Major General Gregory Howard "Greg" Garde, (born 1 April 1949) is a senior Australian lawyer and

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

officer. His positions and appointments have included

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

, Supreme Court Justice, President of the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal, and membership of various boards of directors.

Early years

Garde was born on 1 April 1949 and attended

Scotch College, Melbourne Scotch College is a private, Presbyterian day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The college was established in 1851 as The Melbourne Academy in a house in Spri ...

and 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 ...

. His father, John Garde, and uncle, Bruce Garde, were both practicing solicitors "for some 50 years".

Legal career

Garde has 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 ...

(

Hons Honours degree has various meanings in the context of different degrees and education systems. Most commonly it refers to a variant of the undergraduate bachelor's degree containing a larger volume of material or a higher standard of study, o ...

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

(Hons) (1972) and

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is a postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in another subject. In many jurisdi ...

(1975). He was appointed a

in 1989 and a Justice of the

Supreme Court of Victoria The Supreme Court of Victoria is the highest court in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in 1852, it is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited and inherent jurisdiction within the state. The Supreme Court compri ...

on 29 May 2012. He was named President of the

Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal The Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal (VCAT) was formed by the ''Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal Act'' 1998 in the state of Victoria, Australia. As part of the Victorian Justice system the tribunal sits 'below' the Magistra ...

on 1 June 2012, a position he held until 30 May 2018, when he was succeeded by Justice Michelle Quigley. While President of VCAT, Justice Garde was a member of the Courts Council and the Judicial Commission of Victoria He has also been elected President of the Council of Australasian Tribunals – Victorian Chapter and a Director of the Judicial College of Victoria. Justice Garde retired as a Supreme Court justice on 30 March 2019, and was appointed as a reserve judge of the Supreme Court of Victoria on 1 April 2019 for a period of five years. Garde is the fourth general to become a Victorian judge, and the second general to become a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria. Justice Garde was appointed as the Chair of the Victorian Law Foundation in October 2020.

Military career

Garde joined the

Melbourne University Regiment The Melbourne University Regiment (MUR) is an officer training unit in the Australian Army Reserve (ARes). It has a depot at Grattan Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Australia. History MUR traces its origins to 1884 as D Company, 4th Battalion of ...

in 1967.
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After he was commissioned into 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 ...

as a lieutenant, he served on a period of full-time duty with the

Pacific Islands Regiment The Royal Pacific Islands Regiment (RPIR) is an infantry regiment of the Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF). The regiment is descended from the Australian Army infantry battalions formed from native soldiers and Australian officers and non- ...

in Papua New Guinea. He was later posted to Monash University Regiment in the 1970s. In the 1980s, he was Commanding Officer of Monash University Regiment and later on transferring from the Royal Australian Infantry Corps to the

Royal Australian Armoured Corps The Royal Australian Armoured Corps (RAAC) is an administrative corps of the Australian Army. It provides the Australian Defence Force's Armour capability, which performs the function of mounted combat. Armour combines firepower, mobility, pr ...

, he was appointed by the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

as the Commanding Officer of the 4th/19th Prince of Wales's Light Horse. Following promotion to

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 commanded the 4th Brigade and was later appointed as the Director-General Reserves (Army). From 2001 to 2004, as a major general, he served as Chief of Reserves and Head of Reserve Policy, the highest position for a reserve officer in the Australian Defence Force. He was appointed a

Member 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 ...

on 26 January 1996, for "exceptional service to the Army Reserve", and

Officer 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 ...

on 26 January 2005 for "distinguished service to the Australian Defence Force Reserves, in particular as the Assistant Chief of the Defence Force (Reserves) and Head Reserve Policy".

Civilian career

Gregory Garde has been a member of Defence Health in various capacities. Since 2004, he was in its board, became its chairman in 2011, and retired as chair and director in 2019.

Family

Garde's daughter Catherine was a barrister in Western Australia. She is now a corporate solicitor practising in Victoria.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garde, Gregory 1949 births Australian generals Australian King's Counsel Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria Living people Officers of the Order of Australia People educated at Scotch College, Melbourne 20th-century King's Counsel University of Melbourne alumni Military personnel from Melbourne