Major General Philip Michael Jeffery, (12 December 1937 – 18 December 2020) was a senior

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 ...

officer and vice-regal representative. He was the 28th

governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and commun ...

from 1993 to 2000, and the 24th governor-general of Australia, serving from 2003 to 2008. From

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, Jeffery 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 ...

, and served in the

Malayan Emergency The Malayan Emergency, also known as the Anti–British National Liberation War, was a guerrilla warfare, guerrilla war fought in Federation of Malaya, Malaya between communist pro-independence fighters of the Malayan National Liberation Arm ...

and the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

, being awarded the

Military Cross The Military Cross (MC) is the third-level (second-level until 1993) military decoration awarded to officers and (since 1993) Other ranks (UK), other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and formerly awarded to officers of other Commonwealth of ...

during the latter conflict. Jeffery was at various stages commander of the

Special Air Service Regiment The Special Air Service Regiment, officially abbreviated SASR though commonly known as the SAS, is a special forces unit of the Australian Army. Formed in 1957 as a company, it was modelled on the British SAS with which it shares the motto, ...

and the 1st Division, and subsequently

Deputy Chief of General Staff Deputy or depute may refer to: * Steward (office) * Khalifa, an Arabic title that can signify "deputy" * Deputy (legislator), a legislator in many countries and regions, including: ** A member of a Chamber of Deputies, for example in Italy, Spain, ...

, before retiring from active service in 1993. After serving for seven years as Governor of Western Australia, Jeffery was appointed Governor-General of Australia in 2003, following the resignation of

Peter Hollingworth Peter John Hollingworth, (born 10 April 1935) is an Australian retired Anglican bishop. Engaged in social work for several decades, he served as the archbishop of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane in Queensland for 11 years from 1989 and was the ...

. He was the first career Australian Army officer to hold the position, and was succeeded by

Quentin Bryce Dame Quentin Alice Louise Bryce, (née Strachan; born 23 December 1942) is an Australian academic who served as the 25th Governor-General of Australia from 2008 to 2014. She is the List of elected and appointed female heads of state, first wom ...

Early life and military career

Jeffery was born in

Wiluna, Western Australia Wiluna is a small town in the Goldfields-Esperance, Goldfields-Esperance region (since 2021) of Western Australia. It is situated on the edge of the Western Desert at the gateway to the Canning Stock Route and Gunbarrel Highway. It is the serv ...

, on 12 December 1937, and was educated at

Kent Street Senior High School Kent Street Senior High School is a Public school (government funded), public Mixed-sex education, co-educational specialist school, specialist Secondary education#Australia, high day school, day and Boarding school, boarding school in the Town ...

. At 16 he left

to attend the

, in

Canberra Canberra ( ; ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the Federation of Australia, federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's list of cities in Australia, largest in ...

. After graduating in 1958, he served in a number of junior positions before being posted to

Malaya Malaya refers to a number of historical and current political entities related to what is currently Peninsular Malaysia in Southeast Asia: Political entities * British Malaya (1826–1957), a loose collection of the British colony of the Straits ...

in 1962 for operational service. From 1966 to 1969 he served in

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

. During this posting, he married Marlena Kerr of Sydney, with whom he had three sons and a daughter. This was followed by a tour of duty in the

, during which he was awarded the

(MC). – Military Cross announcement. In 1972, Jeffery was promoted to lieutenant colonel, commanding the 2nd Battalion of 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- ...

from 1974 to 1975. He assumed command of the

(SASR) in Perth from 7 January 1976 until 22 October 1977, and was then promoted to colonel as the first Director of the Army's Special Action Forces in 1979. From 1982 to 1983, Jeffery headed Australia's national counter-terrorist co-ordination authority. In 1985 he was promoted to major general, being appointed to command the 1st Division the following year. In 1990 he became Deputy Chief of the General Staff and in 1991 he was appointed Assistant Chief of the General Staff for

Materiel Materiel or matériel (; ) is supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commerce, commercial supply chain management, supply chain context. Military In a military context, ...

. Jeffery retired from the army in 1993, and was appointed to the ceremonial position of Honorary Colonel of the SASR.

Career

Governor of Western Australia (1993–2000)

In November 1993, Jeffery was appointed

Governor of Western Australia The governor of Western Australia is the representative in Western Australia of the monarch, King Charles III. As with the other governors of the Australian states, the governor of Western Australia performs constitutional, ceremonial and commun ...

and in June 1996 he 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 ...

(AC).It's an Honour
– Companion of the Order of Australia – 11 June 1996
Citation: ''For service to the Crown as Governor of Western Australia and to the community, particularly through providing leadership in his commitment to the initiation and promotion of youth programmes to address contemporary social problems.'' He was appointed a

Commander of the Royal Victorian Order The Royal Victorian Order () is a dynastic order of knighthood established in 1896 by Queen Victoria. It recognises distinguished personal service to the monarch, members of the royal family, or to any viceroy or senior representative of the ...

(CVO) on 1 April 2000. – CVO announcement. During his seven years in the post he made a number of public statements of his conservative views on marriage, sex and education. He received some criticism from the

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

opposition and sections of the media for appearing to take positions on political issues.

Governor-General of Australia (2003–2008)

Following the resignation of

as Governor-General of Australia, Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. His eleven-year tenure as prime min ...

announced on 22 June 2003 that he had chosen Jeffery to succeed Hollingworth. He was formally appointed by

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. ...

Queen of Australia The monarchy of Australia is a key component of Australia's form of government, by which a hereditary monarch serves as the country's sovereign and head of state. It is a constitutional monarchy, modelled on the Westminster system of parli ...

and sworn in on 11 August 2003, becoming the first Australian career soldier to become governor-general. Jeffrey has represented Australia at multiple royal weddings, including the

Wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Mary Donaldson The wedding of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, and Mary Donaldson (later King Frederik X and Queen Mary) took place on 14 May 2004 in the Copenhagen Cathedral. Courtship and engagement Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark met Mary Donaldson on ...

and the

Wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles The wedding of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles (later King Charles III and Queen Camilla) took place in a civil ceremony at Windsor Guildhall, on 9 April 2005. The ceremony, conducted in the presence of the couple's families, was fol ...

. In 2005, Jeffery became a co-patron of the private, non-profit Australia China Friendship and Exchange Association (ACFEA), founded by

Chinese-Australian Chinese Australians () are Australians of Chinese origin. Chinese Australians are one of the largest groups within the global Chinese diaspora, and are the largest Asian Australian community. Per capita, Australia has more people of Chines ...

businessman

Chau Chak Wing Chau Chak-wing ( zh, s=周泽荣, t=周澤榮, p=Zhōu Zéróng, sl=Jau1 Jaak6-wing4; born 1949), is a Chinese-Australian property developer known for his Kingold Group business based in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China (PRC). Journalists and ...

. The organization promoted bilateral and international dialogue, particularly between China and Australia, having established the annual Imperial Springs International Forum in 2014. On 8 April 2005, Jeffery represented Australia at the funeral of

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

. In 2007, in his position as governor-general, Jeffery was appointed as the

colonel-in-chief Colonel-in-Chief is a ceremonial position in an army regiment. It is in common use in several Commonwealth armies, where it is held by the regiment's patron, usually a member of the royal family. Some armed forces take a light-hearted approach to ...

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 ...

, succeeding the previous colonel-in-chief,

Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was al ...

. Jeffery was the Chief Scout of Australia. Jeffery left Yarralumla prior to the swearing-in of his successor,

, the former

Governor of Queensland The governor of Queensland is the representative of the monarch, currently King Charles III, in the state of Queensland. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia, governor-general at the national level, the governor Governors of ...

. Bryce was sworn in on 5 September 2008.

Career after office

On 23 October 2012, at the

National Farmers' Federation The National Farmers' Federation (NFF) is an Australian non-profit membershipbased organisation that represents farmers and the agricultural sector in Australia. The NFF has been a key player in a number of industrial relations disputes, includ ...

Congress in Canberra, Prime Minister

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013. She held office as the leader of the Labor Party (ALP), having previously served as the ...

announced the appointment of Jeffery as Australia's first Advocate for Soil Health.Address by Julia Gillard to the National Farmer's Federation Conference: http://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20121121043700/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/121064/20121121-1537/www.pm.gov.au/press-office/speech-national-farmers-federation-national-congress.html Gillard noted that, as Governor-General, Jeffery had a passion for regional development and the future of our rural industries, a commitment he continued after leaving office. Prime Minister

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is an Australian former politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia and was the member of parli ...

extended Jeffery's appointment as the national Advocate for Soil Health until December 2014, indicating Jeffery would continue to raise public awareness of the role soil plays in underpinning sustainable productivity, delivering quality

ecosystem service Ecosystem services are the various benefits that humans derive from ecosystems. The interconnected living and non-living components of the natural environment offer benefits such as pollination of crops, clean air and water, decomposition of wast ...

s and helping to meet global challenges including food security and climate change. In June 2020, Jeffery stepped down from this role, now the Patron of the Soil Cooperative Research Centre, due to illness.

Honours and awards

Unit Award:

Personal life

Jeffery was a Christian. He died on 18 December 2020, at the age of 83.

References

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffery, Michael 1937 births 2020 deaths Australian Christians Australian generals Australian military personnel of the Malayan Emergency Australian military personnel of the Vietnam War Australian monarchists Companions of the Order of Australia Australian Commanders of the Royal Victorian Order Royal Military College, Duntroon graduates Governors of Western Australia Governors-general of Australia Honorary grand companions of the Order of Logohu Australian recipients of the Military Cross People from Wiluna, Western Australia People educated at Kent Street Senior High School Place of death missing Military personnel from Western Australia