Linda Dessau
| Her Excellency The Honourable Linda Dessau AM |
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| 29th Governor of Victoria | |
| Assumed office 1 July 2015 |
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| Monarch | Queen Elizabeth II |
| Premier | Daniel Andrews |
| Lieutenant | Marilyn Warren |
| Preceded by | Alex Chernov |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Linda Marion Dessau 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 |
| 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
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- ↑ Justice Linda Dessau retires from the Family Court of Australia, Family Court of Australia, 21 June 2013.
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- ↑ Victoria’s first Jewish governor, The Australian Jewish News, 23 February 2015
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External links
| Government offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Governor of Victoria 2015–present |
Incumbent |
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Before Federation |
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- Pages with broken file links
- 1953 births
- Living people
- Australian Jews
- Judges of the Family Court of Australia
- Australian magistrates
- Australian barristers
- Hong Kong Senior Counsel
- Members of the Order of Australia
- Governors of Victoria (Australia)
- Melbourne Law School alumni
- Australian people of Polish-Jewish descent
