Spouse Stuart McCosker Name Penelope Wensley | ||
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Premier Anna BlighCampbell Newman Full Name Penelope Anne Wensley Alma mater Penrith High SchoolUniversity of Queensland Occupation Public servant, Governor Education Penrith High School, University of Queensland | ||
'A privilege and honour': Farewell Qld Governor Penelope Wensley
Penelope Anne "Penny" Wensley (born 18 October 1946) is a former Australian public servant, who was the Governor of Queensland from 2008 to 2014.
Contents
- A privilege and honour Farewell Qld Governor Penelope Wensley
- The Secretary or the Boss Challenges Facing Female Diplomats
- Early life
- Diplomatic career
- Governor of Queensland
- Honours
- References
The Secretary or the Boss?: Challenges Facing Female Diplomats
Early life
Penelope Anne Wensley was born in Toowoomba, Queensland, to Neil Wensley and his wife Doris McCulloch. She was educated at Penrith High School in New South Wales, the Rosa Bassett School in London (UK), and the University of Queensland where she graduated with a first class honours degree in English and French literature. She was a resident of the Women's College there. Her brothers, Robert Wensley QC (1945-2015) and Bill Wensley, also attended the University of Queensland, as had her parents.
Diplomatic career
She joined the Australian Public Service (Department of External Affairs) in 1967. Wensley was posted to Paris (1969–1972), returned to work in Australia, and then given a posting in Mexico (1975–1977). She and her husband, Stuart McCosker, a veterinary surgeon, had a daughter while posted in Mexico.
Her next diplomatic appointment was in Wellington, New Zealand (1982–1985). She was consul general in Hong Kong from 1986–1988. From 1991 to 1992, she was head of the International Organisations Division of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. In 1994, Wensley was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Philosophy by the University of Queensland. Wensley was Ambassador for Environment from 1992 to 1996. She then became the first woman to be Australian Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York in 1997.
She was then appointed as the first female Australian High Commissioner to India, a role she held until 2004. When Australia established diplomatic relations with Bhutan in September 2002, Wensley, as High Commissioner in India, was appointed as Australia's first ambassador there from May 2003. From 2005 to 2008, she was Australia's Ambassador to France, and non-resident Ambassador to Algeria, Mauritania and Morocco.
Governor of Queensland
On 6 July 2008, the Premier of Queensland, Anna Bligh, announced that Queen Elizabeth II had approved Penny Wensley's appointment as the next Governor of Queensland, in succession to Quentin Bryce, who was relinquishing the office prior to being sworn in as Governor-General of Australia. Wensley was sworn in on 29 July 2008. On 24 January 2013, Wensley's term was extended to July 2014.
Honours
In late 2016, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade named one of its 16 meeting rooms in honour of Wensley, in recognition of her work as a pioneering female diplomat.