In public Peter Cosgrove has managed to steer clear of taking sides in the debate about the monarchy and an Australian republic.
Now, the former army chief once tipped to be Australia's first president will become the Queen's representative as the nation's 26th governor-general.
While some people see his appointment as an endorsement of a constitutional monarchy, General Cosgrove has managed to keep his thoughts to himself.
In 1999, as Australians prepared to vote for or against a republic, he was nominated as an "ideal first president" by a former Liberal Party federal president.
The then-commander of the Interfet force for East Timor brushed the endorsement aside, saying he was flattered, but focused on his role in the army.
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Australian monarchists are pleased with his latest appointment.
The Australian Monarchist League, incensed by comments made last year by outgoing Governor-General Quentin Bryce about a future republican leader, said it was confident the new governor-general would "behave admirably".
"We welcome the way he's always conducted himself in passing and his state of balance in all manner of controversy, as a governor-general should," chairman Philip Benwell told AAP on Tuesday.
Republicans said General Cosgrove was the "right person, wrong job".
"No matter how distinguished the person, the role just doesn't fit modern, equal-opportunity Australia," Australian Republican Movement chairman Geoff Gallop said in a statement.
For his part, General Cosgrove never thought he would be president or governor-general.
When he was tipped for the job as the Queen's representative in 2000, he diplomatically turned that down, too.
"I see myself being a soldier until I get a gentle nudge in the ribs at some future time," he said at the time.
That time has come.
