Allen will be sworn in as the country's sixth proxy head of state in a ceremony at King's House in St Andrew.

Allen will be the first ordained minister to be sworn in as governor general and the first Seventh-Day Adventist to ascend to the post.

Allen, 58, will also be the second-youngest person to serve, behind Jamaica's first governor general, Sir Kenneth Blackburn, who was 55 when he was sworn in.

Allen has racked up a reputation for his activism, consistently calling on the Church to take the forefront in issues concerning HIV/AIDS, teenage pregnancy, spousal abuse and crime and violence.

Allen, a Portland native, has been married to educator Denise Patricia Beckford for 34 years. The marriage has produced three children: Kurt, Candice and David.