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Ken Michael

Governor of Western Australia from 2006 to 2011

Image credit is listed at the end of this article.

Kenneth Comninos Michael, AC (born 12 April 1938) is an Australian civil engineer, academic and former public servant who was the 30th Governor of Western Australia, serving from 2006 to 2011.

01Early life and career

Michael was born in Perth, Western Australia, the son of immigrants from the island of Kastellorizo in Greece.

Michael studied at Imperial College London and was a former Commissioner of Main Roads WA, a chairman of the East Perth Redevelopment Authority, a member of the Economic Regulation Authority, and was the Chancellor of the University of Western Australia.

Michael was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1996, and elevated as a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2006. He was named Western Australian Citizen of the Year in 2001 and received the Centenary Medal in 2003 for "service to the public, engineering and the Greek Community".

Ken Michael and his wife Julie
Ken Michael and his wife Julie

02Governor of Western Australia

Michael's vice-regal appointment was announced on 6 June 2005 by the then Premier Geoff Gallop, and he was sworn in at Government House, Perth on 18 January 2006 by the Premier Alan Carpenter and also witnessed by Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Western Australia and Lieutenant-Governor, David Malcolm.

In 2006, Michael was named the patron of the Fremantle Football Club, following in the footsteps of Lieutenant-General Sanderson who was also patron at Fremantle. He has been a member of the club since 1994 as an inaugural Quay Club member. Michael is also the state patron of The Boys' Brigade.

Michael resigned as governor on 2 May 2011. Lieutenant-Governor Wayne Martin became Administrator of Western Australia until Malcolm McCusker was sworn in as governor on 1 July 2011.

Michael was appointed Chairman of the Western Australian Cricket Association in December 2016.

Ken Michael and his wife Julie receiving Quentin Bryce, the Governor-General of Australia, and her husband Michael, at Government House, Perth.
Ken Michael and his wife Julie receiving Quentin Bryce, the Governor-General of Australia, and her husband Michael, at Government House, Perth.
Watch videos about Ken MichaelExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article Ken Michael, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

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