Professor Brendan Murphy named Australian of the Year finalist
He was nominated for 'saving tens of thousands of lives' in his role steering Australia's COVID-19 response.
Professor Brendan Murphy has been shortlisted for Australian of the Year after leading the nation’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The former Commonwealth Chief Medical Officer, who became a household name during his daily briefings with Prime Minister Scott Morrison, helped saved thousands of lives according to his official citation.
“Thanks to his calm leadership, Australia was able to prevent the COVID-19 virus taking hold in the community during the first wave of the global pandemic,” it said.
His presentations, replete with slide shows and graphs, turned the former nephrologist into such a celebrity that he once described how he had to don a hat and dark glasses to find some privacy when out in public.
