Zelman Cowen

{{Short description|Governor-General of Australia from 1977 to 1982}}

{{Infobox officeholder

| honorific-prefix = The Right Honourable

| name = Sir Zelman Cowen

| honorific-suffix = {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100|AK|GCMG|GCVO|PC|QC|FTSE}}

| image = Zelman_Cowen.jpg

| caption = Cowen in 1968

| order = 19th

| office = Governor-General of Australia

| term_start = 8 December 1977

| term_end = 29 July 1982

| primeminister = Malcolm Fraser

| predecessor = Sir John Kerr

| successor = Sir Ninian Stephen

| monarch = Elizabeth II

| office1 = Provost of Oriel College, Oxford

| term_start1 = 1982

| term_end1 = 1990

| predecessor1 = The Lord Swann

| successor1 = Ernest Nicholson

| office3 = Vice Chancellor of the University of Queensland

| term_start3 = 1970

| term_end3 = 1977

| predecessor3 = Sir Fred Schonell

| successor3 = Brian Wilson

| office4 = Vice Chancellor of the University of New England

| term_start4 = 1966

| term_end4 = 1970

| predecessor4 = Sir Robert Madgwick

| successor4 = Alec Lazenby

| birth_name = Zelman Cohen

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1919|10|7|df=y}}

| birth_place = Melbourne, Australia

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|12|8|1919|10|7|df=y}}

| death_place = Toorak, Victoria, Australia

| spouse = {{marriage|Anna Wittner|7 June 1945}}

| children = 4

| profession = Legal professor

| signature = Zelman Cowen Signature GG.svg

}}

Sir Zelman Cowen, {{post-nominals|country=AUS|size=100|sep=,|AK|GCMG|GCVO|PC|QC|FTSE}} (7 October 1919 – 8 December 2011) was an Australian legal scholar and university administrator who served as the 19th Governor-General of Australia, in office from 1977 to 1982.

Cowen was born in Melbourne, and attended Scotch College before going on to the University of Melbourne where he was resident at Ormond College. His studies were interrupted by World War II, during which he served in the Royal Australian Navy. After the war's end, Cowen attended New College, Oxford, on a Rhodes Scholarship. He subsequently won the prestigious Vinerian Scholarship as the best student in the Bachelor of Civil Law degree. He remained at Oxford after graduating, serving as a fellow of Oriel College from 1947 to 1950.

In 1951, Cowen returned to Australia to become dean of the law faculty at the University of Melbourne. In 1953, still while at the University of Melbourne, he was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship in Law to Harvard University.{{Cite web|url=http://www.himaa.org.au/whatsnew/fulbright.html|title=Fulbright Scholarships|website=www.himaa.org.au|access-date=2018-10-10}} He became known as an expert on constitutional law, and was a visiting professor at a number of overseas institutions. He later served as vice-chancellor of the University of New England (1966–1970) and the University of Queensland (1970–1977). In 1977, Malcolm Fraser appointed Cowen to succeed John Kerr as governor-general. He was an uncontroversial choice, and became the second Jewish holder of the position, after Sir Isaac Isaacs. After leaving office, Cowen returned to academia, serving as provost of Oriel College, Oxford, from 1982 to 1990.

Early life

Cowen was born in Melbourne in 1919 into a Jewish family named Cohen, the son of Bernard Cohen (1892–1975), from Belarus{{cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Bernard-Cowen/6000000028766548205|title=Bernard Cowen|date=9 July 1892 |publisher=Geni.com|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107020310/https://www.geni.com/people/Bernard-Cowen/6000000028766548205|archive-date=7 November 2017|df=dmy-all}} and Sara Cohen (née Granat; 1894–1989), born in Australia.{{cite web|url=https://www.geni.com/people/Sara-Cohen/6000000028766322727|title=Sara Cohen|date=8 April 1893 |publisher=Geni.com|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107020308/https://www.geni.com/people/Sara-Cohen/6000000028766322727|archive-date=7 November 2017|df=dmy-all}} His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Belarus in the Russian Empire.{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/02/sir-zelman-cowen|title=Sir Zelman Cowen obituary|newspaper=The Guardian|date=2 January 2012|author=Starck, Nigel|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107020209/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/jan/02/sir-zelman-cowen|archive-date=7 November 2017|df=dmy-all}} The name was formally changed to Cowen when he was a young boy.{{cite news|first=Harriet|last=Veitch|url=http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/chosen-for-the-role-of-healer-20111209-1onif.html |title=Sir Zelman Cowen, 1919–2011: Chosen for the role of healer|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|publisher=Fairfax Media|date=10 December 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160914020827/http://www.smh.com.au/comment/obituaries/chosen-for-the-role-of-healer-20111209-1onif.html|archive-date=14 September 2016}} He was educated at St Kilda Park State School, Scotch College and the University of Melbourne.{{cite news|url=http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110854956|first=Bruce|last=Juddery|author-link=Bruce Juddery|date=15 July 1977|page=2|newspaper=The Canberra Times|title=Governor-General: Nothing if not a public man|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161002150436/http://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/110854956|archive-date=2 October 2016|df=dmy-all}} He served in the Royal Australian Navy during the Second World War, and was in Darwin during the bombing raid of 1942, before being transferred to Brisbane to work in the cipher unit of General MacArthur's office.{{Cite journal|last=Commonwealth of Australia|date=7 February 2012|title=Condolences: Sir Zelman Cowen|url=http://www.joshfrydenberg.com.au/siteData/uploadedData/Special/Hansard%20-%20Condolences%20-%20Sir%20Zelman%20Cowen.pdf|journal=House of Representatives: Votes and Proceedings: Hansard|pages=1–35|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317100207/http://www.joshfrydenberg.com.au/siteData/uploadedData/Special/Hansard%20-%20Condolences%20-%20Sir%20Zelman%20Cowen.pdf|archive-date=17 March 2016|df=dmy-all}} He married Anna Wittner in 1945.{{Cite news|url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article204017721|title=WEDDINGS|date=8 June 1945|work=Age (Melbourne, Vic. : 1854 – 1954)|access-date=13 July 2017|pages=4}} Cowen then went as a Rhodes Scholar to New College, Oxford, where he completed a Bachelor of Civil Law degree and jointly won the Vinerian Scholarship. From 1947 to 1950 he was a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford,{{cite web|title=The Rt Hon Sir Zelman Cowen|url=http://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkecentre/patrons/Cowen.asp|work=Hawke Centre Biography|publisher=The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre|access-date=8 December 2011|url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102161432/http://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkecentre/patrons/Cowen.asp|archive-date=2 January 2012|df=dmy-all}} and was also a consultant on legal matters to the British Military Government in Allied-occupied Germany.{{cite ODNB|author=Ross Cranston|title=Cowen, Sir Zelman (1919–2011)|date=Jan 2015 |id=104456|url=http://www.oxforddnb.com/public/dnb/104456.html}}

Zelman Cowen was a 1953 Fulbright Senior Scholar in Law from the University of Melbourne to Harvard University.

Educational career

In 1951 Cowen returned to Australia and became dean of the law faculty at the University of Melbourne, a post he held until 1966 where he appointed, and worked with Francis Patrick Donovan. During these years he was frequently a visiting professor at American universities, including the University of Chicago, the University of Illinois and the University of Washington. He also advised the British Colonial Office on constitutional matters and advised the governments of Ghana and Hong Kong on legal issues. Among many other works, he published a biography of Sir Isaac Isaacs, the first Australian-born and first Jewish Governor-General of Australia.{{cite book |title= Isaac Isaacs|last= Cowen|first= Zelman |year= 1967|publisher= Oxford University Press|location= Melbourne}}

Cowen was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England in Armidale, New South Wales, in 1966. The following year, he produced for ABC television the "Yes" case for the Australian referendum, 1967 (Aboriginals).{{cite news|url=http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/my-friend-the-lawyer-educator-and-healer-of-a-nations-wounds-20111209-1onp7.html |first=Steven|last=Skala|title= My friend the lawyer, educator and healer of a nation's wounds|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=10 December 2011|publisher=Fairfax Media|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203085332/http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-opinion/my-friend-the-lawyer-educator-and-healer-of-a-nations-wounds-20111209-1onp7.html|archive-date=3 December 2013}} From 1970 to 1977 he was Vice-Chancellor of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, during the difficult years of the Vietnam War and Springbok tour student protests.{{Cite journal|date=April 1978|title=Political Chronicles – Queensland|url=https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:239898|journal=Australian Journal of Politics and History|volume=24 |issue=1|pages=89–95|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205000950/https://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:239898|archive-date=5 February 2018|df=dmy-all}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2012/01/loyal-alumna-reflects-uq-1970s|title=Loyal alumna reflects on UQ in the 1970s|work=UQ News|access-date=13 July 2017|language=en|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180205000917/https://www.uq.edu.au/news/article/2012/01/loyal-alumna-reflects-uq-1970s|archive-date=5 February 2018|df=dmy-all}} In 1977 Ray Crooke painted Portrait of Professor Emeritus Sir Zelman Cowen which is part of the University of Queensland collection.{{cite web|last=Hergenhan|first=Laurie|date=July 2013|title=A tale of three portraits|url=http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:306186/ff8_1_2013_p7_9.pdf|website=Fryer folios|access-date=3 December 2014|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208231250/http://espace.library.uq.edu.au/view/UQ:306186/ff8_1_2013_p7_9.pdf|archive-date=8 December 2015|df=dmy-all}} By this time he was regarded as one of the leading constitutional lawyers in the English-speaking world. He was Emeritus Professor of Law at Melbourne and the Tagore Professor of Law at the University of Calcutta. During his time in Queensland he handled disturbances at the university, resulting from protests against the Vietnam War, with diplomatic skill.

Governor-General

File:Zelman Cowen 1979-07b.png

When Sir John Kerr's turbulent period of office as Governor-General ended with his early resignation in 1977, the Prime Minister, Malcolm Fraser, offered Cowen the post. He was in some ways a perfect choice. He was a distinguished Australian with an international reputation, his knowledge of the Constitution and the law were beyond dispute, and his political views were unknown. The fact that Cowen was Jewish gave his appointment a multicultural aspect in keeping with contemporary Australian sentiment. He served four and a half years as Governor-General, from December 1977 to July 1982.

Post vice-regal career

From 1982 to 1990 Cowen was Provost of Oriel College, Oxford. After his retirement he returned to Australia and became active in Jewish community affairs in Melbourne. He also pursued a range of other interests, including serving for five years on the board of Fairfax Newspapers (three of them as Chairman) during a turbulent period for the company; and being patron of St Kilda Football Club. During the lead-up to the 1999 Australian republic referendum, he supported a moderate republican position.[http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s57757.htm Anti-republican cause recruits Bill Hayden] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121112041936/http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s57757.htm |date=12 November 2012 }}, ABC, 7 October 1999

Personal life

On 7 June 1945, Cowen married Anna Wittner (5 July 1925 – 10 June 2022){{cite web |url=https://www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/frequentlyaskedquestions/personal_stories/canberra-citizen-of-the-year-1967/cowens |title=Cowens – Libraries ACT |access-date=2018-01-29 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130015903/https://www.library.act.gov.au/find/history/frequentlyaskedquestions/personal_stories/canberra-citizen-of-the-year-1967/cowens |archive-date=30 January 2018 |df=dmy-all }}{{cite web|url=https://www.jewishnews.net.au/insight-into-sir-zelman-cowen/8628|title=Insight into Sir Zelman Cowen – The Australian Jewish News|date=14 October 2009|access-date=6 February 2018|url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180130091330/https://www.jewishnews.net.au/insight-into-sir-zelman-cowen/8628|archive-date=30 January 2018|df=dmy-all}}[https://www.abl.com.au/insights-and-news/vale-lady-anna-cowen/ Anna Cowen death notice] and had four children, Shimon, Yosef, Kate and Ben.{{cite web |author=5 Minutes 10 Minutes |url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/former-pm-malcolm-fraser-pays-tribute-to-sir-zelman-cowen/story-e6frg6nf-1226217863255 |title=The Australian |publisher=The Australian |date=15 December 2011 |access-date=31 December 2011 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111209030313/http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/nation/former-pm-malcolm-fraser-pays-tribute-to-sir-zelman-cowen/story-e6frg6nf-1226217863255 |archive-date=9 December 2011 |df=dmy-all }} His son, Rabbi Shimon Cowen, is Director of the Institute for Judaism and Civilization in Melbourne.{{cite web|url=http://www.ijc.justademo.com.au/about-us/|title=About Us – Institute for Judaism and Civilization|access-date=6 February 2018}}{{dead link|date=February 2018 |bot=Kerry Raymond |fix-attempted=yes }}

Death

Cowen suffered from Parkinson's disease for at least the last 15 years of his life.{{cite news|title=Former governor-general dies|url=http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/former-governor-general-dies/story-fn3dxity-1226217727533|access-date=8 December 2011|newspaper=The Australian|publisher=News Limited|date=9 December 2011|agency=AAP}}{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-09/former-gg-zelman-cowen-dies-aged-92/3721434?section=qld |title=Former governor-general Cowen dies aged 92 |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |agency=AAP|date=9 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111209070134/http://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-12-09/former-gg-zelman-cowen-dies-aged-92/3721434?section=qld|archive-date=9 December 2011}} He died on 8 December 2011, at the age of 92, at his home in Toorak, Victoria.{{cite news|title=He 'restored Australia's faith': Sir Zelman Cowen dies at 92|url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/he-restored-australias-faith-sir-zelman-cowen-dies-at-92-20111209-1olqj.html|access-date=8 December 2011|newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald|date=9 December 2011|first1=Michael|last1=Gordon|first2=Michelle|last2= Grattan|author-link2=Michelle Grattan}} It was the 34th anniversary of his swearing-in as Governor-General in 1977.

His state funeral at Melbourne's Temple Beth Israel in St Kilda was attended by the Governor-General, Dame Quentin Bryce, the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, and former Prime Ministers Malcolm Fraser, Bob Hawke and John Howard.{{cite news|title=Sir Zelman Cowen the genius Governor-General |url=http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/national/sir-zelman-cowen-the-genius-governor-general/story-e6freuzr-1226221352395|access-date=14 December 2011|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|publisher=News Limited|date=14 December 2011|first=Kellee|last=Nolan}}

Honours

Cowen's first honour was a Knight Bachelor in 1976. When appointed Governor-General he was made a Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) and Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) in 1977, and sworn into the Privy Council in 1977 (Rt Hon). When Queen Elizabeth II visited Australia in 1980 she appointed Cowen a Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO).

He was an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE).[https://www.atse.org.au/Documents/focus/170-productivity-innovation-prosperity.pdf Sir Zelman Cowen: an acclaimed Australian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180330000415/https://www.atse.org.au/Documents/focus/170-productivity-innovation-prosperity.pdf |date=30 March 2018 }}, Focus, Journal Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering (FTSE), Number 170, February 2012, pg.50

In 1985, he was made an honorary fellow of Trinity College Dublin.{{cite book |last=Webb |first=D.A. |editor-first=Barlett |editor-last=J.R.|date=1992 |title=Trinity College Dublin Record Volume 1991 |location=Dublin |publisher=Trinity College Dublin Press |isbn=1-871408-07-5}}

Named Awards

In 1981, the Royal Australian Institute of Architects (RAIA) established the Sir Zelman Cowen Award for Public Architecture which is widely recognised as Australia's leading award for public buildings.

Melbourne Law School awards the Zelman Cowen Scholarship to incoming Juris Doctor students. Awarded purely on the basis of academic merit,[http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/jd/future-students/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships-for-local-students "Scholarships for Local Students-Zelman Cowen Scholarships"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210183349/http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/jd/future-students/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships-for-local-students |date=10 December 2011 }}.Melbourne Law School, Accessed 9 December 2011 it is the law school's most prestigious scholarship. A special issue of the "Melbourne University Law Review" in 2015 published papers from a 2014 conference on legal, international, liberty, literary, university, and other public issues of significance in Cowen's life and work; contributors included Glyn Davis, Justice Susan Kenny, Michael Crommelin, Donald Markwell, Cheryl Saunders, and Sir Frank Berman."Melbourne University Law Review" (2015) Volume 38(3) {{cite web |url=http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/issues/current-issue |title=Current issue |access-date=2015-07-31 |url-status = live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150809132853/http://www.law.unimelb.edu.au/mulr/issues/current-issue |archive-date=9 August 2015 |df=dmy-all }}

Bibliography

{{cite journal |date=Jan–Feb 1996 |title=Rabbi Jacob Danglow |department=Biography |journal=Quadrant |volume=40 |issue=1–2 [323] |pages=72–76}}
{{cite book |title=A public life |location=Melbourne |publisher=Miegunyah Press |year=2006 }}

References

Sources

[https://web.archive.org/web/20061113233422/http://www.mup.unimelb.edu.au/speech/fajgenbaum_speech.html Speech about Cowen's life]
[https://web.archive.org/web/20120102161432/http://www.unisa.edu.au/hawkecentre/patrons/Cowen.asp Profile of Zelman Cowen]