Quentin Bryce Order of St John of Jerusalem in 2003. In 2011, Elizabeth II invested Bryce as a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order at Government House. Bryce was appointed Governor of Queensland in 2003. Although concerns were raised by some over her time in the office, her five-year term was going to be extended until 2009. However, on 13 April 2008, it was announced by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd that Bryce was to become the next Governor-General of Australia. The decision was generally well-received and on 5 September 2008 Bryce was sworn in, succeeding Major General Michael Jeffery and becoming the
Quentin Bryce Shorten. While acknowledging her magnanimity, Abbott declined to accept her resignation and asked her to serve the rest of her term. According to him Bryce provided continuity at a time of political turbulence and she should be commended for her dedication to public service. Greg Sheridan, in the national newspaper "The Australian", suggested that the Governor-General risked "politicising and misusing the office". Sheridan was commenting on Bryce's planned trip to Africa on behalf of the Prime Minister to lobby for a seat for Australia in the United Nations Security Council. He further stated that Bryce's "feigned interest in Africa will