Michael Jeffery

Jeffery was born in Wiluna, Western Australia, on 12 December 1937,[1] and was educated at Kent Street Senior High School. At 16 he left Perth to attend the Royal Military College, Duntroon, in Canberra.[2]

After graduating in 1958, he served in a number of junior positions before being posted to Malaya in 1962 for operational service. From 1966 to 1969 he served in Papua New Guinea. 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 Vietnam War, during which he was awarded the Military Cross (MC).[3][4]

In 1972, Jeffery was promoted to lieutenant colonel,[5] commanding the 2nd Battalion of the Pacific Islands Regiment from 1974 to 1975. He assumed command of the Special Air Service Regiment (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.[6]

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.[6]

Jeffery retired from the army in 1993, and was appointed to the ceremonial position of Honorary Colonel of the SASR.[7]

In November 1993, Jeffery was appointed Governor of Western Australia and in June 1996 he was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC).[8] He was appointed a Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) on 1 April 2000.[5][9]

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 opposition and sections of the media for appearing to take positions on political issues.[10]

Following the resignation of Peter Hollingworth as Governor-General of Australia, Prime Minister John Howard announced on 22 June 2003 that he had chosen Jeffery to succeed Hollingworth. He was formally appointed by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia and sworn in on 11 August 2003, becoming the first Australian career soldier to become governor-general.[11]

In 2007, in his position as governor-general, Jeffery was appointed as the colonel-in-chief of the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps, succeeding the previous colonel-in-chief, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother.[12]

Jeffery was the Chief Scout of Australia.[13][14]

Jeffery left Yarralumla prior to the swearing-in of his successor, Quentin Bryce, the former Governor of Queensland. Bryce was sworn in on 5 September 2008.[15][16]

On 23 October 2012, at the National Farmers' Federation Congress in Canberra, Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced the appointment of Jeffery as Australia's first Advocate for Soil Health.[17] 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.[17] Prime Minister Tony Abbott extended Jeffery's appointment[18] 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 services and helping to meet global challenges including food security and climate change.[19]

In June 2020, Jeffery stepped down from this role, now the Patron of the Soil Cooperative Research Centre, due to illness.[20]

	Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) – Civil division	1996 Queen's Birthday Honours[8]
	Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) – Military division	1988 Queen's Birthday Honours[21]
	Member of the Order of Australia (AM) – Military division	1981 Queen's Birthday Honours[22]
	Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO)	(2000)[5][9]
	Military Cross (MC)	(1971)[3][4]
	Knight of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of Saint John	15 April 1994[23]
	Australian Active Service Medal 1945–1975	[24] with MALAYA, THAI-MALAY and VIETNAM clasps
	General Service Medal	[24] with BORNEO clasp
	Vietnam Medal	[24]
	Australian Service Medal 1945–1975	[24] with SE ASIA and PNG clasps
	Centenary Medal	(awarded 2001)[25]
	Defence Force Service Medal with 4 clasps	35–39 years service[24]
	National Medal	[26] with First Clasp – 25–35 years service to ...
	Australian Defence Medal	[24]
	Service Medal of the Order of St John	[24]
	Papua New Guinea Independence Medal	(1977)[24]
	Vietnam Campaign Medal	[24]
	Pingat Jasa Malaysia	[24]
	Honorary Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL)	(2005)[27]

Unit Award:

Vietnam Gallantry Cross;

8th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1970)[28]

Jeffery was a Christian.[29] He died on 18 December 2020, at the age of 83.[30][31]