Catherine Ann Warner (born 14 July 1948) is an Australian lawyer and legal academic who was the 28th

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

from 2014 to 2021.

Early life and education

Warner was born Catherine Ann Friend in

Hobart Hobart ( ; Nuennonne/Palawa kani: ''nipaluna'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Home to almost half of all Tasmanians, it is the least-populated Australian state capital city, and second-small ...

, Tasmania, and attended

St Michael's Collegiate School , motto_translation = For the Church of God la, Beati Mundo Corde(Blessed are the Pure in Heart) , established = , type = Independent early learning, primary and secondary day and boarding school ...

and the

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

, where she graduated with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with

Honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

on 15 April 1970, and with a

Master of Laws A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

by research thesis on 7 December 1978.''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb, 2014. Her master's thesis focused on "Presentence Psychiatric Reports in Tasmania".

Legal and academic career

After graduation, Warner worked as Associate to the Chief Justice of Tasmania, Sir Stanley Burbury, at the

Supreme Court of Tasmania The Supreme Court of Tasmania is the highest State court in the Australian State of Tasmania. In the Australian court hierarchy, the Supreme Court of Tasmania is in the middle level, with both an appellate jurisdiction over lower courts, and de ...

and was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in 1971. Following completion of her master's thesis in 1978, she commenced her lengthy career as an academic at the University of Tasmania Law School. She was promoted to Lecturer in 1981, to Senior Lecturer in 1989, Associate Professor in 1993, and Professor in 1996. In 1992, Warner was appointed Dean of the Faculty of Law and later was appointed Head of the School of Law (the first woman to hold these positions at the University of Tasmania). She was promoted to Professor in 1996 and in 2002 was appointed as foundation Director of the Tasmania Law Reform Institute. Warner was awarded the Allen Austin Bartholomew Award for the best article in the ''

Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology The ''Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology'' is a triannual peer-reviewed academic journal that covers criminological research. The journal was established in 1968 and is the principal journal of the Australian and New Zealand Socie ...

'' in each year from 2004 to 2007. Warner is an internationally recognised expert in the fields of criminal law, criminology and sentencing and has taught, researched and published in these areas for more than 30 years.

Governor of Tasmania

On 10 November 2014, the

Premier of Tasmania The premier of Tasmania is the head of the executive government in the Australian state of Tasmania. By convention, the leader of the party or political grouping which has majority support in the House of Assembly is invited by the governor of Ta ...

Will Hodgman William Edward Felix Hodgman (born 20 April 1969) is an Australian diplomat and former politician who has been the High Commissioner of Australia to Singapore since February 2021. He was the 45th Premier of Tasmania and a member for the Divisio ...

, announced that Warner would be appointed as the 28th

, after the death in office of

Peter Underwood Peter George Underwood, (10 October 1937 – 7 July 2014) was an Australian jurist and the Governor of Tasmania from 2008 until his death in 2014. He was the Chief Justice of Tasmania from 2004 to 2008, having been a judge of the Supreme Cou ...

. She was sworn in on 10 December 2014. On 26 September 2019, Hodgman announced that the

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

had approved his request to extend Warner's term by a year, ending 19 December 2020. On 24 June 2020, Premier Peter Gutwein announced that the

had approved his request to extend Warner's term by six months, ending 9 June 2021.

Personal life

On 13 January 2019 it was announced that Warner had been diagnosed with

non-Hodgkin lymphoma Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL), also known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is a group of blood cancers that includes all types of lymphomas except Hodgkin lymphomas. Symptoms include enlarged lymph nodes, fever, night sweats, weight loss, and tiredness. ...

Honours

;Orders * 26 January 2014:

Member 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 ...

(AM) for services to law. * 2014: Dame of the Order of St John (DStJ) * 26 January 2017:

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) for eminent service to the people of Tasmania through leading contributions to the legal community, particularly to law reform, to higher education as an academic, researcher and publisher, and as a supporter of the arts, and environmental and social justice initiatives. ;Medals * 1 January 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 ...

;Organisation * 2012: Distinguished Service Medal by the

* 2012: Biennial Achievement Award by Tasmanian Women Lawyers Association

Appointments

;Fellowships * 2007: Foundation Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law * 2009: Fellow of

All Souls College, Oxford All Souls College (official name: College of the Souls of All the Faithful Departed) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Unique to All Souls, all of its members automatically become fellows (i.e., full members of t ...

* 2014: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John * 2015: Honorary Fellow of

Jane Franklin Hall Jane Franklin Hall in Hobart, Australia is an independent non-denominational residential college of the University of Tasmania. Familiarly referred to as "Jane", it was founded by the Tasmanian Council of Churches in 1950 as a residential col ...

* 2017: Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology

References

External links

University of Tasmania staff profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Warner, Kate 1948 births Living people Governors of Tasmania Australian legal scholars Australian barristers Australian solicitors Companions of the Order of Australia Fellows of the Australian Academy of Law Recipients of the Centenary Medal Fellows of All Souls College, Oxford University of Tasmania faculty University of Tasmania alumni People from Hobart