Ninian Stephen
Encyclopedia
Sir Ninian Martin Stephen, (born 15 June 1923) is a retired politician and judge, who served as the 20th Governor-General of Australia
and as a Justice in the High Court of Australia
.
, England. He was less than a year old when his father, Frederick, who had been a motorcycle courier in World War I, died, leaving him to be raised by his mother Barbara. Ninian Stephen attended St. Paul's School, West Kensington, London, from Spring Term 1937 to March 1938. He emigrated to Australia as a child. He was educated at Scotch College
and at the University of Melbourne
, but his studies were interrupted by World War II, in which he served in the Australian Army
in New Guinea
and Borneo
, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He completed his legal studies in 1950, and was called to the Victorian Bar
in 1952. By the 1960s he was one of Australia's leading constitutional and commercial lawyers. He was made a Queen's Counsel
in 1966.
, which is the highest ranking court
in the Australian State
of Victoria
. He held this position until 29 February 1972, relinquishing it to take up his appointment as a Justice to the High Court of Australia
.
Although Stephen was appointed by a Liberal
government, he proved not to be a traditional conservative upholder of states' rights. He joined the "moderate centre" of the court, between the arch-conservatism of Sir Garfield Barwick
and the radicalism of Lionel Murphy
. In 1982 he was part of the majority that decided on a broad interpretation of the "external affairs power" of the Australian Constitution
in the Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen
case.
, Queen Elizabeth II (as Queen of Australia) appointed Stephen Governor-General. When Fraser was defeated by the Labor Party
under Bob Hawke
in 1983
, Stephen had no difficulty working with a Labor government. In 1987, on Hawke's advice, the Queen extended Stephen's term by 18 months, as a mark of personal respect and also to allow Bill Hayden
(to whom Hawke had promised the position) to leave politics at a time of his choosing. Stephen is the only governor-general to have approved two double dissolution
s – in 1983
(Malcolm Fraser
) and 1987 (Bob Hawke
).
and Rwanda
. He has also been chairman of the Citizenship Council since 1998.
He has since moved back into the legal field, becoming president of the Arbitral Tribunal for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
in 1979. As Governor-General he was made a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). In 1994 Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Knight of the Garter (KG). He therefore has the unusual distinction of holding five knighthoods, and joined Lord Casey
and Sir Paul Hasluck
as one of the few Australian Knights of the Garter. In 1983, he received the Legion d'Honneur
.
Sir Ninian Stephen delivered the first Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture
at the University of Newcastle's Law School in 1993, giving his name to this lecture series.
.
Sir Ninian and Lady Stephen are patrons of the Australian Inland Botanic Gardens
.
Governor-General of Australia
The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia at federal/national level of the Australian monarch . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth...
and as a Justice in the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
.
Early life
Ninian Martin Stephen was born on 15 June 1923 in OxfordshireOxfordshire
Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....
, England. He was less than a year old when his father, Frederick, who had been a motorcycle courier in World War I, died, leaving him to be raised by his mother Barbara. Ninian Stephen attended St. Paul's School, West Kensington, London, from Spring Term 1937 to March 1938. He emigrated to Australia as a child. He was educated at Scotch College
Scotch College, Melbourne
Scotch College, Melbourne is an independent, Presbyterian, day and boarding school for boys, located in Hawthorn, an inner-eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia....
and at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...
, but his studies were interrupted by World War II, in which he served in the Australian Army
Australian Army
The Australian Army is Australia's military land force. It is part of the Australian Defence Force along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. While the Chief of Defence commands the Australian Defence Force , the Army is commanded by the Chief of Army...
in New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
and Borneo
Borneo
Borneo is the third largest island in the world and is located north of Java Island, Indonesia, at the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia....
, rising to the rank of lieutenant. He completed his legal studies in 1950, and was called to the Victorian Bar
Victorian Bar
The Victorian Bar is the bar association for the Australian State of Victoria. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 19 January 2006, there were 1627 counsel practising as members of the Victorian Bar. Once a barrister has been admitted to practice by the Supreme Court...
in 1952. By the 1960s he was one of Australia's leading constitutional and commercial lawyers. He was made a Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel
Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
in 1966.
Judicial career
On 30 June 1970 Stephen was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court of VictoriaSupreme Court of Victoria
The Supreme Court of Victoria is the superior court for the State of Victoria, Australia. It was founded in 1852, and is a superior court of common law and equity, with unlimited jurisdiction within the state...
, which is the highest ranking court
Australian court hierarchy
There are two streams within the hierarchy of Australian courts, the federal stream and the state and territory stream. While the federal courts and the court systems in each state and territory are separate, the High Court of Australia remains the ultimate court of appeal for the Australian...
in the Australian State
States and territories of Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia is a union of six states and various territories. The Australian mainland is made up of five states and three territories, with the sixth state of Tasmania being made up of islands. In addition there are six island territories, known as external territories, and a...
of Victoria
Victoria (Australia)
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania on Boundary Islet to the north, west and south respectively....
. He held this position until 29 February 1972, relinquishing it to take up his appointment as a Justice to the High Court of Australia
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is the supreme court in the Australian court hierarchy and the final court of appeal in Australia. It has both original and appellate jurisdiction, has the power of judicial review over laws passed by the Parliament of Australia and the parliaments of the States, and...
.
Although Stephen was appointed by a Liberal
Liberal Party of Australia
The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...
government, he proved not to be a traditional conservative upholder of states' rights. He joined the "moderate centre" of the court, between the arch-conservatism of Sir Garfield Barwick
Garfield Barwick
Sir Garfield Edward John Barwick, was the Attorney-General of Australia , Minister for External Affairs and the seventh and longest serving Chief Justice of Australia...
and the radicalism of Lionel Murphy
Lionel Murphy
Lionel Keith Murphy, QC was an Australian politician and jurist who served as Attorney-General in the government of Gough Whitlam and as a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1975 until his death.- Personal life :...
. In 1982 he was part of the majority that decided on a broad interpretation of the "external affairs power" of the Australian Constitution
Constitution of Australia
The Constitution of Australia is the supreme law under which the Australian Commonwealth Government operates. It consists of several documents. The most important is the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Australia...
in the Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen
Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen
Koowarta v Bjelke-Petersen was a significant court case decided in the High Court of Australia on 11 May 1982. It concerned the constitutional validity of parts of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975, and the discriminatory acts of the Government of Queensland in blocking the purchase of land by...
case.
Governor-General
In March 1982, on the advice of Prime Minister Malcolm FraserMalcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
, Queen Elizabeth II (as Queen of Australia) appointed Stephen Governor-General. When Fraser was defeated by the Labor Party
Australian Labor Party
The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...
under Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
in 1983
Australian federal election, 1983
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution...
, Stephen had no difficulty working with a Labor government. In 1987, on Hawke's advice, the Queen extended Stephen's term by 18 months, as a mark of personal respect and also to allow Bill Hayden
Bill Hayden
William George "Bill" Hayden AC was the 21st Governor-General of Australia. Prior to this, he represented the Australian Labor Party in parliament; he was a minister in the government of Gough Whitlam, and later became Leader of the Opposition, narrowly losing the 1980 federal election to the...
(to whom Hawke had promised the position) to leave politics at a time of his choosing. Stephen is the only governor-general to have approved two double dissolution
Double dissolution
A double dissolution is a procedure permitted under the Australian Constitution to resolve deadlocks between the House of Representatives and the Senate....
s – in 1983
Australian federal election, 1983
Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution...
(Malcolm Fraser
Malcolm Fraser
John Malcolm Fraser AC, CH, GCL, PC is a former Australian Liberal Party politician who was the 22nd Prime Minister of Australia. He came to power in the 1975 election following the dismissal of the Whitlam Labor government, in which he played a key role...
) and 1987 (Bob Hawke
Bob Hawke
Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....
).
Later work
In 1989 Sir Ninian became the first Australian Ambassador for the Environment, and in his three-year term was particularly energetic in working for a ban of mining in Antarctica. In 1991 he undertook one of the most difficult of all tasks when he was appointed chairman of the second strand of the Northern Ireland peace talks. Between 1993 and 1997 he was a judge on the international tribunals investigating war crimes in YugoslaviaYugoslavia
Yugoslavia refers to three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans during most of the 20th century....
and Rwanda
Rwanda
Rwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
. He has also been chairman of the Citizenship Council since 1998.
He has since moved back into the legal field, becoming president of the Arbitral Tribunal for the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
Honours
Stephen was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1970, and sworn of the Privy CouncilPrivy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
in 1979. As Governor-General he was made a Knight of the Order of Australia (AK), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George (GCMG) and Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO). In 1994 Queen Elizabeth II appointed him a Knight of the Garter (KG). He therefore has the unusual distinction of holding five knighthoods, and joined Lord Casey
Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
and Sir Paul Hasluck
Paul Hasluck
Sir Paul Meernaa Caedwalla Hasluck KG GCMG GCVO KStJ was an Australian historian, poet, public servant and politician, and the 17th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
as one of the few Australian Knights of the Garter. In 1983, he received the Legion d'Honneur
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
.
Sir Ninian Stephen delivered the first Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture
Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture
The Sir Ninian Stephen Lecture is an annual event held by the Law School of the University of Newcastle, Australia. The first lecture was delivered by former Governor-General of Australia Sir Ninian Stephen in 1993, to celebrate the establishment of the Bachelor of Laws program at the University...
at the University of Newcastle's Law School in 1993, giving his name to this lecture series.
Styles
- Ninian Stephen (1923–1966)
- Ninian Stephen QCQueen's CounselQueen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
(1966–1970) - The Hon.The HonourableThe prefix The Honourable or The Honorable is a style used before the names of certain classes of persons. It is considered an honorific styling.-International diplomacy:...
Ninian Stephen QC (1970–1972) - The Hon. SirSirSir is an honorific used as a title , or as a courtesy title to address a man without using his given or family name in many English speaking cultures...
Ninian Stephen KBE QC (1972–1979) - The Rt. Hon.The Right HonourableThe Right Honourable is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and other Commonwealth Realms, and occasionally elsewhere...
Sir Ninian Stephen KBE QC (1979–1982) - His Excellency The Rt. Hon. Sir Ninian Stephen AK GCMG GCVO KBE QC (1982–1989)
- The Rt. Hon. Sir Ninian Stephen AK GCMG GCVO KBE QC (1989–1994)
- The Rt. Hon. Sir Ninian Stephen KG AK GCMG GCVO KBE QC (since 1994)
Private life
Sir Ninian married Valerie Sinclair in 1949, and is the father of five daughters. One of his daughters, Mary Stephen, was married to Peter Hayes QCPeter Hayes (lawyer)
Peter Hayes, QC was a prominent barrister in Melbourne, Australia. He was a director of the Melbourne Football Club from 2000 to 2003.-Professional life:...
.
Sir Ninian and Lady Stephen are patrons of the Australian Inland Botanic Gardens
Australian Inland Botanic Gardens
thumb|right|Sir Ninian Stephen, AIBG patron.The Australian Inland Botanic Gardens is a botanical garden within The Mallee and the Sunraysia regions of Australia. It is located on River Road in Wentworth Shire's Mourquong, New South Wales, northwest of Buronga...
.
See also
- Judiciary of AustraliaJudiciary of AustraliaThe judiciary in Australia is modelled substantially on the system of courts which existed in England.The large number of courts and tribunals in Australia have different procedural powers and characteristics, different jurisdictional limits, different remedial powers and different cost...
- List of Judges of the Supreme Court of Victoria
- Victorian Bar AssociationVictorian BarThe Victorian Bar is the bar association for the Australian State of Victoria. Its members are barristers registered to practice in Victoria. On 19 January 2006, there were 1627 counsel practising as members of the Victorian Bar. Once a barrister has been admitted to practice by the Supreme Court...
- Australian knights and damesAustralian knights and damesThe following is a list of living Australians who have been appointed Knights or Dames.The list includes:*Knights of the Order of Australia. *Knights Bachelor...