Vale - The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen KG AK GCMG GCVO KBE QC

Ski & Snowboard Australia is saddened to acknowledge the passing of its Patron, The Right Honourable Sir Ninian Stephen.

A keen skier, having learnt to ski while at school in Switzerland, Sir Ninian Stephen was appointed as Patron of Ski & Snowboard Australia in 1985 by then Australian Ski Federation Chairman, Geoff Henke.

Born in Britain in 1923, Sir Ninian moved to Melbourne in 1940 where he studied law before joining the Australian Imperial Force. He served as an infantryman during World World Two in New Guinea and Borneo. Following the war, Sir Ninian returned to his studies and and was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1949 and went onto become a Queen's Counsel in 1966. Sir Ninian served as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1972 and was appointed as the Governor General of Australia in 1982.

In 1989, Sir Ninian became the first Australian Ambassador for the Environment and in 1992, the British and Irish governments chose him to head a new round of peace talks in Northern Ireland. He was also a judge for the International Criminal Tribunal investigating war crimes in the former Yugoslavia, advised on South Africa's constitution and helping negotiate a way through a political impasse in Bangladesh.

He worked for the International Labour Organisation in Burma and was involved in setting up a tribunal to hear cases involving atrocities committed by the genocidal Khmer Rouge "killing fields" regime of 1975-79.

Our condolences and deepest sympathies to Lady Stephen and all of their family and friends.