Solicitor-General of Australia
| Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia | |
|---|---|
|
Incumbent Vacant | |
| Attorney-General's Department | |
| Appointer | Governor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister |
| Inaugural holder | Sir Robert Garran KCMG |
| Formation | 1916 |
The Solicitor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the country's second law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The holders of this office are not members of Parliament.
The Commonwealth Solicitor-General gives the Government legal advice and appears in court to represent the Commonwealth's interest in important legal proceedings, particularly in the High Court.[1]
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]
| 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 |
References
- ↑ Solicitor-General. Australian Government Directory. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
- ↑ Forster, Colin. "Powers, Sir Charles (1853–1939)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
- ↑ Sir Charles Powers KCMG, High Court of Australia
- ↑ Sir Charles Powers, Supreme Court Library Queensland
- ↑ "Obituary. Sir Charles Powers". The Argus. Trove. 26 April 1939.
- ↑ "From the States". Cairns Morning Post. Trove. 12 June 1903.
- ↑ AGS Legal Opinions – CASTLE Gordon Harwood, Attorney-General's Department
- ↑ Forster, Colin. "Garran, Sir robert Randolph (1867–1957)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: Australian National University. Retrieved 6 May 2014.
- ↑ http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bailey-sir-kenneth-hamilton-9404
- Goff-Gray, Christopher (2011) "The Solicitor-General in context: A tri-jurisdictional study," Bond Law Review: Vol. 23: Iss. 2, Article 4. http://epublications.bond.edu.au/blr/vol23/iss2/4