Sir Laurence Macdonald Muir, VRD, FSIA, FAIM (March 3rd 1925 – April 21st 2010) was an Australian Businessman and Philanthropist.
After service in the Royal Australian Navy from late 1942 until 1946, he gained a Law Degree and was admitted as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Victoria in 1950.
He also served the Federal and State Governments and was a member of the Parliament House Construction Authority, the Australian National University Council, and he was the inaugural Chairman of the Canberra Development Board.
He was involved in many charitable organisations and was a patron of both the Microsurgery Foundation and The Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute.
In 1981, Muir established for the Federal Government the Canberra Development Board and as its chairman for eight years, he was responsible for stimulating the private sector growth of the ACT Economy.
Throughout the eighties and early nineties, he served on the General Motors Advisory Council and was active on the Anticancer Business (Fundraiser) Committee, which he had chaired since its formation.
In the lead up to the 1996 bid by Melbourne for the right to host the Olympic Games, he served as a Commissioner responsible for winning the votes of all IOC members in the Caribbean, Central and South American Regions.
In 1987, he helped to bring the Earthwatch Institute to Australia and with Sir John Crawford, Professor Ruther Ford Robertson, and Dr Jim Vernon, was a founding Trustee.
Various fundraising appeals and representation to State and Federal governments resulted in the opening of a first-class research centre at St. Vincents Hospital.
This centre is a world leader and is flourishing thanks to the skill of Bernard's successor Prof Wayne Morrison and the leadership of Ronald Walker, the current chairman.
Sir Laurence Muir is proud to be the Patron of the Microsurgery Foundation at the Bernard O’Brien Research Centre.
In the mid-eighties he served with Sir Eric Neal as chairman for the Finance Committee for the 6th Duke of Edinburgh Study Conference.