The Right Honourable Sir Zelman Cowen AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC |
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Provost of Oriel College, Oxford | |
In office 1982–1990 |
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Preceded by | Baron Swann |
Succeeded by | Ernest Nicholson |
19th Governor-General of Australia | |
In office 8 December 1977 – 29 July 1982 |
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Monarch | Elizabeth II |
Prime Minister | Malcolm Fraser |
Preceded by | Sir John Kerr |
Succeeded by | Sir Ninian Stephen |
Vice Chancellor of the University of Queensland | |
In office 1970–1977 |
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Preceded by | Sir Fred Schonell |
Succeeded by | Brian Wilson |
Vice Chancellor of the University of New England | |
In office 1966–1970 |
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Preceded by | Sir Robert Madgwick |
Succeeded by | Alec Lazenby |
Personal details | |
Born |
Melbourne, Victoria |
7 October 1919
Died | 8 December 2011 Toorak, Victoria |
(aged 92)
Spouse(s) | Lady Cowen (née Anna Wittner) |
Children | 4 |
Profession | Legal professor |
Religion | Judaism |
Signature |
Sir Zelman Cowen, AK, GCMG, GCVO, QC (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and academic administrator. He was the 19th Governor-General of Australia.
Cowen was born in Melbourne in 1919 to a Jewish family named Cohen. The name was formally changed to Cowen when he was a young boy. He was educated at St Kilda Park State School, Scotch College and the University of Melbourne. He served in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War and then went as a Rhodes Scholar to New College, Oxford, where he completed a Bachelor of Civil Law degree and jointly won the Vinerian Scholarship. From 1947 to 1950 he was a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and was also a consultant on legal matters to the British Military Government in Allied-occupied Germany.