David Hurley facts for kids

David Hurley
His Excellency General the Honourable ; David Hurley ; AC, DSC, FTSE
27th Governor-General of Australia
	Incumbent
	Assumed office; 1 July 2019
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Prime Minister	Scott Morrison
Preceded by	Sir Peter Cosgrove
38th Governor of New South Wales
	In office; 2 October 2014 – 1 May 2019
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Premier	Mike Baird; Gladys Berejiklian
Lieutenant	Tom Bathurst
Preceded by	Dame Marie Bashir
Succeeded by	Margaret Beazley
Personal details
Born	26 August 1953 (age 66); Wollongong, New South Wales
Nationality	Australian
Spouse(s)	Linda McMartin (m. 1977)
Children	3
Military service
Allegiance	Australia
Branch/service	Australian Army
Years of service	1972–2014
Rank	General
Commands	Chief of the Defence Force (2011–2014); Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2008–2011); Chief of Joint Operations (2007–2008); Chief of Capability Development Group (2003–2007); Land Commander Australia (2002–2003); 1st Brigade (1999–2000); 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1991–1993)
Battles/wars	Operation Solace
Awards	Companion of the Order of Australia; Distinguished Service Cross; Knight of the Order of Saint John

General David John Hurley, AC, DSC, FTSE (born 26 August 1953) is a former senior officer in the Australian Army and the 27th Governor-General of Australia, in office since 1 July 2019. He was previously the 38th Governor of New South Wales, serving from 2014 to 2019.

In a 42-year military career, Hurley deployed on Operation Solace in Somalia in 1993, commanded the 1st Brigade (1999–2000), was the inaugural Chief of Capability Development Group (2003–2007) and Chief of Joint Operations (2007–2008), and served as Vice Chief of the Defence Force (2008–2011). His career culminated with his appointment as Chief of the Defence Force on 4 July 2011, in succession to Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston. Hurley retired from the army in June 2014, and succeeded Dame Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales on 2 October 2014.

Early life and education

David John Hurley was born on 26 August 1953 in Wollongong, New South Wales, to Norma and James Hurley. His father was an Illawarra steelworker and his mother worked in a grocery store. Hurley grew up in Port Kembla and attended Port Kembla High School, where he completed his Higher School Certificate in 1971. He subsequently graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon with a Bachelor of Arts and Graduate Diploma in Defence Studies.

Hurley is married to Linda (née McMartin), and has three children.

Military career

Hurley entered the Royal Military College, Duntroon, as an officer cadet in January 1972. On graduating from Duntroon in December 1975, he was commissioned a lieutenant in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps. His initial posting was to the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment (1RAR). Promoted to captain, he was appointed adjutant of the Sydney University Regiment before becoming regimental adjutant of the Royal Australian Regiment. He went on exchange to the 1st Battalion, Irish Guards, a British Army unit, before serving with 5th/7th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.

Promoted to lieutenant colonel, Hurley was posted as the Senior Career Adviser (Armour, Artillery, Engineers and Infantry) in the Office of the Military Secretary in 1990, appointed SO1 (Operations) Headquarters 2nd Division in early 1991, and in November 1991 assumed command of 1RAR, which he led during Operation Solace in Somalia in 1993. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for his service during this deployment. In 1994 he became SO1 (Operations), Headquarters 1st Division.

Following promotion to colonel, Hurley was appointed Chief of Staff, Headquarters 1st Division in June 1994, attended the United States Army War College from 1996 to 1997, became Military Secretary to Chief of Army, and was posted to Australian Defence Headquarters as Director of Preparedness and Mobilisation in December 1997. As a brigadier, he assumed command of the 1st Brigade in Darwin in January 1999. During this period he oversaw the brigade's transition to a higher degree of operational readiness and its support to Australian–led operations in East Timor. He went on to be Director General Land Development within Capability Systems in January 2001.

Hurley was promoted to major general in 2001 and served as Head Capability Systems Division from July 2001, and as Land Commander Australia from December 2002. Promoted to lieutenant general, he assumed the new appointment of Chief of Capability Development Group in December 2003, went on to take the newly separated appointment of Chief of Joint Operations in September 2007, and became Vice Chief of the Defence Force in July 2008.

Hurley was promoted to general and succeeded Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston as Chief of the Defence Force (CDF) on 4 July 2011. In January 2012 Hurley completed 40 years service to the Australian Defence Force, and on 20 January while in Paris, he was presented with the insignia for Officer of the Legion of Honour by the French CDF. In February, he was presented with a fifth clasp to the Defence Force Service Medal in recognition of his 40 years of service. Hurley retired from the Australian Army on 30 June 2014, and was succeeded as CDF by Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin.

Lieutenant General David Morrison, the 2016 Australian of the Year, credited Hurley with the phrase "the standard you walk past is the standard you accept" in his anti-misogyny speech, which became "one of the most quoted phrases" of Morrison's speech.

Vice-regal appointments

On 5 June 2014, New South Wales Premier Mike Baird announced that Hurley would replace Dame Marie Bashir as Governor of New South Wales: he was sworn in by the premier on 2 October 2014 after Bashir's term as governor had expired. On 17 March 2015, he was invested as a Knight of the Order of St John (a British honour) by the Lord Prior, Neil Conn, at a ceremony at Government House, Sydney.

On 16 December 2018, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Hurley would become the next Governor-General of Australia commencing on 1 July 2019. Margaret Beazley was designated as his replacement as Governor of New South Wales. Hurley was sworn in as the 27th Governor-General at Parliament House, Canberra, on 1 July 2019. His first words were spoken in the language of the local Aboriginal people.

Hurley is an Honorary Patron of the ACT Veterans Rugby Club and Patron of Transport Heritage NSW.

Titles, styles and honours

Titles

Hurley's style and title in full is: His Excellency General The Honourable David John Hurley, Companion of the Order of Australia, Distinguished Service Cross, Knight of Grace of the Order of St John, Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia.

Honours and awards

	Companion of the Order of Australia (AC)	26 January 2010
	Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)	26 January 2004
	Distinguished Service Cross (DSC)	26 November 1993
	Knight of the Order of St John	17 March 2015
	Australian Active Service Medal	with SOMALIA clasp
	Australian Service Medal
	Defence Force Service Medal with the Federation Star	40–44 years service
	Australian Defence Medal
	Officer of the Legion of Honour (France)	20 January 2012
	Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States)	10 May 2012
	Knight Grand Commander of the Order of Military Service (Malaysia)	2012
	Defence Meritorious Service Star – 1st Class (Indonesia)	19 November 2012
	Distinguished Service Order (Singapore)	13 February 2013
	Gold Medal of the Order of the Crown of Thailand (Thailand)	June 2014
	Gold Decoration of Merit (Netherlands)	June 2014

Badges

Infantry Combat Badge

Honorary degrees

2013: Honorary Doctor of Letters (D.Litt) by the University of Wollongong.
2015: Honorary Doctorate of the University (D.Univ) by the University of New South Wales.
2017: Honorary Doctorate of the University (D.Univ) by Macquarie University.

Honorary appointments

2008–2019: Honorary Colonel of the Sydney University Regiment.
2014–2019: Chief Scout of Scouts Australia NSW.
2014–2019: Honorary Colonel of the Royal New South Wales Regiment.
2014–2019: Honorary Air Commodore of No. 22 Squadron Royal Australian Air Force.
2014–2019: Deputy Prior of the Order of St John.
2014–2019: Governor of the New South Wales Police Force.
2016: Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (Hon.FTSE).

Military offices
Preceded by Major General Peter Abigail	Land Commander Australia 2002–2003	Succeeded by Major General Ken Gillespie
New title	Chief Capability Development Group 2003–2007	Succeeded by Vice Admiral Matt Tripovich
New title Separated from the roles of VCDF	Chief of Joint Operations 2007–2008	Succeeded by Lieutenant General Mark Evans
Preceded by Lieutenant General Ken Gillespie	Vice Chief of the Defence Force 2008–2011	Succeeded by Air Marshal Mark Binskin
Preceded by Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston	Chief of the Defence Force 2011–2014	Succeeded by Air Chief Marshal Mark Binskin
Government offices
Preceded by Dame Marie Bashir	Governor of New South Wales 2014–2019	Succeeded by Margaret Beazley
Preceded by Sir Peter Cosgrove	Governor-General of Australia 2019–present	Incumbent