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

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is 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 ...

who served as the 27th governor-general of Australia from 2019 to 2024. He was previously the 38th

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

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

Operation Solace Operation Solace was the Australian Defence Force's main contribution to the Unified Task Force (UNITAF) which was a United States led, United Nations sanctioned, multinational force which operated in the Republic of Somalia from 9 December 1992 ...

Somalia Somalia, officially the Federal Republic of Somalia, is the easternmost country in continental Africa. The country is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered by Ethiopia to the west, Djibouti to the northwest, Kenya to the southwest, th ...

in 1993, commanded the 1st Brigade (1999–2000), was the inaugural

Chief of Capability Development Group The Chief of Capability Development Group (CCDG) was head of the Capability Development Group (CDG) in the Australian Department of Defence, part of the Australian Defence Organisation. This position was created in December 2003 and disbanded ...

(2003–2007) and Chief of Joint Operations (2007–2008) and served as Vice Chief of the Defence Force (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 (Australia), 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 (Australia), Chief of Air Force from 20 June 2 ...

. Hurley retired from the army in June 2014 and succeeded

Marie Bashir Dame Marie Roslyn Bashir (born 1 December 1930) is the former and second longest-serving Governor of New South Wales. Born in Narrandera, New South Wales, Bashir graduated from the University of Sydney in 1956 and held various medical positions ...

as governor of New South Wales in October 2014 on the nomination of 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 Jobs, Investment, Tourism and Western Sydney, Mini ...

. His term concluded in May 2019 and he was subsequently appointed 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. ...

as governor-general on the nomination of Prime Minister

Scott Morrison Scott John Morrison (born 13 May 1968) is an Australian former politician who served as the 30th prime minister of Australia from 2018 to 2022. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party and was ...

. His five-year term commenced in July 2019 and expired in July 2024, with

Sam Mostyn Samantha Joy Mostyn ( ; born 13 September 1965) is an Australian businesswoman and advocate, who has been serving as the 28th governor-general of Australia since 1 July 2024. Mostyn has been an advocate on climate change and gender equality ...

succeeding him.

Early life and education

David John Hurley was born on 26 August 1953 in

Wollongong Wollongong ( ; Dharawal: ''Woolyungah'') 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 water' or 'sound ...

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

Illawarra The Illawarra is a coastal Regions of New South Wales, region in the southeast of the Australian state of New South Wales. It is situated immediately south of Sydney and north of the South Coast, New South Wales, South Coast region. It encompas ...

steelworker and his mother worked in a grocery store. Hurley grew up in Port Kembla and attended Port Kembla High School, where he completed his Higher School Certificate in 1971. He subsequently graduated from the

Royal Military College, Duntroon The Royal Military College, Duntroon, also known simply as Duntroon, is the Australian Army's Officer (armed forces), officer training establishment. It was founded at Duntroon, Australian Capital Territory, Duntroon in Canberra, Australian Capi ...

with a Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies, and from

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

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

Military career

Hurley entered the

, as an

officer cadet Officer cadet is a rank held by military personnel during their training to become commissioned officers. In the United Kingdom, the rank is also used by personnel of University Service Units such as the University Officers' Training Corps. Th ...

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 Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

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 since ...

(1RAR). Promoted to

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

, he was appointed

adjutant Adjutant is a military appointment given to an Officer (armed forces), 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 ...

of the Sydney University Regiment before becoming regimental adjutant of the

Royal Australian Regiment The Royal Australian Regiment (RAR) is the parent administrative regiment for regular infantry battalions of the Australian Army and is the senior infantry regiment of the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. It was originally formed in 1948 as a t ...

. He went on exchange to the 1st Battalion,

Irish Guards The Irish Guards (IG) is one of the Foot guards#United Kingdom, Foot Guards regiments of the British Army and is part of the Guards Division. Together with the Royal Irish Regiment (1992), Royal Irish Regiment, it is one of the two Irish infant ...

, a

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

unit, before serving with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Promoted to lieutenant colonel, 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

in Somalia in 1993. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross 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 (armed forces), 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 colon ...

, 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 staff college in Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania, with a Carlisle postal address, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instru ...

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 (rank), commodore, typically commanding a brigade of several t ...

, 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 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 military rank 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 the battlefield, who was norma ...

, he assumed the new appointment of

in December 2003, went on to take the newly separated appointment of Chief of Joint Operations in September 2007, and became Vice Chief of the Defence Force in July 2008. Hurley was promoted to

general A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air force, air and space forces, marines or naval infantry. In some usages, the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colone ...

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 Armed forces, military organisation responsible for the defence of Australia and its national interests. It consists of three branches: the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and the Royal Aus ...

, 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 ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

by the French CDF. In February, he was presented with a fifth clasp to the Defence Force Service Medal 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 senior officer in the Royal Australian Air Force Reserve. He served as Chief of Air Force (2008–11), Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2011–14), and Chief of the Defence Fo ...

. 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 Government-owned social enterprise. Similar awards are also conferred at the state and territor ...

, credited Hurley with the phrase "the standard you walk past is the standard you accept" in his anti-

misogyny Misogyny () is hatred of, contempt for, or prejudice against Woman, women or girls. It is a form of sexism that can keep women at a lower social status than Man, men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy. Misogyny has been wide ...

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

announced that Hurley would replace Dame Marie Bashir as

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

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

Government House, Sydney Government House is the heritage-listed vice-regal residence of the governor of New South Wales. It is located on Conservatorium Road in the Sydney central business district, adjacent to the Royal Botanic Garden, and is situated south of th ...

Governor-General of Australia

On 16 December 2018, Prime Minister

announced that Queen

had approved the appointment of Hurley as the next Governor-General of Australia, succeeding Sir Peter Cosgrove, commencing on 1 July 2019 marking him as the first representative of the monarch who had been born during the latter's reign.

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 is the meeting place of the Parliament of Australia, the Legislature, legislative body of Politics of Australia, Australia's federal system of government. The building also houses the core of the Executive (government), execut ...

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

Ngunnawal language The Ngunnawal people, also spelt Ngunawal, are an Aboriginal people of southern New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory in Australia. Language Ngunnawal and Gundungurra are Australian Aboriginal languages from the Pama-Nyu ...

. 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. 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 was a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first confirmed case in Aust ...

, 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 at the national border. It was enacted on 16 June 2015, after the Bill was passed with bipartisan support on 14 May 2015. It co ...

'' 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 spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

(at the time

Greg Hunt Gregory Andrew Hunt (born 18 November 1965) is an Australian former 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, repr ...

) 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

. 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 The Albanese government is the current federal executive government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of the Labor Party. The Albanese government was sworn in on 23 May 2022 by the Governor-General of Australia, David Hurl ...

in September 2022, with Treasurer

Jim Chalmers James Edward Chalmers (born 2 March 1978) is an Australian politician and economist who has been serving as the treasurer of Australia in the Albanese government since May 2022. A member of the Labor Party (ALP), he has been the member of p ...

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 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". In June 2022 Hurley apologised for providing a testimonial for a builder who had renovated his private house. This testimonial was used by the builder in their advertising.

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 (UOW) is an Australian public university, public research university located in the coastal city of Wollongong, New South Wales, approximately south of Sydney. , the university had an enrolment of more than 33,000 s ...

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

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

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

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

Honorary appointments

* 2008–2019: Honorary

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

of the Sydney University Regiment. * 2014–2019: Chief Scout of Scouts Australia NSW. ** 2019–2024: 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, Royal New South Wales R ...

. * 2014–2019: Honorary

Air Commodore Air commodore (Air Cdre or Air Cmde) is an air officer rank used by some air forces, with origins from the Royal Air Force. The rank is also used by the air forces of many countries which have historical British influence and it is sometimes ...

of No. 22 Squadron

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

. * 2014–2019: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John. ** 2019–2024: Prior of the Order of St John * 2014–2019: Governor of the

New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force is a law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia, established in 1862. With more than 17,000 police officers, it is the largest police organisation in Australia, policing an area of 801,60 ...

. * 2016: Honorary Fellow of the

Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering The Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering (ATSE) is an independent learned academy that helps Australians understand and use technology to solve complex problems. History The Australian Academy of Technological Sciences was foun ...

(Hon.FTSE). * 2019–2024: Patron of

Rugby Australia Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It is a ...

. * 2019–2024: 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 colon ...

* 2019–2024: Colonel of the Regiment of the

Other appointments

Hurley is an Honorary Patron of the ACT Veterans Rugby Club, Patron of Transport Heritage NSW, Patron of the Australian World Orchestra, and the Australian Future Leaders Foundation. he is one of three patrons of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.

Coat of arms

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...

was created for David Hurley in his capacity as Governor of New South Wales in 2019.

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 Australian Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order 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 Officers of the Legion of Honour 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 United States Army War College alumni 20th-century Australian military personnel 21st-century Australian military personnel