Paul de Jersey

Paul de Jersey, AC, QC (born 21 September 1948) is an Australian jurist and the 26th and current Governor of Queensland, in office since 29 July 2014. He was Chief Justice of Queensland from 1998 to 2014.

His Excellency The Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, QC
Paul de Jersey in 2011
26th Governor of Queensland
Incumbent
Assumed office 29 July 2014
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Campbell Newman Annastacia Palaszczuk
Preceded by	Penelope Wensley
17th Chief Justice of Queensland
In office 17 February 1998 – 8 July 2014
Nominated by	Rob Borbidge
Appointed by	Peter Arnison representing Queen Elizabeth II
Governor	Peter Arnison (1997–2003) Quentin Bryce (2003–08) Penelope Wensley (2008–14)
Preceded by	John Macrossan
Succeeded by	Timothy Carmody
Personal details
Born	(1948-09-21) 21 September 1948 Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
Nationality	Australian
Alma mater	University of Queensland
Awards	Companion of the Order of Australia Knight of the Order of St John
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Army Reserve
Years of service	1966–1971
Rank	Lieutenant
Unit	Queensland University Regiment

Education

De Jersey was educated at Anglican Church Grammar School (1961–1965) and the University of Queensland.[1] He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws with Honours in 1971. He was part of the Queensland University Regiment from 1966 to 1971, and was commissioned in 1969.

Career

De Jersey practised law in Queensland and was called to the Queensland Bar in 1971. He took silk in 1981 as a Queen's Counsel.

At the bar, De Jersey practised in the commercial field; appeared in constitutional cases before the High Court of Australia, and also appeared before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland in 1985 and was the commercial causes judge between 1986 and 1989. He was the judge constituting the Mental Health Tribunal between 1994 and 1996, the president of the Queensland Industrial Court between 1996 and 1997, and the chairman of the Law Reform Commission of Queensland from 1996 to 1997.

De Jersey was appointed Chief Justice of Queensland on 17 February 1998. He has been the chancellor of the Anglican Diocese of Brisbane since 1991. He was also the vice president of the Australian Cancer Society between 1995 and 1998 and its president between 1998 and 2001, a trustee of the National Breast Cancer Foundation between 1994 and 1999 and the chairman of the Queensland Cancer Fund (now The Cancer Council Queensland) between 1994 and 2001.

Governor of Queensland

De Jersey became the 26th Governor of Queensland on 29 July 2014.[2] On the retirement of Alex Chernov as Governor of Victoria on 1 July 2015, de Jersey became the longest-serving governor of an Australian state and by custom assumed the additional office of Administrator of the Commonwealth who exercises the powers of the Governor-General of Australia in the governor-general's absence or disability.[3]

In November 2018 it was announced that de Jersey's original term had been extended by two years.[4]

Titles, styles and honours

Viceregal styles of Paul de Jersey (2014–Present)
Reference style	His Excellency the Honourable
Spoken style	Your Excellency

De Jersey's style and title as governor in full is: His Excellency The Honourable Paul de Jersey, Companion of the Order of Australia, Knight of Grace of the Order of St John, Queen's Counsel, Governor of the State of Queensland in the Commonwealth of Australia.[2]

• As Administrator: His Excellency The Honourable Paul de Jersey, Companion of the Order of Australia, Knight of Grace of the Order of St John, Queen's Counsel, Administrator of the Commonwealth of Australia.

	Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)	12 June 2000[5]
	Knight of Grace of the Order of St John	19 November 2014
	Centenary Medal	2003[2]
	Australian Defence Medal

• Life Member of the Bar Association of Queensland

Honorary degrees

• 2000: Honorary Doctorate of the University of Queensland.[2]
• 2008: Honorary Doctorate of the University of Southern Queensland.[2]
• 2014: Honorary Doctorate of the Griffith University.[2]

Honorary appointments

• Australian Army 28 July 2014: Regimental Colonel of the Royal Queensland Regiment.
• Order of St John 28 July 2014: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John.[6]
• Scouts Australia 28 July 2014: Chief Scout of Scouts Australia QLD
•  Royal Australian Air Force 17 December 2014: Honorary Air Commodore of No. 23 Squadron RAAF

References

1. Mason, James (2011). Churchie: The Centenary Register. Brisbane, Australia: The Anglican Church Grammar School. ISBN 978-0-646-55807-3.
2. "His Excellency the Honourable Paul de Jersey AC, Governor of Queensland". PGovernment House Queensland. govhouse.qld.gov.au/. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2014.
3. Oath of Office as Administrator of the Commonwealth Archived 6 October 2014 at the Wayback Machine, ComLaw, 24 September 2014.
4. "Queensland Governor Paul de Jersey's term extended by two years". Queensland Government. 15 November 2018. Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
5. "de Jersey, Paul". Search Australian Honours. Australian Government. Archived from the original on 4 March 2014. Retrieved 5 March 2014.
6. "Understanding the Most Venerable Order of St John" (PDF). Governor of New South Wales. Governor of New South Wales. 12 December 2014. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2018. Retrieved 24 August 2018.

Legal offices
Preceded by John Murtagh Macrossan	Chief Justice of Queensland 1998–2014	Succeeded by Tim Carmody
Government offices
Preceded by Penelope Wensley	Governor of Queensland 2014–present	Incumbent