Peter Cosgrove to be named next Governor-General General Peter Cosgrove is a popular choice for Governor-General with conservatives. THE Government is today widely expected to announce that retired defence chief General Peter Cosgrove will be appointed Australia's 26th Governor-General. Ms Bryce was appointed Governor-General by former prime minister Kevin Rudd in 2007. She is Australia's first female Governor-General. Exiting ... Quentin Bryce's tenure as Governor-General ends in March. General Cosgrove is a popular choice with conservatives and he was well known as John Howard's favourite military man. What you need to know about General Peter Cosgrove: Early life: Gen Cosgrove is married to Lynne and has three adult sons and lives in Sydney; He was raised in Sydney and schooled at Waverley College; Standing by her man ... General Peter Cosgrove and wife Lynne. Military life: He graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroom where he was regarded as one of the toughest cadets; He served as chief of the Defence Force from 2002 until his retirement from active service in 2005; He was awarded the Military Cross as a platoon commander with the 9th Battalion in Vietnam in 1971; The Howard Government fast tracked his promotion first to Lieutenant General and Chief of Army and then to full general and defence chief just two years later, following the success of the 1999 Interfet operation in East Timor that was led by then Major General Cosgrove; He came to prominence in 1999, when he led the Australian contingency in the East Timor peacekeeping mission; Howard's man ... Peter Cosgrove (centre) after being appointed Chief of the Defence Force with then-Prime Minister John Howard. Post-military life: He was named Australian of the Year in 2001. During his acceptance speech he said he accepted the title on behalf of all those Australians who served in East Timor: "I did a lot of the talking, they did all the working." In 2006, he was appointed by the Queensland government to lead the taskforce to rebuild communities in far-north Queensland, following the devastation of category-five Cyclone Larry; Asked about it, he said: This has long been a defence force town and by this recognition the community celebrates this long standing and important link. Gen Cosgrove was council chairman and escorted the Queen at the Australian War Memorial during her last visit to Australia in 2011; Top honour ... Peter Cosgrove after being named Australian of the Year in 2001. What he'll get: His five-year appointment to the plum $400,000-a-year job comes with two mansions, a fleet of cars and VIP jets, and Government House "Yarralumla" in Canberra. Gen Cosgrove and his family will also have Australia's best weekender, Admiralty House on Sydney Harbour, at their disposal. He will however be forced to resign from the board of Qantas and several other board positions when he is sworn in to the vice-regal job by the Queen. What he'll do: He'll act as the Queen's representative in Australia. That means he'll be appointing ambassadors, ministers, and judges, giving royal assent to legislation, issuing writs for elections, and bestowing honours. But he'll also play a large ceremonial role which means he'll host lots of parties and do a lot of travelling throughout Australia to open conferences, attend services and commemorations. His appointment is seen as timely as the nation marks the centenary of World War 1 and the birth of the Anzac legend. At her service ... Peter Cosgrove with the Queen during her last visit to Australia in 2011.