Michael Jeffery

For other people named the Governor-General of Australia, see the Governor-General of Australia (disambiguation).

Maj-Gen Philip Michael Jeffery
24th Governor-General of Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 11 August 2003
Preceded by	Peter Hollingworth
Personal details
Born	12 December 1937 Wiluna, Western Australia

Major-General Philip Michael Jeffery, AC, CVO, MC, GCL (born 12 December 1937) is the 24th Governor-General of Australia. Jeffery was born in Wiluna, Western Australia and was educated at state schools in Perth. One of these schools was Kent Street Senior High School, which he makes special mentions of in many of his past and current speeches.

Jeffery military service started by attending Royal Military College, Duntroon where he graduated in 1958. During a tour of duty in Vietnam he was awarded the Military Cross. He retired from the Royal Australian Army in 1993 to become Governor of Western Australia. On 11 August 2003, Jeffery became the first Australian soldier to appointed Governor-General.

Military Career

At 16 he left Perth to attend the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in Canberra. After graduation in 1958, Jeffery served in a number of junior positions before being posted to Malaya in 1962 for operational service. From 1966 to 1969 he served in Papua New Guinea. During this posting, he married Marlena Kerr of Sydney. This was followed by a tour of duty in Vietnam during which he was awarded the Military Cross (MC). Jeffery remained convinced that Australia's participation in the Vietnam War was right. "I believe passionately that Vietnam was a just cause in the circumstances of the time," he said in an interview.

In 1972 Jeffery was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel to command the 2nd Battalion of the Pacific Islands Regiment. In 1975, he assumed command of the SAS in Perth, and was then promoted to Colonel as the first Director of the Army's Special Action Forces (7 January 1976 – 22 October 1977). He was instrumental in developing the surveillance concept for Northern Australia and as Director of Special Action Forces, he prepared the development of the Australian Counter terrorist concept and capability.

From 1981 to 1983 he headed Australia's national counter-terrorist co-ordination authority. In 1985 he was promoted to Major-General and appointed to command the Army's 1st Division. In 1990 he became Deputy Chief of the General Staff and in 1991 he was appointed Assistant Chief of the General Staff for Materiel.

He retired from the army in 1993.

Governor of Western Australia

In November 1993 Jeffery was appointed Governor of Western Australia, and in June 1996 he became a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC). He was also appointed Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO). During his seven years in the post Jeffery made a number of public statements of his conservative views on marriage, sex and education, and received some criticism from the Labor opposition and sections of the media for appearing to take positions on political issues.

On the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, for example, Jeffery said: "Baser instincts are titillated in the television displays of events like the Mardi Gras, where the colour and spectacle of fancy dress camouflages a public display of simulated homosexual activity and the degradation of traditional religions in the name of humour."

He also said: "A British study found a direct statistical link between single parenthood and virtually every type of major crime, including mugging, violence against strangers, car theft and burglary. And the same is true...in Western Australia."

Governor-General

Style and Title:
His Excellency Major General Michael Jeffery AC CVO MC (Retd)
Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia

Following the resignation of Governor-General Dr Peter Hollingworth, Prime Minister John Howard announced on 22 June 2003 that he had chosen Major-General Jeffery to succeed him. He was formally appointed by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, and was sworn in on 11 August 2003, becoming the first Australian soldier to become Governor-General.

His appointment was generally welcomed, although there was some critical comment about the appointment of another Anglo-Australian male to the post, and also some comment about Jeffery's conservative views. A journalist wrote in The Australian: "Jeffery is Howard's perfect Governor-General. The ex-soldier is deeply conservative, steeped in the military and strong on traditional family values."

Jeffery made no apologies for his outspokenness, and commented that: "I think I will be able to talk on issues and principles and values and standards quite comfortably as Governor-General." Since taking office Jeffery has kept a very low profile. Some journalists have speculated that he has been instructed to do so by the Prime Minister. Only 14% of people interviewed for a newspaper survey in August 2006 recognised his photograph [1].

Personal

Michael Jeffery is married to Marlena (nee Kerr); they have three sons, a daughter and seven grandchildren. He enjoys music, reading, golf and fishing.

Note: Jeffrey is an extremely common misspelling of his name, occurring even on Australian Government websites, and in many newspaper articles.

See also: Politics of Australia

Honours

[2]

• Military Cross
• Australian National Medal (1977)
• Order of Australia: Member AM (1981); Officer AO (1988); Companion AC (1996)
• Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO)
• Honorary Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL) (2005) [3]
• Patron of Engineers Australia (HonFIEAust)

External links and references

• Governor-General of Australia site

Contact

Governor-General
Government House
Dunrossil Drive
Yarralumla ACT
AUSTRALIA 2600

E-Mail

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