About the Author

Born in the outback of Queensland, Dr Donald Markwell was Rhodes Scholar for Queensland in 1981, and Fellow and Tutor in Politics at Merton College, Oxford, from 1986 to 1997. As a visiting professor at Victoria University, Melbourne, and subsequently, he worked closely with Sir Zelman Cowen on his memoirs. Dr Markwell served as Warden of Trinity College, University of Melbourne, from 1997 to 2007, and as a Professorial Fellow of the Centre for Public Policy and the Department of Political Science at the University of Melbourne. He has subsequently served as Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Education) of the University of Western Australia (2007-2009), and Warden of Rhodes House, Oxford (2009-2012). He spoke at the State Memorial Service for Sir John Kerr in 1991, and the State Funeral for Sir Zelman Cowen in 2011. Dr Markwell is now Senior Adviser to the Attorney-General of Australia and Leader of the Government in the Australian Senate.