MEDIA ADVISORY: GOVERNOR-GENERAL CELEBRATES 70TH BIRTHDAY

11 December 2007

His Excellency, Major General Michael Jeffery, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia, turns 70 tomorrow. General Jeffery was born in the small outback town of Wiluna in Western Australia and was educated at Kent Street High School and the Royal Military College, Duntroon.

General Jeffery served in Malaya, Borneo, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam, where he was awarded the Military Cross and the South Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry. After command of all combat elements of the Army from platoon to division - including the Special Air Service Regiment - he retired in 1993 to assume the appointment of Governor of Western Australia, which he held for almost seven years.

On 11 August 2003 he was sworn in as the twenty-fourth Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Since his appointment, General Jeffery has:

• Delivered over 850 speeches;
• Attended some 1100 separate events throughout Australia;
• Hosted over 750 official functions;
• Received the credentials of over 130 Ambassadors and High Commissioners;
• Presided over 121 meetings of the Federal Executive Council, which has considered some 2,540 agenda items;
• Assented to over 760 pieces of legislation;
• Received over 500 callers, many of whom were representatives of the approximately 180 organisations for which the Governor-General and Mrs Jeffery are Patrons; and
• Represented the Government and people of Australia at the Royal Weddings of The Prince of Wales and Mrs Parker-Bowles in London, Crown Prince Frederik and Mary Donaldson in Denmark; State Funerals for President Reagan, His Holiness Pope John Paul II, His Majesty Taufa’ahau Tupou IV King of Tonga, His Highness Malietoa Tanumafili II Head of State of Samoa; Anniversary commemorations to mark the 60th VE Day in Moscow; the 30th Anniversary of Papua New Guinea independence, 400 years of bilateral relations between Australia and The Netherlands, the 50th Anniversary of Malaysia’s Independence and the 90th anniversary of a range of significant WW1 battles on the Western Front.

The Governor-General and Mrs Jeffery have also found time to host Christmas parties for nearly 4,000 special needs children and their carers, travel along the Birdsville Track, and dote over 7 grandchildren.

Tomorrow, staff at Government House will host a morning tea for the Governor-General to mark his special day.

11 December 2007

Contact: Stephen Jiggins, Government House, 02 6283 3519 or 0408 480 779