General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

David John Hurley, (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), who ...

who has served as the 27th

governor-general of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...

, serving from 2014 to 2019. In a 42-year military career, Hurley deployed on Operation Solace in

Somalia Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constitut ...

in 1993, commanded the 1st Brigade (1999–2000), was the inaugural Chief of Capability Development Group (2003–2007) and Chief of Joint Operations (2007–2008) and served as

Vice Chief of the Defence Force The Vice Chief of the Defence Force (VCDF) is the military deputy to the Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) of Australia, and acts as the CDF in his absence under standing acting arrangements. Vice Admiral David Johnston, the incumbent VCDF, has ...

(2008–2011). His career culminated with his appointment as Chief of the Defence Force on 4 July 2011, in succession to Air Chief Marshal

Angus Houston Air Chief Marshal Sir Allan Grant "Angus" Houston, (born 9 June 1947) is a retired senior officer of the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2001 and then as the Chief of the Defence Force from 4 July 20 ...

. Hurley retired from the army in June 2014, and succeeded Dame Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales on 2 October 2014.

Early life and education

David John Hurley was born on 26 August 1953 in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near w ...

, New South Wales, to Norma and James Hurley. His father was an

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal region in the Australian state of New South Wales, nestled between the mountains and the sea. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast region. It encompasses the two cities of Wollong ...

steelworker and his mother worked in a grocery store. Hurley grew up in

Port Kembla A port is a maritime law, maritime facility comprising one or more Wharf, wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge Affreightment, cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can a ...

and attended Port Kembla High School, where he completed his Higher School Certificate in 1971. He subsequently graduated from the

Royal Military College, Duntroon lit: Learning promotes strength , established = , type = Military college , chancellor = , head_label = Commandant , head = Brigadier Ana Duncan , principal = , city = Campbell , state ...

with a Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies, and from

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia. Its main campuses are in Melbourne's Burwood suburb, Geelong Waurn Ponds, ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

. Hurley is married to Linda ( McMartin) and has three children.

Military career

131121-D-HU462-072 (10999321763) (David Hurley cropped)

Hurley entered the

, as an officer cadet in January 1972. On graduating from Duntroon in December 1975, he was commissioned a

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often ...

in the

Royal Australian Infantry Corps The Royal Australian Infantry Corps (RA Inf) is the parent corps for all infantry regiments of the Australian Army. It was established on 14 December 1948, with its Royal Corps status being conferred by His Majesty King George VI. At her corona ...

. His initial posting was to the

1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1 RAR) is a regular motorised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. 1 RAR was first formed as the 65th Australian Infantry Battalion of the 34th Brigade (Australia) on Balikpapan in 1945 and sinc ...

(1RAR). Promoted to

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

, he was appointed

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an officer who assists the commanding officer with unit administration, mostly the management of human resources in an army unit. The term is used in French-speaking armed forces as a non-commission ...

of the

Sydney University Regiment Sydney University Regiment (SUR) is an officer-training regiment of the Australian Army Reserve. Its predecessor, the University Volunteer Rifle Corps, was raised in 1900 as a unit of the colonial New South Wales Defence Force. During the 20th ...

before becoming regimental adjutant of the Royal Australian Regiment. He went on exchange to the 1st Battalion,

Irish Guards ("Who Shall Separate s") , colors = , identification_symbol_2 Saffron (pipes), identification_symbol_2_label = Tartan , identification_symbol = , identification_symbol_label = Tactical Recognition F ...

, a

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurkha ...

unit, before serving with

5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment The 5th/7th Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment (Mechanised) (5/7 RAR ECH was a mechanised infantry battalion of the Australian Army. The battalion was based at Robertson Barracks in Holtze, Northern Territory and formed part of the 1st Bri ...

. Promoted to

lieutenant colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colon ...

, Hurley was posted as the Senior Career Adviser (Armour, Artillery, Engineers and Infantry) in the Office of the Military Secretary in 1990, appointed SO1 (Operations) Headquarters 2nd Division in early 1991, and in November 1991 assumed command of 1RAR, which he led during Operation Solace in Somalia in 1993. He was awarded the

Distinguished Service Cross The Distinguished Service Cross (D.S.C.) is a military decoration for courage. Different versions exist for different countries. *Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) *Distinguished Service Cross (United Kingdom) *Distinguished Service Cross (U ...

for his service during this deployment. In 1994 he became SO1 (Operations), Headquarters 1st Division.Defence Keynote Address to SimTecT2006
, LTGEN General David Hurley, 29 May 2006, Melbourne Convention Centre, www.siaa.asn.au Following promotion to

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

, Hurley was appointed Chief of Staff, Headquarters 1st Division in June 1994, attended the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military officer ...

from 1996 to 1997, became Military Secretary to Chief of Army, and was posted to Australian Defence Headquarters as Director of Preparedness and Mobilisation in December 1997. As a

brigadier Brigadier is a military rank, the seniority of which depends on the country. In some countries, it is a senior rank above colonel, equivalent to a brigadier general or commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several thousand soldiers. ...

, he assumed command of the 1st Brigade in Darwin in January 1999. During this period he oversaw the brigade's transition to a higher degree of operational readiness and its support to Australian–led operations in East Timor. He went on to be Director General Land Development within Capability Systems in January 2001. Hurley was promoted to

major general Major general (abbreviated MG, maj. gen. and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. The disappearance of the "sergeant" in the title explains the apparent confusion of ...

in 2001 and served as Head Capability Systems Division from July 2001, and as Land Commander Australia from December 2002. Promoted to

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on th ...

, he assumed the new appointment of Chief of Capability Development Group in December 2003, went on to take the newly separated appointment of Chief of Joint Operations in September 2007, and became

in July 2008. Hurley was promoted to

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

and succeeded Air Chief Marshal

as Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) on 4 July 2011. In January 2012 Hurley completed 40 years service to the

Australian Defence Force The Australian Defence Force (ADF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the Commonwealth of Australia and its national interests. It consists of the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army, Royal Australian Air Fo ...

, and on 20 January while in Paris, he was presented with the insignia for Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleo ...

by the French CDF. In February, he was presented with a fifth clasp to the

Defence Force Service Medal __NOTOC__ The Defence Force Service Medal (DFSM) is an Australian Military award given for long service by permanent members of the Australian Defence Force. It is part of the suite of defence force service awards introduced in 1982, which also ...

in recognition of his 40 years of service.Army News, February 2012, www.defence.gov.au Hurley retired from the Australian Army on 30 June 2014, and was succeeded as CDF by Air Chief Marshal

Mark Binskin Air Chief Marshal Mark Donald Binskin, (born 20 March 1960) is a former senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force. He served as Chief of Air Force (2008–11), Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2011–14), and Chief of the Defence Force ...

. Lieutenant General David Morrison, the 2016

Australian of the Year The Australian of the Year is a national award conferred on an Australian citizen by the National Australia Day Council, a not-for-profit Australian Governmentowned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the State and Territ ...

, credited Hurley with the phrase "the standard you walk past is the standard you accept" in his anti-misogyny speech, which became "one of the most quoted phrases" of Morrison's speech.

Governor of New South Wales

On 5 June 2014, New South Wales Premier

Mike Baird Michael Bruce Baird (born 1 April 1968) is an Australian investment banker and former politician who was the 44th Premier of New South Wales, the Minister for Infrastructure, the Minister for Western Sydney, and the Leader of the New South ...

announced that Hurley would replace Dame Marie Bashir as

Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...

: he was sworn in on 2 October 2014 after Bashir's term as governor had expired. On 17 March 2015, he was invested as a

Knight of the Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headqu ...

by the Lord Prior of the Order, Neil Conn, at a ceremony at

Government House, Sydney The Government House is the heritage-listed vice-regal residence of the governor of New South Wales, Australia, located on Conservatorium Road in the Sydney central business district adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden, overlooking Sydne ...

Governor-General of Australia

On 16 December 2018, Prime Minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (; born 13 May 1968) is an Australian politician. He served as the 30th prime minister of Australia and as Leader of the Liberal Party of Australia from 2018 to 2022, and is currently the member of parliament (MP) for th ...

announced that Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states durin ...

had approved the appointment of Hurley as the next

Governor-General of Australia The governor-general of Australia is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in Australia.Margaret Beazley Margaret Joan Beazley, , (born 23 July 1951) is an Australian Judge, jurist who is the 39th and current governor of New South Wales, serving since 2 May 2019. She was the president of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, the List of the first wo ...

was designated as his replacement as Governor of New South Wales. Hurley was sworn in as the 27th Governor-General at

Parliament House, Canberra Parliament House, also referred to as Capital Hill or simply Parliament, is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, and the seat of the legislative branch of the Australian Government. Located in Canberra, the Parliament building is ...

, on 1 July 2019. His first words were spoken in the language of the local Aboriginal people, the

Ngunnawal language Ngunnawal/Ngunawal is an Australian Aboriginal languages, Australian Aboriginal language, the traditional language of the Ngunnawal people, Ngunnawal. Ngunnawal is very closely related to the Gandangara language and the two were most likely hi ...

. On 11 September 2019, when attending an Indonesian national day reception held by the Indonesian Embassy at the

Australian National Gallery The National Gallery of Australia (NGA), formerly the Australian National Gallery, is the national art museum of Australia as well as one of the largest art museums in Australia, holding more than 166,000 works of art. Located in Canberra in th ...

in Canberra, Hurley opted to make his address to the reception in Indonesian. After first making his address in Indonesian, he repeated his comments in English. This is the first recorded occasion that any Australian Governor-General has made any extended statement in Indonesian on any occasion in Australia. On 18 March 2020, a human biosecurity emergency was declared in Australia owing to the risks to human health posed by the

COVID-19 pandemic in Australia The COVID-19 pandemic in Australia is part of the ongoing worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The first confirmed case in Australia was identified on 25 January ...

, after the National Security Committee met the previous day. The ''

Biosecurity Act 2015 The ''Biosecurity Act 2015'' is an Act of the Parliament of Australia which manages biosecurity risks in Australia. It was enacted on 16 June 2015, after the Bill was passed with bipartisan support on 14 May 2015. It covers both agricultural ...

'' specifies that the Governor-General may declare such an emergency exists if the

Health Minister A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

(at the time

Greg Hunt Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is a former Australian politician who was the Minister for Health between January 2017 and May 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives between November 2001 and 2022, rep ...

) is satisfied that "a listed human disease is posing a severe and immediate threat, or is causing harm, to human health on a nationally significant scale". The ''Biosecurity (Human Biosecurity Emergency) (Human Coronavirus with Pandemic Potential) Declaration 2020'' was declared by Hurley under Section 475 of the Act. During his tenure, Hurley promoted a leadership program to Morrison. The program — Australian Future Leaders Foundation Limited — was given $18 million in funding, despite having no office, online website or staff. This funding was cancelled by the Albanese government in September 2022, with Treasurer

Jim Chalmers James Edward Chalmers (born 2 March 1978) is an Australian politician, currently serving as Treasurer of Australia since 23 May 2022. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served as a member of parliament for the division ...

stating that it "didn’t pass muster" or represent "value for money". Chalmers stated that there would not be an investigation into Hurley's role in the program. Hurley was involved in the

Scott Morrison ministerial positions controversy The Scott Morrison ministerial positions controversy, also known as the Morrison ministries scandal, was a major political scandal in Australia involving the government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison. The scandal developed following the 2022 ...

when he secretly appointed Morrison to five ministerial positions between March 2020 and May 2021. Hurley was found to have no discretion to refuse Morrison's advice and an inquiry considered criticism of Hurley's role to be "unwarranted".

Titles, styles and honours

Titles

Hurley's style and title in full from 1 July 2019 is: ''His Excellency General the Honourable David John Hurley, Principal Companion and Chancellor of the Order of Australia, Distinguished Service Cross, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.''

Honours and awards

;Badges *

Infantry Combat Badge The Infantry Combat Badge (ICB) is awarded to serving members of the Australian Army for service as an Infantryman in warlike operations. Its equivalent for members operating with an Arms Corps Unit within a warlike area of operations is the Ar ...

Honorary degrees

* 2013: Honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt.) by the

University of Wollongong The University of Wollongong (abbreviated as UOW) is an Australian public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately 80 kilometres south of Sydney. As of 2017, the university had an enrolment of ...

. * 2015: Honorary Doctorate of the University (D.Univ.) by the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensiv ...

. * 2017: Honorary Doctorate of the University (D.Univ.) by

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a public research university based in Sydney, Australia, in the suburb of Macquarie Park. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the metropolitan area of ...

Honorary appointments

* 2008–2019: Honorary

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge ...

of the

. * 2014–2019: Chief Scout of Scouts Australia NSW. ** 2019–present: Chief Scout of Australia * 2014–2019: Honorary Colonel of the

Royal New South Wales Regiment The Royal New South Wales Regiment (RNSWR) is a reserve infantry regiment of the Australian Army based in the state of New South Wales. Organisation The regiment currently consists of four battalions: * 1st/19th Battalion; * 2nd/17th Battalion; ...

. *

Ensign of the Royal Australian Air Force

2014–2019: Honorary Air Commodore of No. 22 Squadron

Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...

. * 2014–2019: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John. ** 2019–present: Prior of the Order of St John * 2014–2019: Governor of the

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...

. * 2016: Honorary Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is a learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. It was founded in 1975 as one of Australia's then four learned academies (now five) ...

(Hon.FTSE). * 2019–present: Patron of Rugby Australia. * 2019–present: Colonel-in-Chief of the

Royal Australian Army Medical Corps The Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (RAAMC) is the branch of the Australian Army responsible for providing medical care to Army personnel. The AAMC was formed in 1902 through the amalgamation of medical units of the various Australian coloni ...

* 2019–present: Colonel of the Regiment of the Royal Australian Regiment

Other appointments

Hurley is an Honorary Patron of the ACT Veterans Rugby Club, Patron of

Transport Heritage NSW In 2013, Transport Heritage NSW was established by the Government of New South Wales to manage the State’s rail heritage collection and provide support to the broader transport (bus, tram, rail) heritage sector in NSW following an independent ...

, Patron of the

Australian World Orchestra Australian World Orchestra (AWO) is a symphony orchestra based in Australia. History The Australian World Orchestra was established in 2011 by Australian conductor Alexander Briger AO and his sister, film maker Gabrielle Thompson AM. The i ...

, and the Australian Future Leaders Foundation. he is one of three patrons of the

Australian Indigenous Education Foundation The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) is a non-profit organisation which provides scholarships to the Indigenous students in Australia. History The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation was established in 2008 by Andrew ...

References

External links

Governor-General's Commission
, - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Hurley, David 1953 births Australian generals Chiefs of Capability Development Group (Australia) Chiefs of Joint Operations (Australia) Chiefs of the Defence Force (Australia) Commanders of the Legion of Merit Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Governors of New South Wales Honorary air commodores of the Royal Australian Air Force Knights of the Order of St John Land Commanders (Australia) Living people Officiers of the Légion d'honneur People from Wollongong Recipients of the Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera) Recipients of the Decoration of Merit Recipients of the Distinguished Service Cross (Australia) Recipients of the Order of Timor-Leste Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Military personnel from New South Wales Vice Chiefs of the Defence Force (Australia) Governors-General of Australia