David Morritz de Kretser (born 27 April 1939) is an Australian medical researcher who served as the 27th Governor of Victoria, from 2006 to 2011.

Early life and medical career

David de Kretser was born in

British Ceylon British Ceylon (; ), officially British Settlements and Territories in the Island of Ceylon with its Dependencies from 1802 to 1833, then the Island of Ceylon and its Territories and Dependencies from 1833 to 1931 and finally the Island of Cey ...

(now known as

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

). He was educated at St. Paul's Milagiriya and Royal College Primary, before migrating to Australia with his family when he was aged nine. He studied at Camberwell Grammar School,

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

(where he is currently a member of the school board), received his Bachelors of Medicine and Surgery degrees from the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

in 1962, and his

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

degree from

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

in 1969. De Kretser is an

infertility In biology, infertility is the inability of a male and female organism to Sexual reproduction, reproduce. It is usually not the natural state of a healthy organism that has reached sexual maturity, so children who have not undergone puberty, whi ...

and

andrology Andrology (from , ''anēr'', genitive , ''andros'' 'man' and , ''-logy, -logia'') is a name for the medicine, medical specialty that deals with male health, particularly relating to the problems of the male reproductive system and urology, urologi ...

expert, and a long-serving

academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

. He began working at Monash University in 1965, in the university's department of

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of morphology concerned with the study of the internal structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old scien ...

, and has also worked as foundation director of the Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development (recently renamed the Monash Institute of Medical Research) and as Associate Dean of the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences (the Biotechnology Department). He was a senior Fellow of

endocrinology Endocrinology (from ''endocrine system, endocrine'' + ''wikt:-logy#Suffix, -ology'') is a branch of biology and medicine dealing with the endocrine system, its diseases, and its specific secretions known as hormones. It is also concerned with the ...

at the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW and informally U-Dub or U Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington, United States. Founded in 1861, the University of Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast of the Uni ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

from 1969 to 1971. De Kretser founded a medical research group, Andrology Australia. He was elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science (FAA) in 1996, Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (FTSE) and Fellow of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences (FAHMS).

Governor of Victoria

On the nomination of Premier of Victoria, Steve Bracks, De Kretser was appointed Governor of Victoria by

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

, taking office on 7 April 2006, succeeding John Landy. He left the post on 8 April 2011, and was succeeded by Alex Chernov.

Honours

In 2001, De Kretser was named as Victoria's Father of the Year. On 12 June 2006, in the Queen's Birthday Honours, he was awarded Australia's highest civilian honour,

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 ...

(AC). De Kretser is also a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

of the British Venerable Order of Saint John.

Personal life

De Kretser has been married to Jan Warren for over 40 years, and has four sons: Steve, Mark, Ross and Hugh. Ross and Steve are Chemical Engineers, Mark is a General Practitioner, and Hugh is a Human Rights lawyer.

References

External links

Prominent Alumni: Professor David de Kretser AC (MD 1969, HonLLD 2006)
(Monash University) {{DEFAULTSORT:De Kretser, David 1939 births Australian andrologists Australian medical researchers Burgher people Sri Lankan journalists Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Science Fellows of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering Fellows of the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences Governors of Victoria (Australia) Living people Medical doctors from Melbourne Melbourne Medical School alumni Monash University alumni Academic staff of Monash University People educated at Camberwell Grammar School Alumni of Royal Preparatory School People from Colombo People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan emigrants to Australia University of Washington faculty