Linda Dessau

Dessau was born in Melbourne, Victoria, on 8 May 1953, the youngest of four children. Her father, John Dessau, arrived in Melbourne from Poland in 1929. At first he took on factory work, but later he became a businessman. He married Sybil, who was born in Melbourne.[4]

Since 1982, Dessau has been married to Tony Howard, a judge of the County Court of Victoria. They have two sons.[5]

Dessau was educated at St Catherine's School, Toorak, matriculating at the age of sixteen. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws with Honours from the University of Melbourne in 1973 as its youngest law graduate. She worked as a solicitor from 1974 to 1978, and as a barrister from 1979 to 1995, specialising in family law and commercial litigation.

Dessau was appointed to the AFL Commission in November 2007.[6] She is a supporter of the Essendon Football Club, and in 1997 she started, and was the inaugural chair of, the Essendon Women's Network, which for more than a decade has maintained a strong presence in the grand final week calendar.[7] She was appointed to the board of the Melbourne Festival, of which she became President in 2014.[8]

Dessau is one of five Jewish people to have served in a viceregal capacity in Australia, after governors-general Sir Isaac Isaacs and Sir Zelman Cowen, and governors Sir Matthew Nathan (Queensland) and Gordon Samuels (New South Wales).[9] In August 2016, Dessau was embroiled in an expenses scandal, which saw her personally repay the expenses of lunches at a Gordon Ramsay restaurant (Pétrus) and Harrods, which had originally been paid by the Victorian taxpayer.[10] In 2016, the level of expenses for capital works and ongoing maintenance requested by Dessau were alleged to be excessive, and a former Government House employee told the Herald Sun that the working environment there was "toxic".[11]

Dessau is married to Anthony Howard AM QC, a former County Court Judge. They were married in 1982 and have two sons.[12]

• Her Excellency the Honourable Linda Dessau AM
• Linda Dessau