Maurice Heenan

Maurice Heenan (8 October 1912 – 26 September 2000) was a New Zealand-born barrister and solicitor, who served as Attorney General of Hong Kong and as a senior lawyer for the United Nations.

Early life Born to David Donnoghue Heenan (died 1942), and Ann Heenan (née Frame; died 1976), Heenan attended Ashburton High School and then the Canterbury College, University of New Zealand, earning an LLB. Heenan was a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand from 1937 through 1939. From 1940 to 1946 he was a major in the 2nd NZEF and saw active service in the Western Desert, Libya, Cyrenaica and Italy and was mentioned in dispatches. In 1944, he was selected to attend Staff College, Camberley in the UK where he was awarded the Staff College Award.

It was in London that he met his future wife, Claire Gabriela Stephanie (née Ciho), daughter of Emil Ciho (died 1975) and Irene (née Rotbauer; died 1950) of Trenčín, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia.

Heenan served as Deputy Director of the General Legal Division until 1973, when he was named General Counsel for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian Refugees in Beirut, Lebanon.

Clubs and recreations In Hong Kong, he was a member of the Hong Kong Club, the Hong Kong Cricket Club and Hong Kong Lawn Tennis Association. He was also a voting member of the Hong Kong Jockey Club. He was a member of the Country Club of New Canaan in America.