Barbara Avalon Baker (born 31 March 1958) is an Australian

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdiction (area), jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include arguing cases in courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, jurisprud ...

and former judge, who is the 29th and current

governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the monarch, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the governor is Gov ...

since 16 June 2021. She served on the

Federal Circuit Court of Australia The Federal Circuit Court of Australia, formerly known as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Service, was an Australian court hierarchy, Australian court with jurisdiction over matters broadly relating to fami ...

from 2008 to 2021.

Early life

Baker was born on 31 March 1958 in

Hobart Hobart ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the island state of Tasmania, Australia. Located in Tasmania's south-east on the estuary of the River Derwent, it is the southernmost capital city in Australia. Despite containing nearly hal ...

, Tasmania, and raised in Sandy Bay. Her parents were

Alison Burton Alison Violet Burton (3 November 1921 – 9 June 2014) was a left-handed Australian tennis player. She and Joyce Wood won the girls' doubles competition at the Australian Championships (now the Australian Open) in 1938, 1939 and 1940. Biography ...

, a tennis player, and Bob Baker, a lawyer who became a Liberal member of the Tasmanian Parliament. Baker studied arts and law at the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College (University of Tasmania), Christ College, one of the unive ...

, graduating in 1980 (BA, LLB). She represented Tasmania in tennis and field hockey at under-18 level.

Career

Baker was admitted to the legal profession in 1983. She joined Simmons Wolfhagen as a solicitor and later worked for the Office of the Solicitor-General. In 1993 she became the first female partner at Murdoch Clarke. As a lawyer Baker "specialised in family law and relationship matters". She served on the executive of the Law Society of Tasmania (1995–1996) and as president of the Family Law Practitioners' Association (2002). In 2008, Baker was appointed to the

Federal Magistrates Court of Australia The Federal Circuit Court of Australia, formerly known as the Federal Magistrates Court of Australia or the Federal Magistrates Service, was an Australian court with jurisdiction over matters broadly relating to family law and child support, a ...

, the first Tasmanian woman to serve on the court. In 2013 the court was renamed the Federal Circuit Court and its members received the title "judge" rather than magistrate. She retired from the judiciary in January 2021 and returned to practise as a barrister at Burbury Chambers.

Governor of Tasmania

In May 2021, Premier

Peter Gutwein Peter Carl Gutwein () (born 21 December 1964) is a former Australian politician who was the 46th premier of Tasmania from 2020 to 2022. He was a Liberal Party member of the Tasmanian House of Assembly from 2002 to 2022, representing the electora ...

announced that Baker would succeed

Kate Warner Catherine Ann Warner (born 14 July 1948) is an Australian lawyer and legal academic who was the 28th Governor of Tasmania from 2014 to 2021. Early life and education Warner was born Catherine Ann Friend in Hobart, Tasmania, and attended St Mi ...

as governor of Tasmania with effect from 16 June. She stated that she would "focus on gender equality and family violence issues in the community", as well as encouraging participation in sport and acting as a role model for young lawyers. She also said that her personal views on the monarchy or

republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology that encompasses a range of ideas from civic virtue, political participation, harms of corruption, positives of mixed constitution, rule of law, and others. Historically, it emphasizes the idea of self ...

were not relevant to the position. In the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours she was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

Personal life

Baker is married to Don Chalmers AO, an emeritus professor of law at the University of Tasmania, and has two daughters. Baker captained Tasmania in

indoor hockey Indoor(s) may refer to: *the interior of a building *Indoor environment, in building science, traditionally includes the study of indoor thermal environment, indoor acoustic environment, indoor light environment, and indoor air quality *Built envi ...

. She was also an accomplished

real tennis Real tennis – one of several games sometimes called "the sport of kings" – is the original racquet sport from which the modern game of tennis (also called "lawn tennis") is derived. It is also known as court tennis in the United Sta ...

player, winning the singles and doubles events of the

1998 Australian Open The 1998 Australian Open was a tennis tournament played on outdoor hard courts at Melbourne Park in Melbourne in Victoria in Australia. It was the 86th edition of the Australian Open and was held from 19 January through 1 February 1998. Senior ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baker, Barbara Living people Companions of the Order of Australia Governors of Tasmania Judges of the Federal Circuit Court of Australia Australian barristers Australian real tennis players University of Tasmania alumni Australian female field hockey players People from Hobart 1958 births Australian female indoor hockey players 20th-century Australian sportswomen Women governors of the Australian states