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 (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

  1. ↑ Solicitor-General. Australian Government Directory. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  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. Trove. 26 April 1939.
  6. ↑ "From the States". Cairns Morning Post. Trove. 12 June 1903.
  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. ↑ http://adb.anu.edu.au/biography/bailey-sir-kenneth-hamilton-9404


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