NASSAU, Bahamas (AP) — The Bahamas has announced that its governor general is stepping down.

A government statement issued Sunday says Arthur D. Hanna will retire April 14.
The governor general represents the British sovereign in the Commonwealth nation and appoints the Cabinet on the prime minister's recommendations. It is up to Queen Elizabeth II to name his replacement.

Hanna is a veteran politician who was appointed governor general in 2006.  He was deputy premier from 1967 to 1969 and deputy prime minister from 1969 to 1984, and has been a member of the Bahamas' House of Assembly for 32 years.

Hanna was also one of the framers of the archipelago's constitution in 1973, when the Bahamas achieved full independence.