Jillian Segal

Jillian Segal
AO
1st Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office
9 July 2024
Appointed byAnthony Albanese
Governor‑GeneralSamantha Mostyn
MinisterAndrew Giles
Personal details
BornJohannesburg, South Africa
EducationUniversity of New South Wales
Harvard Law School

Jillian Shirley Segal AO is an Australian lawyer and business executive and Australia's Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism. She is known for her contributions on the boards of government, commercial and non-profit organisations.

Early life and education

Segal was born in Johannesburg, South Africa.[1] Moving to Sydney, Australia, she completed her education at Kambala School in 1973. She then graduated from the University of New South Wales with a BA/LLB and won the University Medal in Law in 1979.[2] Segal received an LLM from Harvard Law School.[3]

Career

Segal's first job was associate to Sir Anthony Mason, judge in the High Court of Australia. She joined Allen, Allen and Hemsley as a senior associate and was promoted to partner, before leaving to serve as a commissioner and subsequently deputy chair of the Australian Securities & Investments Commission.[3]

From 2003 to 2015 she was on the board of the Australian Securities Exchange and from 2004 to 2016 on the board of the National Australia Bank. She served on the Council of the Australian War Memorial from 2014 to 2017 and was deputy chancellor of the University of New South Wales from 2010 to 2019.[4]

Since 2008 Segal has been chairman of the General Sir John Monash Foundation that administers the John Monash Scholarships.[5] She has served on the board of the Sydney Opera House Trust since 2014.[4]

Segal was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 2005 Queen's Birthday Honours for "service to business law in Australia, particularly in the areas of financial services reform and market regulation, and to the community through a range of organisations".[6] She was promoted to Officer of the Order of Australia in the 2019 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to the banking and financial regulation sectors, to not-for-profit organisations, and to women".[7]

As of 2022 Segal is a community representative on the Council for the Order of Australia.[8] She has been a board member of the Garvan Institute since 2009.[9] She is also the immediate past president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry (ECAJ).[10]

On 11 October 2023 in a rally for Israel vigil after 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel, Segal, then President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, said "Our world has changed, the barbarians have breached the gates,"[11]

Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism

Further information: Antisemitism in Australia

On 9 July 2024, Segal was appointed for a term of three years Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism in Australia to the Australian Government by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.[12][13] The appointment came after campaigning by Jewish communal organisations to create a position to fight the rise in antisemitism post October 7, 2023.[14]

Segal's appointment was praised by the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, the representative body of Australian Jewry,[15] and received support from the federal Coalition.[16][17][18] The Jewish Council of Australia, a community group formed in February 2024 critical of Israel's actions in the Israel-Hamas war, expressed concern about Segal's appointment, stating that they were concerned that Segal would not be able to distinguish between criticism of Israel and antisemitism.[19]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Segal, Jillian Shirley". The Australian Women's Register. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  2. ^ "Jillian Segal AO '73" (PDF). Kambala School. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 January 2022. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  3. ^ a b "Segal, Jillian". Australian Women Lawyers as Active Citizens. Archived from the original on 26 August 2020. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  4. ^ a b "Our People". Sydney Opera House. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  5. ^ "Jillian S Segal AM". National Australia Bank. Archived from the original on 14 September 2015. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Ms Jillian Shirley Segal". It's an Honour. 13 June 2005. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Ms Jillian Shirley Segal AM". It's an Honour. 26 January 2019. Archived from the original on 28 January 2022. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Council for the Order of Australia". The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original on 21 March 2023. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  9. ^ "Officer (AO) in the General Division of the Order of Australia" (PDF). The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia. 26 January 2019. p. 58. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 March 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2022.
  10. ^ Narunksy, Gareth. "Sydney's Jewish community comes together in solidarity". Australian Jewish News. Archived from the original on 12 October 2023. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  11. ^ "'Our world has changed': Thousands gather in Sydney for Israel vigil". SBS News. 11 October 2023. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Prime minister names Jillian Segal as first Australian anti-Semitism envoy". ABC News. 9 July 2024. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  13. ^ Wind, Emily (9 July 2024). "Australia news live: Albanese announces special envoy to combat antisemitism, says Jewish students 'worried' to wear school uniform". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  14. ^ Visontay, Michael (9 July 2024). "Jillian Segal appointed as first Australian antisemitism envoy". The Jewish Independent.
  15. ^ Rutland, S. D. (2013). The Asia-Pacific Region and Australian Jewry. Between Mumbai and Manila, 91.
  16. ^ Sakkal, Paul (2024). Albanese shocked by ignorance of antisemitism. The Sydney Morning Herald. 9 July 2024. Accessed 19 July 2024.
  17. ^ Kelly, Cait; Wind, Emily (10 July 2024). "Australia news live: Melbourne factory fire deemed under control; Greens and academics criticise appointment of antisemitism envoy". the Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  18. ^ Evans, Jake (9 July 2024). "Prime minister names Jillian Segal as first Australian anti-Semitism envoy". ABC News. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  19. ^ Wedesweiler, Madeleine (9 July 2024). "Anthony Albanese announces antisemitism envoy, says Jewish people 'do not feel safe'". SBS News. Archived from the original on 10 July 2024. Retrieved 10 July 2024.