James Muecke

James Sunter Muecke (born 1963) is an Australian ophthalmologist working in Adelaide, South Australia. He was the 2020 Australian of the Year, having been South Australian of the Year. He was sworn in as South Australia's Lieutenant Governor on 27 January 2022, succeeding Brenda Wilson, and was succeeded by Richard Harris.

Early life Muecke was born in Adelaide and raised in Canberra. He lived in Washington, D.C., as a child while his father worked for the Australian embassy. After failing to get into medicine at the University of Sydney by one mark, graduating in 1987. He later trained as an ophthalmologist at the Royal Adelaide Hospital and subspecialty training in eye cancer in London He returned to South Australia and became an eye surgeon, working in private practice and as a visiting consultant at the Royal Adelaide and Women's and Children's Hospitals. as well as training and equipping eye surgeons throughout Africa and Asia. Muecke is Chair and co-founder of Sight for All. He received the University of Adelaide's Vice-Chancellor's Alumni Award in 2019. In January 2020, he was named Australian of the Year for his work in preventing blindness. He had planned to speak at events around the country throughout the year, but the COVID-19 pandemic meant most of his presentations outside Adelaide were delivered online.

On being appointed Australian of the Year, Muecke immediately advocated for a tax on sugary drinks in the fight against Type 2 diabetes, which is the leading cause of blindness among Australian adults. He also brought his concerns to the Health Minister Greg Hunt. He was credited by Hunt in the launching of a new ten-year National Diabetes Plan in November 2021. Muecke is also a key contributor to Australian Community Media's "Silent Assassin" series on the causes and consequences of Australia's type 2 diabetes epidemic.

In 2016, Muecke had to stop conducting surgeries due to an inherited neurological condition (focal dystonia) impacting use of his right hand.

On 20 January 2022, the Premier of South Australia, Steven Marshall, announced that Muecke would be the state's new Lieutenant Governor, succeeding Brenda Wilson.

Awards and honours Outstanding Service in Prevention of Blindness Award, Asia-Pacific Academy of Ophthalmology, 2011 2020 South Australian of the Year 2020 Australian of the Year He is a keen amateur photographer and has held exhibitions and self-published a coffee table book, which helped fund a children's eye unit in Myanmar.