Everything about Michael Jeffery totally explained
Major General Philip Michael Jeffery AC,
CVO,
MC (born
12 December1937) is the 24th
Governor-General of Australia. He was born in
Wiluna, Western Australia and was educated at
Kent Street Senior High School.
Jeffery's military service started by attending the
Royal Military College, Duntroon from which he graduated in 1958. During a tour of duty in
Vietnam he was awarded the
Military Cross. He retired from the
Australian Army in 1993 to become
Governor of Western Australia. On
11 August 2003, he became the first Australian career soldier to be appointed
Governor-General.
Military career
At sixteen he left
Perth to attend the
Royal Military College, Duntroon, in
Canberra. After graduation in 1958, he 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 (together with whom he'd three sons, a daughter and seven subsequent grandchildren). This was followed by a tour of duty in
Vietnam during which he was awarded the
Military Cross (MC).
In 1972 he 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.
Although he retired from the army in 1993, he's still considered the "Honorary Colonel" of the SASR, where he holds the ceremonial role of inducting new soldiers into the regiment and presenting them with their famous sandy beret.
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 appointed a
Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) on
1 April 2000.
During his seven years in the post he 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, General 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."
In 2007, in his position as Governor-General, Major General Jeffery was appointed as the
Colonel-in-Chief of the
Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, succeeding the previous Colonel-in-Chief,
HM Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Over time, it's expected that future Governors-General will serve in this position.
Jeffery is the
Chief Scout of Australia. Historically the Governor-General of Australia has also served as Chief Scout of Australia; the Chief Scout is nominated by the Scouting Association's National Executive Committee and is invited by the President of the Scout Association to accept the appointment. Jeffery has been an active Chief Scout.
On
13 April 2008 it was confirmed that Jeffery would leave the position prior to the appointment of the next Governor-General, Ms
Quentin Bryce, the current
Governor of Queensland. Ms Bryce will be sworn in on
5 September 2008.
See also:
Politics of Australia
Honours
Unit Award:
Images of General Jeffery with medals:
11Apr08
8Apr08
External links and references
Governor-General of Australia site
Further Information
Get more info on 'Michael Jeffery'.
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