John Latham (Australian jurist)

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John Latham
Rt Hon Sir John Latham, as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for External Affairs in the Lyons government
5th Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia
In office 1935 – 1952
Preceded by	Frank Gavan Duffy
Succeeded by	Owen Dixon

Born	26 August 1877 Ascot Vale, Victoria
Died	25 July 1964

Sir John Latham KBE (26 August 1877 – 25 July 1964), Australian judge and politician, was the fifth Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia. He held this position for 17 years, between 1935 and 1952.

Latham was born in Ascot Vale, a suburb of Melbourne, Australia. His father was a prominent citizen, whose achievements as Secretary for the Society for the Protection of Animals were deeply respected. John Latham won a scholarship and became a successful student at Scotch College and the University of Melbourne, studying logic, philosophy and law. At one point, he was the recipient of the Supreme Court Judges' Prize. In November 1902, Latham became the first secretary of the Boobook Society (named for the Southern Boobook owl), a group of Melbourne academics and professionals which still meets.

During World War I, he was an Intelligence officer in the Royal Australian Navy, holding the rank of lieutenant commander. He was the head of Naval Intelligence from 1917, and was part of the Australian delegation to the Imperial Conference and then Versailles Peace Conference. He grew to dislike William Morris Hughes, the Australian Prime Minister.

Latham had a distinguished legal career. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1904, and was made a King's Counsel in 1922. In 1920, Latham appeared before the High Court representing the State of Victoria in the famous Engineers' case, alongside such people as Dr H.V. Evatt and Robert Menzies.

In 1922, Latham was elected to the Australian House of Representatives as an independent, running on a campaign of 'Get Rid of Hughes'. Although his philosophy was close to Hughes' Nationalist Party, Latham's experience of Hughes in Europe ensured that he would not serve under him in a Parliament. He won the Victorian seat of Kooyong. On Hughes' removal, he subsequently joined the Nationalist Party and from 1925 to 1929, he served as the Commonwealth Attorney-General in the Nationalist government under Stanley Bruce and Earle Page. After Bruce lost his Parliamentary seat in 1929, Latham served as leader of the Nationalist Party. After Joseph Lyons led defectors from the Labor Party across the floor, Latham resigned as Opposition Leader in favour of Lyons. In 1931 he was appointed Attorney-General again, this time in the United Australia Party government of Lyons. At the same time, he was also the Minister for External Affairs and (unofficially) the Deputy Prime Minister. Latham held these positions until 1934, when he retired from the Commonwealth Parliament.

Latham was appointed Chief Justice of the High Court of Australia on October 11, 1935. From 1940 to 1941, he took leave from the Court and travelled to Tokyo to serve as Australia's first Minister to Japan. He retired from the High Court in April 1952.

He died in 1962. Latham was a prominent Rationalist, after abandoning his parent's Methodism at university. He was also a prominent campaigner for Australian literature, being part of the editorial board of The Trident, a small liberal journal, which was edited by Walter Murdoch. The board also included poet Bernard O'Dowd. Latham had three children, two of whom predeceased him. His wife, Ella, also predeceased him.

[edit] References

Sir John Latham and Other Papers, by Zelman Cowan
Latham, Sir John Greig (1877 - 1964), Australian Dictionary of Biography

Preceded by: James Scullin	Leader of the Opposition 1929-1931	Succeeded by: Joseph Lyons
Preceded by: Sir Frank Gavan Duffy	Chief Justice of Australia 1935-1952	Succeeded by: Sir Owen Dixon