Murray Gleeson

Anthony Murray Gleeson (born 30 August 1938) is an Australian former judge who served as the 11th Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 1998 to 2008.

Gleeson was born in Wingham, New South Wales, and studied law at the University of Sydney. He was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1963 and appointed Queen's Counsel in 1974, becoming one of the state's leading barristers. Gleeson was appointed Chief Justice of New South Wales in 1988, serving until his elevation to the High Court in 1998. He and Samuel Griffith (appointed 1903) are the only people to have been elevated directly from the chief justiceship of a state to the chief justiceship of the High Court. As required by the constitution, he retired from the court when he reached his 70th birthday.

In October 2020, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Gleeson's daughter, Jacqueline Gleeson, will be elevated to the High Court following the retirement of Justice Virginia Bell.

Early life Gleeson was born in Wingham, New South Wales, the eldest of four children. He was educated at St. Joseph's College, Hunters Hill, where he won the Lawrence Campbell Oratory Competition in both 1953 and 1955, before matriculating to receive first class honours degrees in Arts and Law from the University of Sydney. Among his graduating class of 1962 were John Howard, later to become Prime Minister; and Michael Kirby, who later served alongside him as a judge on the High Court.

Legal career After graduation, Gleeson spent one year as a solicitor at Messrs Murphy & Moloney. Gleeson was admitted to the New South Wales Bar in 1963, where he read with Laurence Street and Anthony Mason - his future predecessors as Chief Justice of New South Wales and Chief Justice of Australia respectively.

His appearances as junior counsel focussed mainly on matters of taxation and commercial law, as well as important constitutional cases including Strickland v Rocla Concrete Pipes Ltd, which concerned the scope of the corporations power.

Upon his appointment as Queen's Counsel (QC) in 1974, Gleeson's career as senior counsel continued to focus on commercial and constitutional matters. However he also appeared in some high-profile criminal cases, including his successful defence before a jury of National Party MP Ian Sinclair in 1980. In the same year he appeared for the appellants in Port Jackson Stevedoring v Salmond & Spraggon, the last case granted leave to appeal to the Privy Council from the High Court.

Judicial career Chief Justice of New South Wales Gleeson was appointed Chief Justice of New South Wales in 1988, the first barrister to be directly elevated to the Chief Justiceship since Frederick Jordan in 1934.

His tenure as Chief Justice was also characterised by a large number of joint judgments, and a relatively frequent number of judgments that clearly and plainly provide the Court's ratio decidendi.

On 30 July 2008, it was announced that Federal Court justice Robert French would succeed Gleeson as Chief Justice. In accordance with the Australian Constitution, he retired from the High Court on 29 August 2008, the day before his 70th birthday. The occasion was marked by a ceremonial sitting of the High Court in Canberra.

Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong

Honours He was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1986. He received Australia's highest civil honour when he was made a Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) in 1992. He was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2001. Life Fellow of the Australian Academy of Law. Grand Bauhinia Medal of Hong Kong in 2020.

Personal life He married Robyn Paterson in 1965, and the couple have four children. Their eldest daughter, Jacqueline, was appointed a judge of the Federal Court of Australia in 2014, after practising law as a barrister at the Sydney Bar and as general counsel of the Australian Broadcasting Authority. In October 2020, she was appointed to the High Court of Australia by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

In September 2006, The Australian Financial Review magazine named Gleeson Australia's seventh most overtly powerful person.