Peter came to national prominence in 1999, when he was appointed commander of the international peacekeeping mission in East Timor.

He was appointed chief of the Army in 2000 before being appointed chief of the Defence Force in 2002.

He was Australian of the Year in 2001 and retired from active service in 2005.

In 2006, Sir Peter led a taskforce to rebuild communities in Queensland devastated by the category-five Cyclone Larry.

Since retirement, he has worked as a non-executive director of Qantas.