Christopher John Hodson is a New Zealand barrister and judge, Judge Advocate General of the

New Zealand Armed Forces The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF; mi, Te Ope Kātua o Aotearoa, "Line of Defence of New Zealand") are the armed forces of New Zealand. The NZDF is responsible for the protection of the national security of New Zealand and her realm, promoti ...

, and the Chief Judge of the Court Martial of New Zealand.

Early life

Hodson was born in

Masterton Masterton ( mi, Whakaoriori), a large town in the Greater Wellington Region of New Zealand, operates as the seat of the Masterton District (a territorial authority or local-government district). It is the largest town in the Wairarapa, a r ...

, where he grew up on his family's hill country farm. He graduated from the

Victoria University of Wellington Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

in 1966 with an LLB degree.

Career

Hodson was admitted to the Bar in 1966, and from 1966–82, was a Partner in Major Gooding & Partners in

. In 1983, Hodson became a partner in Macalister Mazengarb Parkin & Rose in

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

, before commencing practice as a barrister sole in 1991, where he specialised in medical and military law. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...

in 1998. He is Judge Advocate General of the New Zealand Armed Forces, and the Chief Judge of the Court Martial of New Zealand,Lawyer, former unionist on advisory panel
The New Zealand Herald, 24 October 2014 and also vice-president of the

International Equestrian Federation The International Federation for Equestrian Sports (, FEI) is the international governing body of equestrian sports. The FEI headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland. An FEI code of conduct protects the welfare of the horses from physical abu ...

. He served in the Territorial Force (reserve) of the

New Zealand Army , image = New Zealand Army Logo.png , image_size = 175px , caption = , start_date = , country = , branch = ...

, retiring as a lieutenant colonel in 1992.

Personal life

Hodson had three children with his first wife. In 1992, he married fellow judge and barrister Dame

Lowell Goddard Dame Lowell Patria Goddard, (born 25 November 1948) is a former New Zealand High Court judge, from 1995 to 2015. She is thought to be the first person of Māori ancestry to have been appointed to the High Court. In 1988, she was one of the fi ...

, who has a daughter from her first marriage to

Sir John Scott, 5th Baronet Sir Walter John "Johnny" Scott, 5th Baronet (born 1948) succeeded his father Sir Walter Scott as baronet in 1992. He is a natural historian, broadcaster, columnist, countryside campaigner and farmer. As of 2016, he held the following positions: ...

, in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hodson, Christopher Year of birth missing (living people) Victoria University of Wellington alumni New Zealand King's Counsel People from Masterton Living people