GG swearing ceremony buzz

All is set for the swearing in of Jamaica’s sixth Governor General at King’s House.



Former president of the West Indies Union Conference of Seventh Day Adventist, Dr Patrick Allen is to be sworn in at a ceremony slated to start at 5.30 p.m.



Hundreds of people have now flocked the lawns of Kings House for the swearing in of Dr Patrick Allen as Jamaica’s sixth Governor General.



Several Heads of State from the Eastern Caribbean are among the dignitaries expected to attend.



They include the Governor-General of St Kitts and Nevis, Sir Cuthbert Sebastian, the President of Dominica, Dr Nicholas Liverpool and the President of Trinidad and Tobago Professor George Maxwell Richards.



The function will begin with the reading of the Royal Commission appointing Dr Allen as Head of State, by the Governor-General\'s Secretary, Rose-Marie Gibbs.



Dr Allen will then take the Oath/Solemn Declaration and Affirmation of Allegiance, and Office.



Retiring Head of State, Governor-General, Professor Sir Kenneth Hall will present his successor with the Royal Commission, after which the outgoing Governor-General\'s Standard will be lowered and that of the incoming GG raised, accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets.



The new Governor-General will then be invested with the Insignia of the Order of the Nation by Chief Justice Zaila McCalla.



Sir Kenneth and Prime Minister Golding are then slated to address the ceremony, after which Dr Allen will deliver his inaugural address.



Dr Allen who is 58 will succeed Sir Kenneth, who is demitting office due to ill health, after serving for three years.



For live viewing of the swearing in ceremony, you may log on to The Gleaner’s website at

www.go-jamaica.com