1. William Deane was previously a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1982 to 1995.
31 Facts About William Deane
1. 2.
William Deane was appointed to the Supreme Court of New South Wales in 1977, and later that year was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia.
3.
William Deane was elevated to the High Court in 1982, and during his tenure was generally considered to fall on the court's progressive side.
4.
William Deane retired from the court in 1995, and the following year was appointed governor-general on the recommendation of Paul Keating.
5.
William Deane had a low profile during his five-year term, facing no major constitutional issues, but did come to international notice by officially opening the 2000 Summer Olympics.
6.
William Deane was the youngest of three children and only son born to Lillian Elizabeth and Cornelius Aloysius Deane.
7.
William Deane's father grew up in a large Catholic family in Wahring, Victoria, and won the Military Cross during World War I He later worked as a patent examiner.
8.
The family moved to Canberra in 1933, and William Deane grew up in the suburb of Griffith.
9.
William Deane attended St Christopher's Convent School in Manuka and later boarded in Sydney at St Joseph's College, Hunters Hill.
10.
William Deane won an exhibition and Canberra scholarship to attend the University of Sydney, where he graduated Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws and "won numerous scholarships, exhibitions and prizes".
11.
William Deane was a member of the staff of the Sydney Law Review and served on the Student's Representative Council and as secretary and vice-president of the Sydney University Law Society.
12.
William Deane trained with the University Air Squadron and attained a pilot's licence.
13.
In 1954 William Deane won a Rotary Foundation Fellowship to undertake postgraduate studies in Europe.
14.
William Deane was awarded a diploma from The Hague Academy of International Law in 1955.
15.
William Deane was called to the Sydney Bar in 1957 and lectured in law at university.
16.
William Deane joined the Democratic Labor Party in the 1950s and served on the party's executive.
17.
William Deane later recalled having "very strong views on the threat of communism" at the time.
18.
William Deane subsequently became disillusioned by factional disputes and ceased to have any involvement in politics.
19.
In 1977, William Deane was appointed a Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales and, in the same year, he was appointed to the Federal Court of Australia and as President of the Australian Trade Practices Tribunal.
20.
William Deane retired from the High Court in November and was sworn in as Governor-General on 16 February 1996.
21.
William Deane "represented the Catholic social justice position on just about every issue that came forward".
22.
On 28 August 1996, as governor-general, William Deane, issued a proclamation that officially established 3 September as Australian National Flag Day.
23.
William Deane was asked to deliver the eulogies at the funerals of several prominent Australians, including Sir Donald Bradman, Nugget Coombs, Dame Roma Mitchell, Sir Marcus Oliphant, and Mum Shirl.
24.
William Deane officially opened the 2000 Summer Olympics, giving a brief speech in front of a crowd of 110,000 people at the Sydney Olympic Stadium.
25.
However, in November 1999 he changed his mind and advised the IOC that William Deane would be opening the games.
26.
William Deane was a Patron of Reconciliation Australia and of the Australian Indigenous Doctors Association.
27.
William Deane is a former Patron and Chair of international aid-organization CARE Australia and a member of its advisory board.
28.
William Deane was appointed a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire on 10 August 1982, a few weeks after being appointed to the High Court.
29.
William Deane is a Knight Commander with Star of the Papal Order of St Gregory the Great and a Knight of the Venerable Order of St John.
30.
In 2001, William Deane was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize "for his consistent support of vulnerable and disadvantaged Australians and his strong commitment to the cause of reconciliation".
31.
William Deane was described in 2002 as "a devout Catholic who regularly attends Mass at St Christopher's, Canberra".