Charles Roderick Curwen was born on the 7th October 1945 in Cumberland, England and educated at Harrow before attending Mons Officer Cadet School in 1964 and serving in the 11th Hussars (P.A.O.). In 1967 as a Captain he was posted to Melbourne, Australia as ADC to the Governor of Victoria. At the conclusion of his tour of duty as ADC he left the British Army, became an Australian citizen and remained at Government House where he has served nine Governors in the role of Private Secretary (1976-84) and as Official Secretary and Chief Administrator of the Office of Governor since 1984 during the term of nine Premiers. In 2004 his position as Official Secretary was enhanced to provide an advisory and “Ambassadorial role” to the Premier and Government in trade, investment and biotechnology, especially in North Asia and the United States of America. In Nanjing, China in October 2008 he was awarded Honorary Citizenship of Jiangsu Province, and in February 2009 he was inducted as an Advisory Professor at Southeast University, Nanjing.
In 1989 on a scheme of arrangement for executive development within the Government of Victoria, he took leave of absence to gain commercial experience. This was achieved working in Market Research, during which time he was appointed as a Director of Roy Morgan Research Ltd. and A.C. Nielsen in Sydney.
His other interests have been in aviation as a pilot of both fixed wing aircraft and helicopters, and he has a continuing interest in medical research. From 1998 until 2004 he was on the Advisory Board of The Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development (an Institute for medical research, respected worldwide as a leader in Prostate Cancer, Infant and Child Health, Women's Reproductive Health, Human Genetics and Animal Husbandry, especially the preservation of endangered species). He was President of their successful $10 Million Appeal, and continues to have a close association with them.
He was awarded the OBE in 1977, the LVO in 1988, C. St.J. in 1992, the CVO in 1998 and was made a Doctor of Laws honoris causa of Monash University in 1998. He is a fellow of the Victorian Division of The Institute of Public Administration, Australia. He is a sworn Clerk of The Executive Council. He is currently the representative of the State of Victoria on the Order of Australia Council, first appointed in 2000. In February 2003 he joined the Board of the Howard Florey Institute, and he was appointed a Governor of the Florey Neuroscience Institute in 2007. In November 2009 he was elected as a Director of the Australia China Business Council (Victoria). He has been a Councillor of Monash University since 2005, and in January 2010 joined the Monash University Sunway Campus Malaysia SDN Board.
