Quentin Bryce has enjoyed a rich and distinguished career as an academic, lawyer, community and human rights advocate, senior public officer, university college principal, and vice-regal representative in Queensland and for Australia.
Ms Bryce's contribution to advancing human rights and equality, the rights of women and children, and the welfare of the family was recognised in her appointment as an Officer of the Order of Australia in 1988 and a Companion of the Order of Australia in 2003. Also in 2003, she was invested as a Dame of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem. On 25 March 2014, Prime Minister Tony Abbott announced that Ms Bryce had become a Dame in the Order of Australia.
Quentin Bryce was sworn in as Australia's twenty-fifth Governor-General in 2008, a position she held until her retirement in 2014. As the first woman to take up the office, she was a pioneer in contemporary Australian society, and yet one who brought more than 40 years of experience in reform, community building and leadership to the role.
