Solicitor-General of Australia

Solicitor-General of Australia
Incumbent
Stephen Donaghue
since 16 January 2017
Attorney-General's Department
Appointer Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister
Inaugural holder Sir Robert Garran
Formation 1916 (1916)

The Solicitor-General of Australia is the country's second highest-ranking law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The position is often known as the Commonwealth Solicitor-General in order to distinguish it from the state solicitors-general. The current officeholder is Stephen Donaghue, who took office on 16 January 2017.

The Commonwealth Solicitor-General gives the Australian federal government legal advice and appears in court to represent the Commonwealth's interest in important legal proceedings, particularly in the High Court.[1] Unlike the attorney-general, the solicitor-general is not a member of parliament.

History

The office was created in 1916 with the appointment of Sir Robert Garran. Prior to this, from 1903 to 1913 Sir Charles Powers had served as the first Commonwealth Crown Solicitor,[2][3][4] which later became the Australian Government Solicitor. Sir Charles Powers was also sometimes referred to as the "Solicitor-General",[5][6] but the two offices are separate: Powers was succeeded in 1913 as Crown Solicitor by Gordon Castle,[7] whereas the first Solicitor-General, Robert Garran, was not appointed until 1916.[8]

Two solicitors-general have been appointed to the High Court of Australia: Anthony Mason in 1972 and Stephen Gageler in 2012. Gageler is the only person to be directly elevated from the solicitor-generalship to the High Court.

List of Solicitors-General

Name Period in office
Sir Robert Garran KCMG 1916–1932
Sir George Knowles CBE 1932–1946
Sir Kenneth Bailey CBE QC[9] 1946–1964
Anthony Mason CBE QC 1964–1969
Bob Ellicott QC 1969–1973
Sir Maurice Byers CBE QC 1973–1983
Gavan Griffith QC 1984–1997
Henry Burmester QC (acting) 1997–1998
David Bennett QC 1998–2008
Stephen Gageler SC 2008–2012
Justin Gleeson SC 2013–2016
Dr Stephen Donaghue QC 2017–present

References

  1. ↑ "Solicitor-General". Australian Government Directory. Retrieved 25 August 2018.
  2. ↑ Forster, Colin. "Powers, Sir Charles (1853–1939)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  3. ↑ Sir Charles Powers KCMG, High Court of Australia
  4. ↑ Sir Charles Powers, Supreme Court Library Queensland
  5. ↑ "Obituary SIR CHARLES POWERS". The Argus (Melbourne) (28, 915). Victoria, Australia. 26 April 1939. p. 4. Retrieved 25 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ↑ "From the States". Morning Post (Cairns). 15, (44). Queensland, Australia. 12 June 1903. p. 7. Retrieved 25 August 2018 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. ↑ AGS Legal Opinions – CASTLE Gordon Harwood, Attorney-General's Department
  8. ↑ Forster, Colin. "Garran, Sir Robert Randolph (1867–1957)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Richardson, Jack E. "Bailey, Sir Kenneth Hamilton (1898–1972)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 9 July 2013.

Further reading


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