Zelman Cowen

Sir Zelman Cowen, (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.

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.

Cowen was born in Melbourne in 1919 into a Jewish family named Cohen, the son of Bernard Cohen (1892–1975), from Belarus and Sara Cohen (née Granat; 1893–1989), born in Australia.

His paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Belarus in the Russian Empire.

The name was formally changed to Cowen when he was a young boy.

He was educated at St Kilda Park State School, Scotch College and the University of Melbourne.

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.

He married Anna Wittner in 1945.

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.

He remained at Oxford after graduating, serving as a fellow of Oriel College from 1947 to 1950.

From 1947 to 1950 he was a fellow of Oriel College, Oxford, and was also a consultant on legal matters to the British Military Government in Allied-occupied Germany.

In 1951, Cowen returned to Australia to become dean of the law faculty at the University of Melbourne.

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.

In 1953, still while at the University of Melbourne, he was awarded a Fulbright Senior Scholarship in Law to Harvard University.

He became known as an expert on constitutional law, and was a visiting professor at a number of overseas institutions.

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

He later served as vice-chancellor of the University of New England (1966–1970) and the University of Queensland (1970–1977).

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).

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.

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.

In 1977 Ray Crooke painted Portrait of Professor Emeritus Sir Zelman Cowen which is part of the University of Queensland collection.

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.

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.

After leaving office, Cowen returned to academia, serving as provost of Oriel College, Oxford, from 1982 to 1990.

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.