Allan Myers

Allan James Myers AC, QC (born 17 October 1947) is an Australian barrister, academic, businessman, landowner and philanthropist, and the current Chancellor of the University of Melbourne.

Early life

Allan Myers was born in 1947 in Hamilton, Victoria. He was raised in Dunkeld, Victoria, where his father, John, worked as a butcher. He has five siblings. He graduated from the University of Melbourne, where he received a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws, and resided at Newman College. He was editor of the Melbourne University Law Review from 1967–69. He received the Supreme Court Prize in 1969. He went on to receive a Bachelor of Civil Law from the University of Oxford.

Legal career

He became a lawyer in 1971. He taught as a tutor at the Melbourne Law School. He later taught at Osgoode Hall Law School of York University in Toronto, Canada, from 1972–74. He returned to the University of Melbourne in 1974, where he taught Security Law and Taxation Law from 1974–88. He served as Assistant Editor of the Australian Taxation Law Review.

He was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1975 and has been a Queen's Counsel since 1986. He serves on the Advisory Council of the Oxford University Law Foundation. He has represented Kerry Stokes, Lloyd Williams, Alan Bond, John Elliott, Andrew Forrest and Gina Rinehart as well as Citibank and BHP Billiton.

Business career

He sits on the board of directors of Grupa Żywiec, a Polish brewery in which he is a large shareholder, alongside investor John Higgins. He serves on the board of directors of Norinvest Holding, a Swiss financial corporation, and owns the Royal Mail Hotel, a restaurant in Dunkeld, and the Dunkeld Pastoral Company, as well as 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres) around Dunkeld. He also owns land in the Kimberley and the Tipperary Station near Adelaide River in the Northern Territory, which he purchased from businessman Warren Anderson.

Public policy

He helped found the Grattan Institute, a non-partisan public policy think tank, and serves as its chairman. He was a member of Liberty Victoria, formerly known as the Victorian Council for Civil Liberties.

Philanthropy

He is the former President of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV), to which he has made significant contributions. In 2013, he donated A$10 million to his alma mater, the University of Melbourne. Additionally, he served as Chairman of its BELIEVE fundraising campaign. He has served on the Boards of Trustees of the Alfred Felton Bequest, the Catholic Education Commission, the Monivae College Foundation, the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, the Ian Potter Foundation, and the Newman College Foundation. He has also donated to the University of Oxford.

Myers endowed the Allan Myers Oxford University Scholarships, enabling students at the University of Melbourne to attend the University of Oxford. He received the Centenary Medal in 2001 for his philanthropic and business achievements. He was named an Officer of the Order of Australia in 2007. In January 2016, Myers was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia for eminent service to the community through philanthropic leadership in support of major visual arts, higher education, medical research and not-for-profit organisations, to the law, and to professional learning programs. He received Honorary degrees from the Australian Catholic University and his alma mater, the University of Melbourne.

In 2017 Myers was appointed as Chancellor of the University of Melbourne, succeeding Elizabeth Alexander.

Personal life

Allen Myers is married to Maria Myers, also a Companion of the Order of Australia. They live in Carlton, a suburb of Melbourne. They have two daughters, Clare and Cecilia, and one son, John. Allan is a practising Catholic and a member of the Order of Malta. As of July 2014, his net worth is estimated at over A$700 million.