- James Spigelman
James Jacob Spigelman AC QC (born
1 January ,1946 ) is the Lieutenant Governor of NSW andChief Justice of theSupreme Court of New South Wales , the highest court in the State ofNew South Wales ,Australia , which forms part of theAustralian court hierarchy .Early years
Spigelman was born in
Sosnowiec ,Poland , on 1 January 1946. He arrived in Australia with his family in 1949.Education
Spigelman attended Maroubra Public School and later Sydney Boys High School. He then went on to study Arts at the
University of Sydney , where he attained first class honours in government and economics. Subsequently he studied law, graduating in 1971 with first class honours and the University Medal.Spigelman participated in the 1965 Freedom Ride, a project undertaken by students to draw attention to problems faced by indigenous communities in NSW. In 1969 Spigelman was President of the Student's Representative Council. From 1969-1971, he was the Student Fellow of the University Senate.
Career
Spigelman was admitted to practice as a solicitor in 1972. From 1972-1975, Spigelman served as Senior Advisor and Principal Private Secretary to
Gough Whitlam . In 1975, he was appointed the Secretary of the Department of Media.In 1976 Spigelman was admitted to the NSW Bar. He did not commence practice until three years later; first serving for several years as a member of the Australian Law Reform Commission and also spending time overseas. Spigelman's primary areas of practice at the bar included constitutional law, administrative law and appellate work. In 1986, Spigelman was appointed Queen's Counsel. He served as Solicitor-General of NSW in 1997.
Spigelman was appointed Chief Justice of the
Supreme Court of New South Wales , and Lieutenant Governor of NSW, in 1998 by Premier Carr.Although Spigelman was regarded as the favourite to succeed Murray Gleeson as Chief Justice of the
High Court of Australia when he stepped down in late 2008, [ [http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/spigelman-the-high-court-tip/2008/03/08/1204780125991.html Spigelman odds-on for High Court - National - smh.com.au ] ] this appointment went instead toRobert French , who is the first West Australian chief justice of the High Court and the first from outside NSW, Victoria and Queensland.Spigelman has a strong interest in the arts. He has served as the Chairman of the Film Finance Corporation Australia Ltd (1990-92), Deputy Chairman of the Art Gallery of NSW (1983-88), President of the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences (1995-98), a member of the Council of the National Gallery of Australia (1995-98), a member of the Board of the Brett Whiteley Foundation (1995-98) and as a Councillor of the Australian Film Television and Radio School (1975-78).
Family and social matters
His two brothers are Mark Spigelman (Israel/London) and Allan Spigelman (Australia). He is married to Alice Spigelman, and has a son, Daniel Spigelman, and two daughters, Tamara and Rebecca Spigelman.
He supports the
South Sydney Rabbitohs .Honours
*In 2000 he became a Companion of the
Order of Australia (AC) for services to law and to the community.
*In 2004 Spigelman received an honoraryDoctor of Laws (honoris causa) degree from theUniversity of Sydney .References
* [http://www.usyd.edu.au/senate/committees/SpigelmanJ.shtml Sydney University, Honorary Doctor of Laws Conferral Citation]
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