Catherine Ann Warner (born 14 July 1948) is an Australian lawyer and legal academic who was the 28th

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 ...

from 2014 to 2021.

Early life and education

Warner was born Catherine Ann Friend 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 attended

St Michael's Collegiate School St Michael's Collegiate School, colloquially known as Collegiate, is an independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school for girls. It is located in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Overview Established in 1 ...

and 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 ...

, where she graduated with a

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 ...

with

Honours Honour (Commonwealth English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is a quality of a person that is of both social teaching and personal ethos, that manifests itself as a code of conduct, and has various elements such as valo ...

on 15 April 1970, and with a

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 ...

by research thesis on 7 December 1978.''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb, 2014. Her master's thesis focused on "Presentence Psychiatric Reports in Tasmania".

Legal and academic career

After graduation, Warner worked as Associate to the Chief Justice of Tasmania, Sir Stanley Burbury, at the

Supreme Court of Tasmania The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. Together with the Magistrates Court, it forms the judiciary in Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the mid ...

and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in 1971. Following completion of her master's thesis in 1978, she commenced her lengthy career as an academic at the University of Tasmania Law School. She was promoted to Lecturer in 1981, to Senior Lecturer in 1989, Associate Professor in 1993, and Professor in 1996. In 1992, Warner was appointed dean of the Faculty of Law and later was appointed head of the School of Law (the first woman to hold these positions at the University of Tasmania). She was promoted to professor in 1996 and in 2002 was appointed as foundation director of the Tasmania Law Reform Institute. Warner was awarded the Allen Austin Bartholomew Award for the best article in the '' Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology'' in each year from 2004 to 2007. Warner is an internationally recognised expert in the fields of criminal law, criminology and sentencing and has taught, researched and published in these areas for more than 30 years.

Governor of Tasmania

On 10 November 2014, the

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the Government of Tasmania, executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the Tasmanian House of Assem ...

, Will Hodgman, announced that Warner would be appointed as the 28th

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 ...

, after the death in office of Peter Underwood. She was sworn in on 10 December 2014. On 26 September 2019, Hodgman announced that the

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

had approved his request to extend Warner's term by a year, ending 19 December 2020. On 24 June 2020, Premier Peter Gutwein announced that the

had approved his request to extend Warner's term by six months, ending 9 June 2021.

Personal life

On 13 January 2019, it was announced that Warner had been diagnosed with

non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredn ...

Honours

;Orders * 26 January 2014:

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 ...

(AM) for services to law. * 2014: Dame of the Order of St John (DStJ) * 26 January 2017:

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) for eminent service to the people of Tasmania through leading contributions to the legal community, particularly to law reform, to higher education as an academic, researcher and publisher, and as a supporter of the arts, and environmental and social justice initiatives. ;Medals * 1 January 2001:

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

;Organisation * 2012: Distinguished Service Medal by the

* 2012: Biennial Achievement Award by Tasmanian Women Lawyers Association

Appointments

;Fellowships * 2007: Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law * 2009: Fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: The College of All Souls of the Faithful Departed, of Oxford) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full me ...

* 2014: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John * 2015: Honorary Fellow of

Jane Franklin Hall Jane Franklin Hall in Hobart, Australia is an independent non-denominational residential college of the University of Tasmania. Familiarly referred to as "Jane", it was founded by the Tasmanian Council of Churches in 1950 as a residential colle ...

* 2017: Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology

References

External links

University of Tasmania staff profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Kate 1948 births Living people Governors of Tasmania Australian legal scholars Australian barristers Australian solicitors Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Law Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford Academic staff of the University of Tasmania University of Tasmania alumni People from Hobart People educated at St Michael's Collegiate School Women governors of the Australian states Australian women legal scholars