The Honourable
Linda Dessau
AC CVO
Dessau in 2019
29th Governor of Victoria
In office
1 July 2015 – 30 June 2023
MonarchsElizabeth II
Charles III
PremierDaniel Andrews
LieutenantMarilyn Warren (2015–2017)
Ken Lay (2017–2021)
James Angus (2021–2023)
Preceded byAlex Chernov
Succeeded byMargaret Gardner
Personal details
Born
Linda Marion Dessau

(1953-05-08) 8 May 1953
East Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Spouse
Tony Howard
​
(m. 1982)​
Children2 sons
EducationSt Catherine’s School
University of Melbourne
ProfessionJurist, barrister

Linda Marion Dessau AC CVO (born 8 May 1953[1]) is an Australian jurist and barrister who served as the 29th Governor of Victoria from 2015 to 2023.[2] She is the first female and the first Jewish holder of the office. She was previously a judge of the Family Court of Australia from 1995 to 2013.[3]

Early life

Dessau was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 8 May 1953, the youngest of four children. Her father, John Dessau, arrived in Melbourne from Poland in 1929. At first he took on factory work, but later he became a businessman. He married Sybil, who was born in Melbourne.[4]

Dessau spent time in Israel as a young woman, including several months as a kibbutznik at Sdot Yam.[5]

Dessau was educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak, matriculating at the age of sixteen. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Melbourne in 1973 as its youngest law graduate.

Dessau was admitted to practise as a solicitor and barrister in 1975. She worked as associate partner with Melbourne-based family law firm Wisewoulds, later practising as a barrister in family law matters for four years. In 1982 she moved to Hong Kong and took up an appointment as crown counsel in the Legal Department. She was subsequently appointed senior crown counsel and prosecuted criminal jury trials and appeals.[6] Dessau returned to Australia in 1985 and the following year was appointed as a magistrate with the Magistrates' Court of Victoria. She was supervising magistrate of the court's civil and family division until her appointment to the Family Court of Australia in 1995.[7]

Community service

Dessau was appointed to the AFL Commission in November 2007, the second woman ever appointed to the Commission, and attracted speculation that she might become the first female Chair of the Commission.[8][9] She is a supporter of the Essendon Football Club, and in 1997 she started, and was the inaugural chair of, the Essendon Women's Network, which for more than a decade has maintained a strong presence in the grand final week calendar.[10] She was appointed to the board of the Melbourne Festival, of which she became president in 2014.[11] Dessau was a member of the Council of Trustees of the National Gallery of Victoria from August 2013, resigning on 27 March 2015 following the announcement of her appointment as Governor.[12]

Awarding Dessau an honorary doctorate in 2022, Melbourne's La Trobe University described her as "an inspiring pioneer and role model for women in leadership through her judicial appointments and in her numerous community roles in service of others."[13]

Governor

With an eight-year term, Dessau is the longest-serving governor of Victoria since 1974, when Major General Sir Rohan Delacombe, KCMG KCVO KBE CB DSO concluded an eleven year term.[14] Announcing a three-year extension to her five year term in 2019, the Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, said of Dessau and her husband, “Through their tireless work they have wonderfully represented and celebrated our diverse community and its achievements at home and internationally, while making Government House a more open, accessible and inclusive place.”[15]

On 1 November 2021, Dessau succeeded Queensland governor Paul de Jersey as the longest-serving incumbent state governor. Although she had received a commission to act as Administrator of the Commonwealth in the absence of the governor-general of Australia following her appointment in 2016,[16] it was only after becoming the longest-serving state governor in 2021 that she was routinely called on to fulfill that role.[17]

La Trobe University's 2022 honorary doctorate citation said, "As Governor, she has carried out her constitutional responsibilities and ceremonial duties with distinction and worked tirelessly in the community and international engagement activities."[18]

Dessau is one of five Jews to have served in a viceregal capacity in Australia, after governors-general Sir Isaac Isaacs and Sir Zelman Cowen, and governors Sir Matthew Nathan (Queensland) and Gordon Samuels (New South Wales).[19]

In August 2016, Dessau was embroiled in an expenses scandal, which saw her personally repay the expenses of lunches at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant (Pétrus) and Harrods, which had originally been paid by the Victorian taxpayer.[20] In 2016, the level of expenses for capital works and ongoing maintenance requested by Dessau were alleged to be excessive, and a former Government House employee told the Herald Sun that the working environment there was "toxic".[21]

On the expiration of her term on 30 June 2023, she was succeeded by Margaret Gardner, the then-vice chancellor of Monash University.[22] At the same time as announcing Professor Gardner as the 30th Governor of Victoria, the Premier thanked Dessau "for her outstanding leadership and compassion during some of our state’s most challenging times. The Governor and her husband Anthony Howard AM KC have supported, represented and championed our diverse community with grace and dedication.”[23]

Personal life

Dessau is married to Anthony Howard, AM, KC, a former judge of the County Court of Victoria. They were married in 1982 and have two sons.[24] In 2021 their son Ollie became engaged to Lauren Thurin, the granddaughter of billionaire property developer John Gandel.[25]

Honours

Viceregal styles of
Linda Dessau
(2015–2023)
Reference styleHer Excellency the Honourable
Spoken styleYour Excellency
Orders
Organisations
Appointments
Awards

References

  1. ↑ "Welcomes" (PDF). Victorian Bar News. Spring 1995. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 March 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  2. ↑ White, Alex (1 July 2015). "Victoria's first female Governor Linda Dessau sworn in". Herald Sun. Retrieved 1 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Justice Linda Dessau retires from the Family Court of Australia, Family Court of Australia, 21 June 2013.
  4. ↑ Green, Shane (1 July 2015). "New Governor of Victoria Linda Dessau a first in more ways than one". The Age. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  5. ↑ "Grapevine: Governor reveals bilateral romance". The Jerusalem Post. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  6. ↑ "A new judge in court". The Australian Jewish News. 7 July 1995. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  7. ↑ "Linda Dessau now Family Court judge". The Australian Jewish News. 23 June 1995. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  8. ↑ Barrett, Damian (21 November 2007). "League not fussed at Pratt's cartel connection". Herald Sun. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  9. ↑ Wilson, Caroline (13 February 2015). "First woman Governor could have been first woman AFL chairman". The Age. Retrieved 8 June 2023.
  10. ↑ Wilson, Caroline (20 October 2012). "Meet the AFL commissioners". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "Linda Dessau named president of Melbourne Festival". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  12. ↑ "NGV Annual Report 2014/15" (PDF). National Gallery of Victoria.
  13. ↑ "Governor of Victoria receives Honorary Doctorate". La Trobe University. 15 December 2022.
  14. ↑ "Governors of Victoria". Governor of Victoria website. 6 June 2023.
  15. ↑ "Governor Of Victoria's Term Extended". Premier of Victoria. 5 June 2023.
  16. ↑ "COMMISSION TO ADMINISTER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA". Australian Government Federal Register of Legislation. 19 December 2016.
  17. ↑ "Administrator of the Commonwealth". Governor of Victoria.
  18. ↑ "Governor of Victoria receives Honorary Doctorate".
  19. ↑ Victoria's first Jewish governor, The Australian Jewish News, 23 February 2015.
  20. ↑ Anderson, Stephanie (18 August 2016). "Victorian Governor Linda Dessau repays cost of expensive meals in London restaurants". ABC News. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  21. ↑ Coster, Alice; Hudson, Fiona (16 August 2016). "Claims of cost blowouts, toxic workplace at Victoria's Government House". Herald Sun. Retrieved 27 September 2017.
  22. ↑ "Premier Announces 30th Governor of Victoria". Premier of Victoria. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  23. ↑ "Premier Announces 30th Governor Of Victoria". Premier of Victoria. 5 June 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  24. ↑ "About the Governor". Governor of Victoria. Retrieved 5 January 2020.
  25. ↑ Brook, Stephen; Hutchinson, Samantha (30 April 2021). "Prominent families to unite as Dessau's son engaged to a Gandel". The Age. Retrieved 30 May 2021.
  26. ↑ It's an Honour: Companion of the Order of Australia, AustralianGovernment, retrieved 6 August 2018
  27. ↑ It's an Honour: Companion of the Order of Australia, AustralianGovernment, retrieved 6 August 2018
  28. ↑ Joining HE Governor-General, Lady Cosgrove & the @stjohnaustralia leaders as a Dame of Grace in the Order of St John, Governor of Victoria, retrieved 4 May 2019
  29. ↑ "Crown Office". www.thegazette.co.uk.
  30. ↑ "Victorian Honour Roll of Women". Women Victoria – vic.gov.au. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
  31. ↑ "Understanding the Most Venerable Order of St John" (PDF). Governor of New South Wales. Governor of New South Wales. 12 December 2014. Retrieved 24 August 2018.
  32. ↑ "Governor of Victoria receives Honorary Doctorate". La Trobe University. 15 December 2022.
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