Linda Dessau

Her Excellency The Honourable
Linda Dessau
AM
29th Governor of Victoria
Assumed office
1 July 2015
Monarch Queen Elizabeth II
Premier Daniel Andrews
Lieutenant Marilyn Warren
Preceded by Alex Chernov
Personal details
Born Linda Marion Dessau
(1953-05-08) 8 May 1953
East Melbourne, Victoria
Nationality Australian
Spouse(s) Tony Howard (m. 1982)
Children 2
Residence Government House, Melbourne
Education St Catherine's School, Toorak
University of Melbourne
Profession Jurist, barrister
Religion Judaism
Website governor.vic.gov.au

Linda Marion Dessau AM (born 8 May 1953)[1] has been the Governor of Victoria since 1 July 2015.[2] She is the first female and first Jewish holder of the office. She was formerly a judge of the Family Court of Australia from 1995 to 2013.[3]

Dessau was appointed to the AFL Commission in November 2007.[4] A supporter of the Essendon Football Club, Dessau started and was the inaugural chair of the Essendon Women's Network in 1997, which for more than a decade has claimed a strong hold in the grand final week calendar.[5]

She was appointed to the board of the Melbourne Festival, of which she became President in 2014.[6]

Family background

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, and they had four children, of whom Linda was the youngest.[7]

Personal life

Dessau was born in Melbourne, and 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. She worked as a solicitor from 1974 to 1978, and as a barrister from 1979 to 1995, specialising in family law and commercial litigation.

She is one of five Jewish people to have served in a viceregal capacity in Australia, after Queensland governor Sir Matthew Nathan, New South Wales governor Gordon Samuels and governors-general Sir Isaac Isaacs and Sir Zelman Cowen.[8]

Since 1982, Dessau has been married to Tony Howard, a judge of the County Court of Victoria. They have two sons.[9]

Honours

Dessau was recognised for her service to the judiciary, particularly in the area of family law policy and practice, and to the community, when in 2010 she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia.[10]

Dessau was awarded a Churchill Fellowship in 1994, and travelled to the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom to study strategies employed to reduce delay within the court system.

References

  1. ↑ "Welcomes" (PDF). Victorian Bar News. Spring 1995. 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. ↑ Barrett, Damian (21 November 2007). "League not fussed at Pratt's cartel connection". Herald Sun. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  5. ↑ Wilson, Caroline (20 October 2012). "Meet the AFL commissioners". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  6. ↑ "Linda Dessau named president of Melbourne Festival". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  7. ↑ Green, Shane (1 July 2015). "New Governor of Victoria Linda Dessau a first in more ways than one". The Age. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
  8. ↑ Victoria’s first Jewish governor, The Australian Jewish News, 23 February 2015
  9. ↑ "Judge Anthony Howard". Governor of Victoria.
  10. ↑ "DESSAU, Linda Marion". It's an Honour. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
Government offices
Preceded by
Alex Chernov		 Governor of Victoria
2015–present 		Incumbent
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