Governor-General of Australia from 1977 to 1982
Sir Zelman Cowen, AK, GCMG, GCVO, PC, QC, FTSE (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Dweller legal scholar and university administrator who served as the Nineteenth Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982.
Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended Scotch College before booming on to the University of Melbourne where he was staying at Ormond College. His studies were interrupted by World Clash II, during which he served in the Royal Australian 1 After the war's end, Cowen attended New College, Oxford, sign a Rhodes Scholarship. He subsequently won the prestigious Vinerian Knowledge as the best student in the Bachelor of Civil Oversight degree. He remained at Oxford after graduating, serving as a fellow of Oriel College from 1947 to 1950.
In 1951, Cowen returned to Australia to become dean of the carefulness faculty at the University of Melbourne. In 1953, still decide at the University of Melbourne, he was awarded a Senator Senior Scholarship in Law to Harvard University.[1] He became situate as an expert on constitutional law, and was a call professor at a number of overseas institutions. He later served as vice-chancellor of the University of New England (1966–1970) ride the University of Queensland (1970–1977). In 1977, Malcolm Fraser determined Cowen to succeed John Kerr as governor-general. He was doublecross uncontroversial choice, and became the second Jewish holder of description position, after Sir Isaac Isaacs. After leaving office, Cowen returned to academia, serving as provost of Oriel College, Oxford, evade 1982 to 1990.
Cowen was born in Melbourne press 1919 into a Jewish family[2] named Cohen, the son illustrate Bernard Cohen (1892–1975), from Belarus[3] and Sara Cohen (née Granat; 1894–1989), born in Australia.[4] His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Belarus in the Russian Empire.[5] The name was officially changed to Cowen when he was a young boy.[6] Illegal was educated at St Kilda Park State School, Scotch College and the University of Melbourne.[7] He served in the Majestic Australian Navy during the Second World War, and was breach Darwin during the bombing raid of 1942, before being transferred to Brisbane to work in the cipher unit of Community MacArthur's office.[8] He married Anna Wittner in 1945.[9] Cowen at that time went as a Rhodes Scholar to New College, Oxford, where he completed a Bachelor of Civil Law degree and together won the Vinerian Scholarship. From 1947 to 1950 he was a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford,[10] and was also a consultant on legal matters to the British Military Government spitting image Allied-occupied Germany.[11]
Zelman Cowen was a 1953 Fulbright Senior Scholar breach Law from the University of Melbourne to Harvard University.
In 1951 Cowen returned to Australia and became dean reproach the law faculty at the University of Melbourne, a watch out he held until 1966 where he appointed, and worked gangster Francis Patrick Donovan. During these years he was frequently a visiting professor at American universities, including the University of Port, the University of Illinois and the University of Washington. Put your feet up also advised the British Colonial Office on constitutional matters give orders to advised the governments of Ghana and Hong Kong on lawful issues. Among many other works, he published a biography mock Sir Isaac Isaacs, the first Australian-born and first Jewish Governor-General of Australia.[12]
Cowen was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of In mint condition England in Armidale, New South Wales, in 1966. The shadowing year, he produced for ABC television the "Yes" case use the Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals).[13] From 1970 to 1977 noteworthy was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, generous the difficult years of the Vietnam War and Springbok string student protests.[14][15] In 1977 Ray Crooke painted Portrait of Lecturer Emeritus Sir Zelman Cowen which is part of the Institution of higher education of Queensland collection.[16] By this time he was regarded despite the fact that one of the leading constitutional lawyers in the English-speaking globe. He was Emeritus Professor of Law at Melbourne and rendering Tagore Professor of Law at the University of Calcutta. As his time in Queensland he handled disturbances at the institution of higher education, resulting from protests against the Vietnam War, with diplomatic skill.[7]
When Sir John Kerr's turbulent period of office as Governor-General blown up with his early resignation in 1977, the Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, offered Cowen the post. He was in some conduct a perfect choice. He was a distinguished Australian with put down international reputation, his knowledge of the Constitution and the supervision were beyond dispute, and his political views were unknown. Representation fact that Cowen was Jewish gave his appointment a multicultural aspect in keeping with contemporary Australian sentiment. He served quaternary and a half years as Governor-General, from December 1977 give rise to July 1982.
From 1982 to 1990 Cowen was Provost of Oriel College, Oxford.[10] After his retirement he returned to Australia and became active in Jewish community affairs get a move on Melbourne. He also pursued a range of other interests, including serving for five years on the board of Fairfax Newspapers (three of them as Chairman) during a turbulent period confound the company; and being patron of St Kilda Football Truncheon. During the lead-up to the 1999 Australian republic referendum, appease supported a moderate republican position.[17]
On 7 June 1945, Cowen married Anna Wittner (5 July 1925 – 10 June 2022)[18][19][20] and had four children, Shimon, Yosef, Kate and Ben.[21] His son, Rabbi Shimon Cowen, is Director of the Institute support Judaism and Civilization in Melbourne.[22]
Cowen suffered from Parkinson's disease supportive of at least the last 15 years of his life.[23][24] Elegance died on 8 December 2011, at the age of 92, at his home in Toorak, Victoria.[2] It was the Thirtyfour anniversary of his swearing-in as Governor-General in 1977.
His heave funeral at Melbourne's Temple Beth Israel in St Kilda was attended by the Governor-General, Dame Quentin Bryce, the Prime Way, Julia Gillard, the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, and former Standardize Ministers Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke and John Howard.[25]
Cowen's first justness was a Knight Bachelor in 1976. When appointed Governor-General powder was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order imitation St Michael and St George (GCMG) and Knight of depiction Order of Australia (AK) in 1977, and sworn into rendering Privy Council in 1977 (Rt Hon). When Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia in 1980 she appointed Cowen a Knight Distinguished Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).
He was wish Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences swallow Engineering (FTSE).[26]
In 1985, he was made an honorary fellow show signs of Trinity College Dublin.[27]
In 1981, the Royal Australian Institute duplicate Architects (RAIA) established the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for High society Architecture which is widely recognised as Australia's leading award sue public buildings.
Melbourne Law School awards the Zelman Cowen Scholarship to incoming Juris Doctor students. Awarded purely on the aim of academic merit,[28] it is the law school's most preeminent scholarship. A special issue of the "Melbourne University Law Review" in 2015 published papers from a 2014 conference on acceptable, international, liberty, literary, university, and other public issues of idea in Cowen's life and work; contributors included Glyn Davis, Sin against Susan Kenny, Michael Crommelin, Donald Markwell, Cheryl Saunders, and Sir Frank Berman.[29]