Attorney-General of Australia: Difference between revisions

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| Senator [[Gareth Evans (politician)|Gareth Evans]] {{post-nominals |country=AUS|QC}}
| Senator [[Gareth Evans (politician)|Gareth Evans]] {{post-nominals |country=AUS|QC}}
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| rowspan=4 | [[Paul Keating|Keating]]
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| [[Duncan Kerr]]
| [[Duncan Kerr]]{{ref|4|4| 4}}
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:{{ref|2|2| 2}} Hughes took silk in 1909, and became a [[King's Counsel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/hughes/before-office.aspx |title=William Morris Hughes: Before office |work=Australia's Prime Ministers |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |date= |accessdate=15 July 2013 }}</ref>
:{{ref|2|2| 2}} Hughes took silk in 1909, and became a [[King's Counsel]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://primeministers.naa.gov.au/primeministers/hughes/before-office.aspx |title=William Morris Hughes: Before office |work=Australia's Prime Ministers |publisher=[[National Archives of Australia]] |date= |accessdate=15 July 2013 }}</ref>
:{{ref|3|3| 3}} Whitlam served as part of a [[First Whitlam Ministry|two-man ministry]] together with [[Lance Barnard]] for fourteen days, until the full ministry was commissioned.
:{{ref|3|3| 3}} Whitlam served as part of a [[First Whitlam Ministry|two-man ministry]] together with [[Lance Barnard]] for fourteen days, until the full ministry was commissioned.
:{{ref|4|4| 4}} Prime Minister Paul Keating's original choice for Attorney-General in 1993 had been [[Michael Lavarch]], but Lavarch's re-election was delayed by the death of an opposing candidate for the seat of [[Division of Dickson|Dickson]]; [[Duncan Kerr]] held the portfolio in the interim until Lavarch won the resulting supplementary election. Kerr served as Attorney-General for 26 days. There was no Attorney-General for the eight days between Duffy's commission ending on 24 March 1993 and Kerr's commission commencing on 1 April 1993.


==See also==
==See also==

Revision as of 13:06, 27 September 2013

Attorney-General
Incumbent
Senator the Hon George Brandis QC
since 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)
Attorney-General's Department
StyleThe Honourable
AppointerGovernor-General on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of Australia
Inaugural holderAlfred Deakin
Formation1 January 1901 (1901-01-01)

The Attorney-General for Australia[note 1] is the first law officer of the Crown in right of the Commonwealth of Australia, chief law officer of the Commonwealth of Australia and a minister of the Crown. The Attorney-General is usually a member of the Federal Cabinet, but need not be. Under the Constitution he or she is appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister, and serves at the Governor-General's pleasure. In practice the Attorney-General is a party politician and his or her tenure is determined by political factors.

The current Attorney-General for Australia is Senator the Hon George Brandis QC, a Liberal Party of Australia member of the Australian Senate for the state of Queensland.

Scope

The Attorney-General administers the Attorney-General's Department, and is the minister responsible for the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO) and the Australian Classification Board, the government agency responsible for classification of films, literature and video games. The Attorney-General also serves as a general legal adviser to the Cabinet, and has carriage of legislation dealing with copyright, human rights and a range of other subjects.

The Attorney-General is nearly always a person with legal training, and eleven former Attorneys-General have received senior judicial appointments after their ministerial service.

Billy Hughes was the longest-serving Attorney-General of Australia, serving for nearly eleven years over four non-consecutive terms.

List of Attorneys-General

The following individuals have been appointed as Attorney-General for Australia:[1]

Order Minister Party Prime Minister Prior legal experience Alma mater Term start Term end Term in office
1 Alfred Deakin KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Protectionist|  Protectionist Barton Barrister University of Melbourne 1 January 1901 (1901-01-01) 24 September 1903 (1903-09-24) 2 years, 266 days
2 Senator James Drake Template:Australian politics/party colours/Protectionist| Deakin Barrister King's College School, London 24 September 1903 (1903-09-24) 27 April 1904 (1904-04-27) 216 days
3 H. B. Higgins QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor1 Watson Barrister University of Melbourne 27 April 1904 (1904-04-27) 17 August 1904 (1904-08-17) 112 days
4 Senator Josiah Symon QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Free Trade| Free Trade Reid Barrister Free Church Training College 17 August 1904 (1904-08-17) 5 July 1905 (1905-07-05) 322 days
5 Isaac Isaacs QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Protectionist| Protectionist Deakin Barrister University of Melbourne 5 July 1905 (1905-07-05) 12 October 1906 (1906-10-12) 1 year, 99 days
6 Littleton Groom KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Protectionist| Lawyer University of Melbourne 12 October 1906 (1906-10-12) 13 November 1908 (1908-11-13) 2 years, 32 days
7 Billy Hughes2 Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Fisher Barrister n/a 13 November 1908 (1908-11-13) 2 June 1909 (1909-06-02) 201 days
8 Paddy Glynn KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Free Trade| Free Trade Deakin Barrister Trinity College, Dublin 2 June 1909 (1909-06-02) 29 April 1910 (1910-04-29) 331 days
n/a Billy Hughes KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Fisher Barrister n/a 29 April 1910 (1910-04-29) 24 June 1913 (1913-06-24) 3 years, 56 days
9 William Irvine KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Commonwealth Liberal| Commonwealth Liberal Cook Barrister Trinity College, Dublin; and
University of Melbourne 		24 June 1913 (1913-06-24) 17 September 1914 (1914-09-17) 1 year, 85 days
n/a Billy Hughes KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Fisher Barrister n/a 17 September 1914 (1914-09-17) 27 October 1915 (1915-10-27) 7 years, 95 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Hughes 27 October 1915 (1915-10-27) 14 November 1916 (1916-11-14)
Template:Australian politics/party colours/National Labor| National Labor 14 November 1916 (1916-11-14) 13 June 1917 (1917-06-13)
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Nationalist| Nationalist 13 June 1917 (1917-06-13) 21 December 1921 (1921-12-21)
n/a Littleton Groom KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Nationalist| Lawyer University of Melbourne 21 December 1921 (1921-12-21) 9 February 1923 (1923-02-09) 3 years, 362 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Nationalist| Bruce 9 February 1923 (1923-02-09) 18 December 1925 (1925-12-18)
10 John Latham KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Nationalist| Barrister University of Melbourne 18 December 1925 (1925-12-18) 22 October 1929 (1929-10-22) 3 years, 308 days
11 Frank Brennan Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Scullin Barrister University of Melbourne 22 October 1929 (1929-10-22) 6 January 1932 (1932-01-06) 2 years, 76 days
n/a John Latham KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/UAP| United Australia Lyons Barrister University of Melbourne 6 January 1932 (1932-01-06) 12 October 1934 (1934-10-12) 2 years, 279 days
12 Robert Menzies KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/UAP| Barrister University of Melbourne 12 October 1934 (1934-10-12) 20 March 1939 (1939-03-20) 4 years, 159 days
n/a Billy Hughes KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/UAP| Barrister n/a 20 March 1939 (1939-03-20) 7 April 1939 (1939-04-07) 2 years, 201 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/UAP| Page 7 April 1939 (1939-04-07) 26 April 1939 (1939-04-26)
Template:Australian politics/party colours/UAP| Menzies 26 April 1939 (1939-04-26) 29 August 1941 (1941-08-29)
Template:Australian politics/party colours/UAP| Fadden 29 August 1941 (1941-08-29) 7 October 1941 (1941-10-07)
13 Dr. H. V. Evatt KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Curtin Barrister, Judge University of Sydney 7 October 1941 (1941-10-07) 6 July 1945 (1945-07-06) 8 years, 73 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Forde 6 July 1945 (1945-07-06) 13 July 1945 (1945-07-13)
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Chifley 13 July 1945 (1945-07-13) 19 December 1949 (1949-12-19)
14 Senator John Spicer KC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Liberal Menzies Barrister University of Melbourne 19 December 1949 (1949-12-19) 14 August 1956 (1956-08-14) 6 years, 239 days
15 Senator Neil O'Sullivan Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Solicitor 15 August 1956 (1956-08-15) 12 October 1958 (1958-10-12) 2 years, 58 days
16 Sir Garfield Barwick QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Barrister University of Sydney 12 October 1958 (1958-10-12) 4 March 1964 (1964-03-04) 5 years, 144 days
17 Billy Snedden QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Barrister University of Western Australia 4 March 1964 (1964-03-04) 26 January 1966 (1966-01-26) 2 years, 285 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Holt 26 January 1966 (1966-01-26) 14 December 1966 (1966-12-14)
18 Nigel Bowen Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Barrister University of Sydney 14 December 1966 (1966-12-14) 19 December 1967 (1967-12-19) 2 years, 333 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| McEwen 19 December 1967 (1967-12-19) 10 January 1968 (1968-01-10)
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Gorton 10 January 1968 (1968-01-10) 12 November 1969 (1969-11-12)
19 Tom Hughes QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Barrister University of Sydney 12 November 1969 (1969-11-12) 10 March 1971 (1971-03-10) 1 year, 130 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| McMahon 10 March 1971 (1971-03-10) 22 March 1971 (1971-03-22)
n/a Nigel Bowen Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Barrister University of Sydney 22 March 1971 (1971-03-22) 2 August 1971 (1971-08-02) 133 days
20 Senator Ivor Greenwood QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Barrister University of Melbourne 2 August 1971 (1971-08-02) 5 December 1972 (1972-12-05) 1 year, 125 days
21 Gough Whitlam QC3 Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Whitlam Barrister University of Sydney 5 December 1972 (1972-12-05) 19 December 1972 (1972-12-19) 14 days
22 Senator Lionel Murphy QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Barrister University of Sydney 19 December 1972 (1972-12-19) 10 February 1975 (1975-02-10) 2 years, 53 days
23 Kep Enderby QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Barrister University of Sydney
University of London 		10 February 1975 (1975-02-10) 11 November 1975 (1975-11-11) 274 days
n/a Senator Ivor Greenwood QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Liberal Fraser Barrister University of Melbourne 11 November 1975 (1975-11-11) 22 December 1975 (1975-12-22) 41 days
24 Bob Ellicott QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Barrister 22 December 1975 (1975-12-22) 6 September 1977 (1977-09-06) 1 year, 258 days
25 Senator Peter Durack QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Barrister University of Western Australia
Lincoln College, Oxford 		6 September 1977 (1977-09-06) 11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) 5 years, 186 days
26 Senator Gareth Evans QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Hawke Barrister University of Melbourne
Magdalen College, Oxford 		11 March 1983 (1983-03-11) 13 December 1984 (1984-12-13) 1 year, 277 days
27 Lionel Bowen Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Solicitor University of Sydney 13 December 1984 (1984-12-13) 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) 5 years, 112 days
28 Michael Duffy Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| 4 April 1990 (1990-04-04) 27 December 1991 (1991-12-27) 2 years, 354 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Keating 27 December 1991 (1991-12-27) 24 March 1993 (1993-03-24)
29 Duncan Kerr4 Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Keating Barrister University of Tasmania 1 April 1993 (1993-04-01) 27 April 1993 (1993-04-27) 26 days
30 Michael Lavarch Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Solicitor Queensland University of Technology 27 April 1993 (1993-04-27) 11 March 1996 (1996-03-11) 2 years, 319 days
31 Daryl Williams QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Liberal Howard Barrister University of Western Australia
Wadham College, Oxford 		11 March 1996 (1996-03-11) 7 October 2003 (2003-10-07) 7 years, 210 days
32 Philip Ruddock Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Solicitor University of Sydney 7 October 2003 (2003-10-07) 3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) 4 years, 57 days
33 Robert McClelland Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Labor Rudd Solicitor University of New South Wales
University of Sydney 		3 December 2007 (2007-12-03) 24 June 2010 (2010-06-24) 4 years, 11 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Gillard 24 June 2010 (2010-06-24) 14 December 2011 (2011-12-14)
34 Nicola Roxon Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Solicitor University of Melbourne 14 December 2011 (2011-12-14) 2 February 2013 (2013-02-02) 1 year, 50 days
35 Mark Dreyfus QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Barrister University of Melbourne 2 February 2013 (2013-02-02) 26 June 2013 (2013-06-26) 228 days
Template:Australian politics/party colours/Labor| Rudd 26 June 2013 (2013-06-26) 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18)
36 Senator George Brandis QC Template:Australian politics/party colours/Liberal| Liberal Abbott Barrister University of Queensland 18 September 2013 (2013-09-18) incumbent 3912 days

Notes

1 A member of the Protectionist Party, Higgins served in the Labor ministry of Chris Watson, because Labor had no suitably qualified lawyer in Parliament.
2 Hughes took silk in 1909, and became a King's Counsel.[2]
3 Whitlam served as part of a two-man ministry together with Lance Barnard for fourteen days, until the full ministry was commissioned.
4 Prime Minister Paul Keating's original choice for Attorney-General in 1993 had been Michael Lavarch, but Lavarch's re-election was delayed by the death of an opposing candidate for the seat of Dickson; Duncan Kerr held the portfolio in the interim until Lavarch won the resulting supplementary election. Kerr served as Attorney-General for 26 days. There was no Attorney-General for the eight days between Duffy's commission ending on 24 March 1993 and Kerr's commission commencing on 1 April 1993.

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The title is officially "Attorney-General". For the purposes of distinguishing the office from other Attorneys-General, and in accordance with usual practice in the United Kingdom and other common law jurisdictions, the Australian Attorney-General currently refers to itself as the "Attorney-General for Australia": http://www.attorneygeneral.gov.au. Historically, "Attorney-General of Australia" was also used.

References

  1. ^ "Ministries and Cabinets". 43rd Parliamentary Handbook: Historical information on the Australian Parliament. Parliament of Australia. 2010. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  2. ^ "William Morris Hughes: Before office". Australia's Prime Ministers. National Archives of Australia. Retrieved 15 July 2013.

External links

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