Penelope Anne Wensley, (born 18 October 1946) is an Australian former public servant and diplomat who served as the 25th

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 ...

from 2008 to 2014. She was previously High Commissioner to India from 2001 to 2004 and Ambassador to France from 2005 to 2008.

Early life

Penelope Anne Wensley was born in

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( ), nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar', is a city on the border of South East Queensland and Darling Downs regions of Queensland, Australia. It is located west of Queensland's capital, Brisbane. The urban population of Toowoom ...

, Queensland, to Neil Wensley and his wife Doris McCulloch. She was educated at Penrith High School in New South Wales, the Rosa Bassett School in London (UK), and the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

, where she graduated with a first class

Honours degree 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, ...

in English and French literature. She was a resident of the

Women's College Women's colleges in higher education are undergraduate, bachelor's degree-granting institutions, often liberal arts colleges, whose student populations are composed exclusively or almost exclusively of women. Some women's colleges admit male st ...

there. Her brothers, Robert Wensley and Bill Wensley, also attended the University of Queensland, as had her parents.

Diplomatic career

Wensley joined the

Australian Public Service The Australian Public Service (APS) is the federal civil service of the Commonwealth of Australia responsible for the public administration, public policy, and public services of the departments and executive and statutory agencies of the G ...

in 1967, working in the Department of External Affairs in 1967. She was posted to Paris (1969–1972), returned to work in Australia, and was then given a posting in Mexico (1975–1977). During this posting Wensley was threatened with kidnapping. She and her husband, Stuart McCosker, a veterinary surgeon, had a daughter while in Mexico.Bhagat, Rasheeda
India – a roller coaster
'' The Hindu Business Line'', 29 October 2004. Wensley's next diplomatic appointment was in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

, New Zealand (1982–1985). She was consul general in Hong Kong from 1986 to 1988. From 1991 to 1992, she was head of the International Organisations Division of the

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is the department of the Australian government responsible for foreign policy and international relations, development aid (under the name Australian Aid), consular services, overseas trad ...

. In 1994, Wensley was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the University of Queensland. She was Ambassador for the Environment from 1992 to 1996. She then became the first woman to be Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations in New York between 1997 and 2001.
Diplomatic Appointment: Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, New York
.'' Archived media release, Australian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 8 August 1997. Wensley was then appointed as the first female Australian High Commissioner to India, a role she held until 2004. When Australia established diplomatic relations with Bhutan in September 2002, Wensley, as High Commissioner in India, was appointed as Australia's first ambassador there from May 2003. From 2005 to 2008, she was Australian Ambassador to France, and non-resident Ambassador to

Algeria Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...

, Mauritania and

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Governor of Queensland

On 6 July 2008, the

Premier of Queensland The premier of Queensland is the head of government in the Australian state of Queensland. By convention the premier is the leader of the party with a parliamentary majority in the Legislative Assembly of Queensland. The premier is appointed ...

, Anna Bligh, announced that

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. ...

had approved Wensley's appointment as the next

, in succession to Quentin Bryce, who was relinquishing the office prior to being sworn in as Governor-General of Australia. Wensley was sworn in on 29 July 2008. On 24 January 2013, Wensley's term was extended to July 2014.

Post-governorship

Since 2015, Wensley has served as chair of the Australian Institute of Marine Science Council. She is also chair of the advisory committee for Reef 2050, an advisory body working with the Australian and Queensland governments on a plan to protect and improve the

Great Barrier Reef The Great Barrier Reef is the world's largest coral reef system, composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands stretching for over over an area of approximately . The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, ...

. She also serves on the board of the

Lowy Institute The Lowy Institute is an independent think tank founded in April 2003 by Frank Lowy to conduct original, policy-relevant research regarding international political, strategic and economic issues from an Australian perspective. It is based in ...

. Wensley has been long-term patron of Soil Science Australia and is currently the National Soils Advocate of Australia.

Honours

Wensley was appointed an

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 ...

in 2001, a Dame of the Order of St John in 2008, a Grand Officer of the National Order of Merit by the French government in 2009, and was advanced to

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 ...

in 2011. In 2016, the

named one of its 16 meeting rooms in honour of Wensley, in recognition of her work as a pioneering female diplomat.

References

External links

Government House, Queensland, official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wensley, Penelope 1946 births Living people Permanent representatives of Australia to the United Nations Permanent representatives of Australia to the United Nations Office in Geneva Companions of the Order of Australia University of Queensland alumni Governors of Queensland High commissioners of Australia to India Ambassadors of Australia to Bhutan Australian women ambassadors Ambassadors of Australia to France Ambassadors of Australia to Morocco Ambassadors of Australia to Monaco Ambassadors of Australia to Mauritania Ambassadors of Australia to Algeria Women governors of the Australian states