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Margaret Joan Beazley, , (born 23 July 1951) is an Australian
jurist A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the U ...
who is the 39th and current
governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...
, serving since 2 May 2019. She was the president of the New South Wales Court of Appeal, the first woman to hold the office, from 2013 until February 2019.


Biography


Early life

Beazley was born and grew up in ,
Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountai ...
, NSW, one of five children to Gordon and Lorna Beazley; her father worked as a milkman. She was educated at Catholic schools – St Declan's Primary School in
Penshurst Penshurst is a historic village and civil parish located in a valley upon the northern slopes of the Kentish Weald, at the confluence of the River Medway and the River Eden, within the Sevenoaks district of Kent, England. The village is sit ...
, St Joseph's Girls High School in Kogarah, and Mount Saint Joseph, Milperra. Beazley graduated from the
Sydney Law School Sydney Law School (informally Sydney Law or SLS) is the law school at the University of Sydney, Australia's oldest university. Sydney Law School began a full program of legal instruction in 1890 following the appointment of its first dean, havi ...
at the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...
in 1974 in law, with honours.


Legal career

Beazley served her articles of clerkship with Winter & Sharp, and was admitted to the
New South Wales Bar The New South Wales Bar Association is a professional body of lawyers responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The body administers the bar examination in accordance with the Legal Pro ...
in 1975. She was appointed
Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel ( post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...
in 1989. Beazley was a Judicial Member of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal from 1984 to 1988. She was an Acting District Court Judge from 1990 to 1991. From 1991 to 1992, Beazley served as Assistant Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption. She was a judge of the Federal Court of Australia from 1993 to 1996, an additional Judge of the
Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory The Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory is the highest court of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It has unlimited jurisdiction within the territory in civil matters and hears the most serious criminal matters. The court ...
from 1994 to 1997, and a judge of the Industrial Relations Court of Australia from 1994 to 1996.Who's Who in Australia From 1996 to 2019, she was a Judge of Appeal of the New South Wales Court of Appeal. She was President of the court, the first woman to hold the office, from 2013 until February 2019. Beazley has also served on the Australian Executive of
Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says it has more than ten million members and s ...
(1980).


Governor of New South Wales

In January 2019, Beazley accepted the position of 39th
Governor of New South Wales The governor of New South Wales is the viceregal representative of the Australian monarch, King Charles III, in the state of New South Wales. In an analogous way to the governor-general of Australia at the national level, the governors of the A ...
, succeeding
David Hurley General David John Hurley, (born 26 August 1953) is an Australian former senior officer in the Australian Army who has served as the 27th governor-general of Australia since 1 July 2019. He was previously the 38th governor of New South Wales, ...
, and was sworn in as governor on 2 May 2019. In 2020, she was promoted to
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 Gov ...
for eminent service to the people of New South Wales, particularly through leadership roles in the judiciary, and as a mentor of young women lawyers. In November 2021, it was reported that a member of the governor's staff had anonymously lodged whistleblower complaints about bullying with the Department of Premier and Cabinet, which provides staff for the governor's office. Following an investigation, the Departmentwhile not referring to a decisionthanked the complainant and promised measures to foster a "respectful" workplace culture in the office.


Titles, styles and honours


Titles

The Governor's style and title in full is: ''Her Excellency The Honourable Margaret Beazley, Companion of the Order of Australia, King's Counsel, Governor of the State of New South Wales in the Commonwealth of Australia.''


Honours and awards


Honorary appointments

* 2019: Honorary Colonel of the Royal New South Wales Regiment. * 2019: Governor of the
New South Wales Police Force The New South Wales Police Force (NSW Police Force; previously the New South Wales Police Service and New South Wales Police) is the primary law enforcement agency of the state of New South Wales, Australia. Divided into Police Area Commands (P ...
. * 2019: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John. * 2019: Honorary
Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore, ...
,
Royal Australian Navy The Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is the principal navy, naval force of the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The professional head of the RAN is Chief of Navy (Australia), Chief of Navy (CN) Vice admiral (Australia), Vice Admiral Mark Hammond (adm ...
. * 2019: Honorary Air Commodore of No. 22 Squadron
Royal Australian Air Force "Through Adversity to the Stars" , colours = , colours_label = , march = , mascot = , anniversaries = RAAF Anniversary Commemoration ...
.


Honorary degrees

* 2008: Honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) by the
University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public university, public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one o ...
. * 2019: Honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) by the
Australian Catholic University Australian Catholic University (ACU) is a public university in Australia. It has seven Australian campuses and also maintains a campus in Rome. History Australian Catholic University was opened on 1 January 1991 following the amalgamati ...
. * 2022: Honorary Doctorate of Laws (LLD) by The University of Notre Dame Australia.


Personal life

Beazley is married to Dennis Wilson. She has three adult children from her first marriage to barrister Alan Sullivan. She and Sullivan were reportedly "the first husband and wife from the private legal profession to become QCs".


See also

* List of judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Beazley, Margaret 1951 births Living people Governors of New South Wales Judges of the Federal Court of Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Australian King's Counsel Australian women judges Presidents of the NSW Court of Appeal Companions of the Order of Australia 20th-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian judges Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory Judges of the Industrial Relations Court of Australia Judges of the District Court of NSW 20th-century women judges 21st-century women judges 20th-century Australian women