| General Peter John Cosgrove AC MCCNZM | |
|---|---|
 Peter Cosgrove at the 2008 National Anzac Day service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra | |
| Nickname | Cos |
| Born | 28 July 1947 |
| Place of birth | Sydney, Australia |
| Allegiance |
 Australia |
| Service/branch |
 Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1965–2005 |
| Rank |
 General |
| Commands held |
Chief of the Defence Force Chief of Army INTERFET Deployable Joint Force Land Command 1st Infantry Division School of Infantry 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment |
| Battles/wars |
Vietnam War International Force for East Timor |
| Awards |
Companion of the Order of Australia Military Cross Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (New Zealand) Commander of the Legion of Merit (United States) Distinguished Service Order (Military) (Singapore) Officer of the Legion of Honour (France) Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (Portugal) |
| Other work |
Author Leader, Cyclone Larry Task Force Chancellor, Australian Catholic University Board member, Qantas and numerous other publicly listed companies |
Peter Cosgrove in attendance at the 2008 Anzac Day National Service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra (second from right)
General Peter John Cosgrove, AC MC (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,[1] 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.[2] In 1980 he was awarded the National Medal.[3] In the mid-1980s he commanded the 1st Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment.[4]
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.[5] He was promoted in 2000 to Lieutenant General as Chief of the Army and in 2002 to General as Chief of the Defence Force.[6]
In 2004, then Foreign Minister Alexander Downer queried the judgement of Federal Police Commissioner Mick Keelty.[7] 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.[8] 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,[8] 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.[9]
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 region of northern Queensland.[10]
"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.[11][12][13]
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[]
|
Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) | (Military division) 25 March 2000[5] |
| Member of the Order of Australia (AM) | (Military division) 26 January 1985[4] | |
|
Military Cross (MC) | 12 February 1971 for gallantry in Vietnam.[2] |
|
Australian Active Service Medal 1945-1975 | |
|
Vietnam Medal | |
|
Australian Active Service Medal | |
|
International Force East Timor Medal (INTERFET) | |
|
Australian Service Medal 1945-1975 | |
|
Centenary Medal | 1 January 2001[6] |
|
Defence Force Service Medal with Federation Star | (40–44 years service) |
|
National Medal | 16 October 1980[3] |
|
Australian Defence Medal | |
|
Vietnam Campaign Medal (Republic of Vietnam) | |
|
Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) | |
|
Commander of the United States Legion of Merit | |
|
Order of National Security Merit (Tong-il Medal) (South Korea) | within the Order of National Security Merit |
|
Darjah Utama Bakti Cemerlang (Tentera) (Singapore) | Distinguished Service Order (Military) 7 September 2004[14] |
|
Officer of the Légion d'honneur (France) | |
|
Grand Cross of the Order of Prince Henry (Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) (Portugal) | 28 May 2002[15] |
| Other awards | ||
| Australian of the Year | 2001[16] | |
See also[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Peter Cosgrove. |
References[]
- ↑ "General Peter Cosgrove appointed Chancellor of ACU – 25 May 2010". Acu.edu.au. http://www.acu.edu.au/246442. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 It's an honour entry – Military Cross – 12 February 1971 Citation: Infantry – 9 RAR – Vietnam
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 "It's an honour entry – National Medal – 16 October 1980". Itsanhonour.gov.au. 1980-10-16. http://www.itsanhonour.gov.au/honours/honour_roll/search.cfm?aus_award_id=907859&search_type=quick&showInd=true. Retrieved 2013-07-12. Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; name "NM" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ 4.0 4.1 It's an honour entry – Member of the Order of Australia – 26 January 1985 Citation: In recognition of service as Commanding Officer 1st Battalion, The Royal Australian Regiment
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 It's an Honour entry – Companion of the Order of Australia – 25 March 2000 Citation: For eminent service to the Australian Defence Force as the Commander of the International Force East Timor.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 It's an Honour entry – Centenary Medal – 1 January 2001 Citation: For service to Australian society as Chief of the Defence Force
- ↑ Honest copper emerges victor, The Age, 2004-03-18. 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".
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 My Story (HarperCollins Publishers Australia, October 2006, ISBN 0-7322-8384-1)
- ↑ Virginia Trioli (2013-04-25). "General Peter Cosgrove speaks with ABC News Breakfast - Anzac Day 2013 - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)". Abc.net.au. http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-04-25/general-peter-cosgrove-speaks-with-abc-news-breakfast/4650520?section=nsw. Retrieved 2013-07-12.
- ↑ Peter Beattie (23 March 2006) General Cosgrove to lead Cyclone Larry taskforce, (Press release) Premier of Queensland. Retrieved 2013-10-12
- ↑ Townsville suburb named in honour of General Cosgrove, ABC News, 11 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
- ↑ Ryan, Lendl (11 October 2008). "Townsville "Cosgrove" storm". Townsville Bulletin. News Limited. Archived from the original on 15 September 2012. http://archive.is/9u6i. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
- ↑ Townsville suburb named after Cosgrove, Australian Associated Press Pty Limited (AAP), appearing in the Sydney Morning Herald, 11 October 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-11.
- ↑ MINDEF Singapore, President Nathan Confers Top Military Award on Chief of the Australian Defence Force, 7 September 2004. Retrieved 19 April 2008.
- ↑ Annual Portuguese Honorary Orders, Foreign citizens 1910–2006, 2006, retrieved 19 April 2008, p111. (Portuguese)[dead link]
- ↑ 2001 Australian of the Year Awards[dead link][dead link]
External links[]
- Cosgrove bio, Australian War Memorial
- Cosgrove bio, www.icmi.com.au
- Pictorial bio, www.diggerhistory.info
Copyright pictures of Cosgrove
- 2007 picture in civies from transcript of ABC Talking Heads interview
- 2006 picture from Cosgrove admits he was wrong about Iraq, news.com.au, 15 October 2006 – promoting release of Cosgrove's autobiography.
- 2005 (June), Pre-retirement – signing MOA with Steve Gumley (CEO of DMO) and Ric Smith (former Secretary, Australian DoD) – from New Era for DMO and Defence, Defence Annual Report 2004–05
- 2005 picture from ABC interview on release of Cosgrove's autobiography, 2 Nov 2006.
- 2004 Official portrait
- 2002 picture at the Australian Chief of Defence Change of Command Ceremony.
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