Steve Gower was Director of the Australian War Memorial between 1996 and 2012. He is a Duntroon graduate and Vietnam veteran who gained an Honours degree in Engineering from the University of Adelaide, followed by a Masters degree by research. He spent 37 years in the Australian Army, attaining the rank of major general before resigning to become the ninth Director of the Australian War Memorial, a position he held for over 16 years. During that time Steve Gower was Chair of the Council of Australian Museum Directors and on the Museum Management Committee of the International Council of Museums. Active in tourism related to the Memorial, he was a chair of the Canberra Convention Bureau and a board member of the Canberra Tourism Corporation.