Parliament House Canberra ACT 2602
Telephone 02 6277 7820 Facsimile 02 6273 4140
The Hon Alan Griffin MP
Minister for Veterans’ Affairs
VA008
Saturday, 28 February 2009
WAR GRAVES DIRECTOR APPOINTED FOR SECOND TERM
The Australian Government has re-appointed Major General Paul Stevens AO (Retd) as
Director of the Office of Australian War Graves, the Minister for Veterans’ Affairs, Alan Griffin,
announced today.
Mr Griffin said MAJGEN Stevens, first appointed in April 2006, has been re-appointed to hold
the position from 13 April 2009 until 3 December 2010.
“MAJGEN Stevens has served as Director of the Office of War Graves with distinction and I am
delighted that he will continue in this role,” Mr Griffin said.
“In his time as Director, MAJGEN Stevens has overseen the re-dedication of the Australian
Corps Memorial Park at Le Hamel on the Western Front and the installation of interpretive
material across the Western Front.
“He also oversaw last year’s services at the Australian National Memorial, Villers-Bretonneux,
France, marking the 90th anniversary of the 1918 battles on the Western Front and the
Armistice. In recent years his office has undertaken a program to upgrade the structural and
horticultural maintenance of the war cemeteries in Papua New Guinea and at several locations
across Australia, such as the Sandgate War Cemetery in New South Wales.”
The Office of Australian War Graves maintains war cemeteries and individual war graves in
Australia and Papua New Guinea, and supervises the commemoration of Australian war dead in
Korea and Malaysia. It also constructs and maintains national memorials overseas and
commemorates eligible veterans whose deaths are related to their war service.
MAJGEN Stevens graduated from the Royal Military College Duntroon in 1967 and served in
the Vietnam War with the 105th Field Battery and the Headquarters of the 1st Field Regiment,
Royal Australian Artillery. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Queensland
and is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors. He was the Australian
Army’s Chief of Personnel from 1993 until his retirement in 1997. MAJGEN Stevens served on
the Repatriation Commission from 1997-2003 as the ex-service member. From 2003 until his
appointment as the Director of the Office of Australian War Graves he worked as a consultant
on projects including a review of Defence Health Services for the Australian Defence Force.
Media inquiries: Laura Ryan 0437 863 109
The VVCS – Veterans and Veterans Families Counselling Service can be contacted 24 hours a day, seven days a
week on 1800 011 046.
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