GeneralSir Peter John Cosgrove (born 28 July 1947) is an Australian retired seniorArmy officer who served as the 26thgovernor-general of Australia, in office from 2014 to 2019.
A graduate of theRoyal Military College, Duntroon, Cosgrove fought in theVietnam War, receiving theMilitary Cross in 1971. From 1983 to 1984, he was commander of the1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, and he later served as commander of the6th Brigade and the1st Division. Cosgrove rose to prominence in 1999, when he served as commander of theInternational Force for East Timor (INTERFET), which oversaw the peacekeeping mission inEast Timor during its transition to independence. He is also an alumnus ofNational Defence College, India.
Cosgrove was Australia'sChief of Army from 2000 to 2002 andChief of the Defence Force from 2002 to 2005, receiving corresponding promotions tolieutenant general and general. Cosgrove retired from active service following the end of his term as Chief of the Defence Force, and subsequently served as leader of a taskforce helping to rebuild communities inQueensland afterCyclone Larry in 2006. In January 2014, Cosgrove was named to succeedDame Quentin Bryce as Governor-General of Australia. He was sworn in on 28 March 2014 and made aKnight of the Order of Australia on the same date. Cosgrove retired on 1 July 2019 and was succeeded by GeneralDavid Hurley.
| Viceregal styles of Sir Peter Cosgrove (2014–2019) | |
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| Reference style | His Excellency the Honourable |
| Spoken style | Your Excellency |
Peter John Cosgrove[citation needed] was born inRandwick, theSydney suburb of on 28 July 1947.[1]
He was educated atWaverley College in Sydney, then followed his father, awarrant officer, into theAustralian Army by attending theRoyal Military College, Duntroon in 1965. Cosgrove's uncle,Bill Cosgrove, was a professionalAustralian rules football player, but waskilled in action while serving with theRoyal Australian Air Force duringWorld War II.[1]
Cosgrove spent time inWaverley College's Cadet Unit, as Adjutant CUO P. Cosgrove.[citation needed] He tied for the Major General JA Chapman Cane for the most efficient cadet in the unit.[citation needed] Years later the cadet unit has named an award after Cosgrove, the General Cosgrove Shield, each year to honour the achievements of the most senior ranking officer to graduate.[citation needed]
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Cosgrove was appointed a probationary second lieutenant in August 1968 while attached to a regular army unit,[2] and was commissioned a lieutenant on 11 December 1968.[3] He was allotted to theRoyal Australian Infantry. He arrived inSouth Vietnam on 3 August 1969 and was posted to9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment on 20 August 1969. On 10 October 1969, Lieutenant Cosgrove was commanding 5 Platoon, B Company. The platoon located an occupied bunker system in an area where, because of the proximity of allied troops, indirect fire support was difficult to obtain. In spite of this, he led his platoon in an assault on the bunkers without indirect fire support, capturing the system and killing and wounding at least four enemy without sustaining any casualties. On 16 October 1969, 5 Platoon located another bunker system occupied by about a platoon of enemy. Lieutenant Cosgrove silently deployed his own platoon for an attack. His assault completely surprised the enemy causing them to flee, abandoning large quantities of food, stores and documents. The following day in the same bunker system a party of enemy approached his right forward section and was engaged by the sentry. Knowing that the remainder of the section was elsewhere on other tasks, Lieutenant Cosgrove ran to the contact area and personally conducted the fight against the enemy. As a result of his actions, two enemy were killed and three weapons and four packs containing rice were captured. He was awarded theMilitary Cross for these actions.[4][5]
Cosgrove was promoted to the temporary rank of captain on 21 September 1970,[6] and was appointed anaide-de-camp to the then-Governor-GeneralPaul Hasluck on 20 December 1971.[7] He was promoted to substantive captain on 31 October 1974 (seniority from 13 July),[8] to temporary major on 2 January 1976 and to substantive major on 11 December 1978.[9][10] In 1980 he was awarded theNational Medal,[11] and was promoted to lieutenant-colonel on 7 December 1981.[12] In the mid-1980s he commanded the1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.[13]
Cosgrove came to national fame in 1999 when, as amajor general, he led the international forces (INTERFET) in a peacekeeping mission toEast Timor. The mission's success made him one of Australia's most respected and popular military leaders.[14] He returned to Australia in 2000 asLand Commander Australia,[15] was promoted tolieutenant general in July and appointedChief of the Army and, in 2002, was advanced togeneral asChief of the Defence Force.[16]
In 2004, the Foreign MinisterAlexander Downer queried the judgement ofFederal Police CommissionerMick Keelty.[17] Following a joint interview with the then Defence MinisterRobert Hill, Cosgrove was accused of "playing politics" when he said that, on this occasion, he disagreed with Keelty's point of view. However, Cosgrove expressed strong support for the Police Commissioner in his Australian best selling autobiography,My Story, published in 2006.[18] On 3 July 2005, Cosgrove's three-year appointment as Chief of the Defence Force was completed, and he was succeeded by then-Chief of Air Force Air MarshalAngus Houston.
On 23 March 2006, Cosgrove was selected to lead theQueensland Government taskforce of rebuilding communities damaged byCyclone Larry, aCategory 5 tropical cyclone that devastated theInnisfail region of northernQueensland.[19]"In recognition of the important contribution General Cosgrove made to the community of North Queensland following Cyclone Larry", on 11 October 2008,Queensland PremierAnna Bligh announced that a new residential suburb in theBohle Plains area ofTownsville would be named Cosgrove, formerly the site of an Abattoir for the cattle sale yards next to it.[20][21][22]
Cosgrove served on the board of Australia's main airlineQantas between July 2005[23] and January 2014[24] and is[when?] on numerous other boards as chairman or member.[citation needed]
He served asChancellor of theAustralian Catholic University between November 2010[25] and January 2014.[26]
As of 2014 he was honorary patron of theACT Veterans Rugby Club[27] and the Rosies Youth Mission.[28]
Cosgrove was appointed as patron to the Australian Volunteer Coast Guard Association in 2015.[29]
On 28 January 2014, Prime MinisterTony Abbott announced thatQueen Elizabeth II had accepted his advice to appoint General Cosgrove as the nextGovernor-General of Australia, to succeedDame Quentin Bryce in late March.[30] On 25 March, Abbott announced that the Queen had also approved the reinstatement of the grade ofKnight or Dame in theOrder of Australia (she had abolished it in 1986 on the advice ofBob Hawke), and that governors-general would beex officio the Principal Knight or Dame of the Order.[31] The incumbent, Quentin Bryce, was immediately made the first new Dame of the Order. On 28 March, Cosgrove succeeded Dame Quentin and was sworn in as Governor-General by Chief JusticeRobert French,[32] becoming Sir Peter Cosgrove.[33] Former headmaster of Waverley College, Ray Paxton, states "In choosing Sir Peter Cosgrove for Governor General, Australia has honoured a remarkable man". During his time as Governor-General, Sir Peter Cosgrove was a supporter for the Lung Foundation Australia.[34]
On 16 December 2018, Prime MinisterScott Morrison announced that The Queen had approved the appointment of retired GeneralDavid Hurley, the currentGovernor of New South Wales, as the next Governor-General of Australia, commencing in July 2019, and that Cosgrove's term would be extended until that time to ensure smooth transitions following theNew South Wales election in March andfederal election expected in May 2019.[35]
On 12 August 2019, during a post appointment call uponthe Queen, Cosgrove was appointed aCommander of the Royal Victorian Order.[36]
During theCoronation of Charles III and Camilla, with theGovernor-General of Australia and all of the state governors in London, Cosgrove served as theAdministrator of the Commonwealth from 30 April to 10 May 2023.[37]
Cosgrove married Lynne Payne in 1976,[38] and they have three sons.[39]
His memoir,You shouldn't have joined ..., was published byAllen & Unwin in 2020.[40]
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| Knight of the Order of Australia (AK) | 28 March 2014 | [41][42] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) | 25 March 2000 (Military division) | For eminent service to the Australian Defence Force as the Commander of the International Force East Timor[14] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the Order of Australia (AM) | 26 January 1985 (Military division) | In recognition of service as Commanding Officer 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment[13] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commander of the Royal Victorian Order (CVO) | 12 August 2019 | [36] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Military Cross (MC) | 12 February 1971 | Infantry – 9 RAR – Vietnam[5][43] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Knight of the Order of St John | 28 March 2014 | [41][44] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Active Service Medal 1945–1975 | with Vietnam clasp | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnam Medal | [45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Active Service Medal | with East Timor clasp[45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| International Force East Timor Medal | (INTERFET)[45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Service Medal 1945–1975 | [45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Centenary Medal | 1 January 2001 | For service to Australian society as Chief of the Defence Force[16] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Defence Force Service Medal with Federation Star | 40–44 years service[45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| National Medal | 16 October 1980 | For diligent long service to the community in hazardous circumstances, including in times of emergency and national disaster, in direct protection of life and property[45] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian Defence Medal | [45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnam Campaign Medal | Republic of Vietnam[45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit | 5 June 2000 | New Zealand[46] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Commander of the Legion of Merit | United States[45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tong-il Medal of the Order of National Security Merit | South Korea[45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Officer of the Legion of Honour | France[45] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry | 28 May 2002 | Portugal[47] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Distinguished Service Order | 7 September 2004 | Singapore[48] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Collar of theOrder of Timor-Leste | 30 August 2009 | Timor-Leste[49] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St. Gregory the Great | 7 February 2013 | Holy See[50] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the Crown of Tonga | 3 July 2015 | Tonga[51] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | Collar of the Order of the Liberator General San Martín | 9 August 2016 | Argentina[52] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Grand Cross of the Order of Liberty | 6 July 2018 | Portugal[53] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
.svg){kind=icon} | Infantry Combat Badge | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Other awards | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Australian of the Year | 26 January 2001 | He accepted his Australian of the Year award on behalf of all those Australians who served in East Timor: "I did a lot of the talking, they did all the working."[54] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
2022–Present: Patron of theAustralian Defence Force Cadets[55]2014–2019: Colonel-in-Chief of theRoyal Australian Army Medical Corps[41]2014–2019: Colonel of the Regiment of theRoyal Australian Regiment2014–2019:Chief Scout of Australia
2014–2019:Prior of the Order of St John[56]During a "doorstop" interview, Downer said Mr Keelty was "expressing a view which reflects a lot of the propaganda we're getting from al-Qaeda"
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| External videos | |
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 One Plus One: Sir Peter Cosgrove, One Plus One,ABC News |
| Military offices | ||
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| Preceded by AdmiralChris Barrie | Chief of the Defence Force 2002–2005 | Succeeded by Air Chief MarshalAngus Houston |
| Preceded by Lieutenant GeneralFrank Hickling | Chief of Army 2000–2002 | Succeeded by Lieutenant GeneralPeter Leahy |
| Preceded by Major GeneralJohn Hartley | Land Commander Australia 2000 | Succeeded by Major GeneralPeter Abigail |
| Preceded by Major GeneralTim Ford | Commander1st Division 1998–1999 | Succeeded by Major GeneralJim Molan |
| Preceded by Lieutenant Colonel Barry Caligari | Commanding Officer of the1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment 1983–1984 | Succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel John McAloney |
| Awards | ||
| Preceded by | Australian of the Year Award 2001 | Succeeded by |
| Academic offices | ||
| Preceded by Brother Julian McDonald | Chancellor of theAustralian Catholic University 2005–2014 | Succeeded by Ted Exell Acting |
| Non-profit organization positions | ||
| Preceded by Major GeneralAdrian Clunies-Ross | Chairman of the Australian War Memorial Council 2007–2012 | Succeeded by Rear AdmiralKen Doolan |
| Government offices | ||
| Preceded by | Governor-General of Australia 2014–2019 | Succeeded by |
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| Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee | | |
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| Chief of Defence Force Staff | ||
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