Sir William Deane AC KBE KC

Sir William Deane AC KBE KC (b. 1931), High Court judge, was governor-general of Australia from early 1996 to mid-2001. Spending his primary school years in Canberra, Deane was educated in Catholic schools and the University of Sydney. He returned to the ACT to work in the Attorney-General's Department before undertaking postgraduate study in international law in The Hague. After a period with the Sydney firm of Minter Simpson & Co., he was called to the Bar in 1957. Between 1956 and 1961 he lectured in international law and equity at Sydney University. Appointed King's Counsel (at the time named Queen's Counsel) in 1966, eleven years later he was appointed a judge in the Equity Division of the Supreme Court of New South Wales, a judge of the Federal Court of Australia and the President of the Australian Trade Practices Tribunal. In July 1982, he was appointed a Justice of the High Court of Australia and served on that court until he retired in late 1995 to take up his appointment as Governor General. Sworn-in by Paul Keating and farewelled by John Howard, Deane is popularly renowned as a champion of the common person, and Indigenous Australians in particular. 'The ultimate test of our worth as a nation will be how we treat our most vulnerable', he said on his last day in office, when he hosted a lunch for homeless children at Government House and expressed regret that Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians had not yet formally reconciled. Succeeded by Peter Hollingworth, Deane stayed in Canberra after retirement and is now the Patron of the Canberra Centenary celebrations.