William Cox (governor)

Infobox Prime Minister
name =Hon. William Cox, AC, RFD, ED


birth_date =Birth date and age|1936|4|1|df=y
birth_place =Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
death_date =
death_place =
spouse =Jocelyn Cox
order =26th Governor of Tasmania
term_start =15 December 2004
term_end =2 April 2008
successor =Peter Underwood
predecessor =Richard Butler|

William John Ellis Cox, AC, RFD, ED, QC (born 1 April 1936, Hobart, Tasmania) was Governor of Tasmania from 15 December 2004 to 2 April 2008, prior to which he was the state's Chief Justice and Lieutenant Governor.

Born to the Hon William Ellis Cox CBE MC (d. 1970) and Alice Mary Mulcahy Cox (d. 1983), William John Ellis Cox was educated at St. Virgil's College, Hobart, Xavier College, Melbourne and the University of Tasmania.

He graduated from the University of Tasmania (BA, LLB) in 1960 and was admitted to the Bar, in the Supreme Court of Tasmania in March 1960. He was appointed a magistrate in 1976, and became a Queen's Counsel in 1978, during his term as the State's Crown Advocate (equivalent to Director of Public Prosecutions).

He was appointed to the Supreme Court of Tasmania in 1982, and was the state's Chief Justice from 1995 until 2004. He was also appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania. In 1999, Bill Cox was made a Companion of the Order of Australia. He already held the Reserve Force Decoration (RFD) and the Army's Efficiency Decoration (ED) for service in the Royal Tasmania Regiment, including service in Vietnam.

In August 2004, he became acting Governor upon the resignation of the disgraced Richard Butler, and in November the Premier, Paul Lennon, announced that he had advised the Queen to appoint Cox as Governor of Tasmania. Cox is only the second Tasmanian-born Governor in the state's history. The first was Sir Guy Green.

During his term, Cox was the Honorary Colonel of the Royal Tasmania Regiment and Honorary Air Commodore of the RAAF No. 29 (City of Hobart) Squadron.

William Cox was succeeded as Governor on 2 April 2008 by Peter Underwood, Chief Justice of Tasmania.

Family

William Cox and his wife Jocelyn have three children.