Peter Hollingworth

Peter Hollingworth (born April 10, 1935) is a prominent Australian Anglican clergyman and is the Governor-General of Australia, a post he has held since 29 June 2001 upon the retirement of Sir William Deane. His full title is the somewhat unwieldy "His Excellency the Right Reverend Dr Peter Hollingworth AC OBE".

He was born in Adelaide, South Australia before moving to Melbourne as a boy. After attending state primary schools, his latter secondary education was at the private Scotch College. After completing his secondary education he began work for BHP.

Conscripted for "National Service" in 1953, Hollingworth began work in the Padre's Office, and decided to become a priest. He attended the University of Melbourne, living at Trinity College, graduating in 1960 with a Bachelor of Arts and a Licentiate of Theology.

Dr. Hollingworth then became a deacon, then the priest in charge of St. Mary's, a church in North Melbourne (on the fringes of Melbourne's central business district). In 1964, he joined the Brotherhood of St Laurence, an Anglican charity which helps the disadvantaged, ultimately rising to the position of Executive Director in 25 years with the Brotherhood. During this time he was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1976, and an officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 for this work. As well as these secular honours, he was elected Canon of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1985 and consecrated a bishop of the Inner City in 1985. During this time, he completed a Master of Arts in Social Work from Melbourne University, and wrote several books about his work with the poor.

In 1989, he became Archbishop of Brisbane. During the 1990's, the Anglican Church in Queensland, like many other churches around the world at the time, was beset by problems with sexual misconduct (ranging from breaches of the church's own rules to criminal pedophilia). Hollingworth's handling of these issues as the administrator of Queensland's Anglicans would later give rise to much controversy.

In 1992, he was made Australian of the Year for his charity work.

On 22 May 2001, he was awarded the Lambeth Degree of Doctor of Letters from the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr George Carey. Whilst he did not submit a thesis for this award, it is not regarded as an honorary degree and does indeed confer the tital of "Dr".

On 29 June 2001, he became Governor-General. Upon taking the office, he became the Chancellor and Principal Companion of the Order of Australia, the Companion of the Order of Australia being Australia's highest civil honor.

The appointment of a theologian, and specifically Hollingworth, as Governor-General attracted substantial negative comment. Sir William Deane, his predecessor, had been popular with the public, and with political opponents of the Howard Howard government, for his comments on social issues. It was widely believed by Howard and others within his party, as well as supporters of the government in the media and elsewhere, that Deane's relative outspokenness was inappropriate for the office. In any case, Deane's example had left expectations on the role quite high.

There was much negative comment on the choice of a bishop to such an important secular office. Some of the conservative press welcomed his appointment, and were particularly glad to see the back of Deane. However, support from the rest of the press ranged from muted to non-existent. Whilst taking leave from his position, many, both from within and without established religion, argued that Hollingworth could not effectively divorce himself from his religious role and that such a combination of religious and secular authority was inappropriate in Australia, a secular country. Hollingworth's personal qualities were also questioned, for instance in the Canberra Times where he was described as having the reputation of "the vainest man in Australia". His record as archbishop was also questioned, for instance by commentator Christopher Pearson in the Australian Financial Review. There was also disappointment from some that a woman was not appointed to the office.

Still to describe: the initial allegations of mismanagement of the Brisbane dioscese on sexual abuse issues, and the recent rape allegations.

External links and sources:

• Governor General's site - source of much of the biographical material for this article.