Hieu Van Le, ( vi, Lê Văn Hiếu; born 1 January 1954) was the 35th

governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

, in office from 1 September 2014 to 31 August 2021. He served as the state's

lieutenant-governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

from 2007 to 2014. He also served as chair of the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission (SAMEAC) from 2006 to 2009. Le is the first person of Asian heritage to be appointed a state governor in Australia, and first person of Vietnamese background to be appointed to a vice-regal position anywhere in the world.

Early life

Le was born in

Quảng Trị Quảng Trị () is a district-level town in Quảng Trị Province in the North Central Coast region of Vietnam. It is second of two municipalities in the province after the provincial capital Đông Hà. History The Sino-Vietnamese name Quả ...

South Vietnam South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...

, on 1 January 1954. He was raised and educated in

Đà Nẵng Nang or DanangSee also Danang Dragons ( ; vi, Đà Nẵng, ) is a class-1 municipality and the fifth-largest city in Vietnam by municipal population. It lies on the coast of the East Sea of Vietnam at the mouth of the Hàn River, and is on ...

, and attended

Dalat University Dalat University or the University of Dalat ( vi, Đại học Đà Lạt, links=no, french: Université de Dalat, links=no; formerly ''Viện Đại học Đà Lạt'') is a university in the city of Đà Lạt, Lâm Đồng Province, Vietnam. The ...

. In November 1977, he fled the new communist regime in Vietnam and arrived by boat in

Darwin, Northern Territory Darwin ( ; Larrakia: ) is the capital city of the Northern Territory, Australia. With an estimated population of 147,255 as of 2019, the city contains the majority of the residents of the sparsely populated Northern Territory. It is the smalle ...

, as a refugee, with his wife Lan and about 40 other people. Their two sons were born in Australia and are named after Australian cricketers

Sir Donald Bradman Sir Donald George Bradman, (27 August 1908 – 25 February 2001), nicknamed "The Don", was an Australian international cricketer, widely acknowledged as the greatest batsman of all time. Bradman's career Test batting average of 99.94 has bee ...

and

Kim Hughes Kimberley John Hughes (born 26 January 1954) is a former cricketer who played for Western Australia, Natal and Australia. He captained Australia in 28 Test matches between 1979 and 1984 before captaining a rebel Australian team in a tour of ...

Career

After arriving in Australia, Le attended the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, receiving a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

and an Economics degree. He was a senior investigator and manager with the

Australian Securities and Investments Commission The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is an independent commission of the Australian Government tasked as the national corporate regulator. ASIC's role is to regulate company and financial services and enforce laws to pro ...

from the early 1990s until his retirement in 2009. He is also a member of the Australian Society of Certified Practising Accountants (CPA) and a Fellow Member of the

Financial Services Institute of Australasia The Financial Services Institute of Australasia (FINSIA) is a professional institute for practitioners in the financial industry in Australia and New Zealand. FINSIA was formed in 2005 by the merger of the Australasian Institute of Banking and Fin ...

(Finsia).

Governor

Le's appointment as

Governor of South Australia The governor of South Australia is the representative in South Australia of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The governor performs the same constitutional and ceremonial functions at the state level as does the governor-gene ...

to replace

Kevin Scarce Rear Admiral Kevin John Scarce, (born 4 May 1952) is a retired Royal Australian Navy officer who was the 34th Governor of South Australia, serving from August 2007 to August 2014. He was succeeded by Hieu Van Le, who had previously been his li ...

was announced on 26 June 2014; he took office on 1 September, with Scarce's term expiring on 7 August. Le is a Catholic and credits his experiences as a refugee for strengthening his religious convictions. In June 2019, Premier

Steven Marshall Steven Spence Marshall (born 21 January 1968) is an Australian politician who served as the 46th premier of South Australia between 2018 and 2022. He has been a member of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia in the ...

announced that Le's original term as governor had been extended by two years, to 31 August 2021.

Honours

;Orders * 2010:

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AO) * 2014: Knight of Grace of the Order of St John * 2016:

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

(AC) ;Medals * 2001:

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

"for service to the advancement of multiculturalism in Australia", ;Appointments * 2014: Colonel of the

Royal South Australia Regiment The Royal South Australia Regiment is a reserve regiment of the Australian Army consisting of a single battalion, the 10th/27th Battalion, part of the 9th Brigade. It was raised on 1 July 1960, as The South Australia Regiment. History The Regi ...

. * 2014: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John.

References

External links

His Excellency the Honourable Hieu Van Le AO
at Government House SA

at the South Australian Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs Commission (SAMEAC)
From refugee to Lieutenant Governor

at

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Le, Hieu Van 1954 births Living people Australian accountants Australian economists Australian Roman Catholics Lieutenant-Governors of South Australia Governors of South Australia People from Quảng Trị province Recipients of the Centenary Medal University of Adelaide alumni Vietnamese emigrants to Australia Vietnamese refugees Companions of the Order of Australia