Peter Cosgrove



General Peter John Cosgrove, (born 28 July 1947) is a retired Australian Army officer. He was the Chief of the Defence Force from 3 July 2002 to 3 July 2005, when he retired from active service. He has been Chancellor of the Australian Catholic University, since 28 November 2010.

Military service
Cosgrove was educated at Waverley College, then followed his father, a Warrant Officer, into the Australian Army by attending the Royal Military College, Duntroon in 1965. Early in his career, Cosgrove fought in Vietnam with the 9th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, where he served with great distinction, receiving the Military Cross in 1971. In 1980 he was awarded the National Medal. In the mid-1980s he commanded the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment. Cosgrove came to national fame in 1999 when, as a Major General, he led the international forces (INTERFET) in a peacekeeping mission to East Timor. The mission's success made him one of Australia's most respected and popular military leaders. He was promoted in 2000 to Lieutenant General as Chief of the Army and in 2002 to General as Chief of the Defence Force.

In 2004, then Foreign Minister Alexander Downer queried the judgement of Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty. Following a joint interview with then Defence Minister Robert 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 memoir published in 2006. 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 Marshal Angus Houston.

He subsequently wrote an autobiography, My Story, which was a bestseller in Australia. There was some speculation that after retirement he would take up the post of Governor-General of Australia, or stand for parliament. It is rumoured that he may be appointed to replace Quentin Bryce in 2014.

Cyclone Larry Taskforce
On 23 March 2006, Cosgrove was selected to lead the Queensland Government taskforce of rebuilding communities damaged by Cyclone Larry, a Category 5 tropical cyclone that devastated the Innisfail region of northern Queensland.

"In recognition of the important contribution General Cosgrove made to the community of North Queensland following Cyclone Larry", on 11 October 2008, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh announced that the new residential suburb in the Bohle Plains area of Townsville will be named Cosgrove.

Personal life
Peter Cosgrove is on the board of Australia's main airline Qantas and is on numerous other boards as Chairman or member. He is married to Lynne and has three adult sons and lives in Sydney.

Awards