Daryl Robert Williams (born 21 August 1942) is a former Australian politician who was a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1993 to 2004, representing the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

. He was

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

in the Howard Government from 1996 to 2003.

Background and early career

Williams was born in

East Fremantle, Western Australia East Fremantle (nicknamed East Freo) is a suburb of Perth, Western Australia, located south-west of the central business district. The suburb is mainly residential, and is coterminous with the Town of East Fremantle local government area. Previ ...

, and was educated at Richmond School, East Fremantle, and

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

. He went on to the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany, Western Australia, Albany an ...

and

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, where he was a

Rhodes Scholar The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom. Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...

in 1965. In 1968, Williams started work as a barrister. In 1971, he became counsel for the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

. However, four years later, he returned to practising law on his own. 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 1982, and became a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in 1989. Williams continued to practise law until his election to Parliament in 1993.

Political career

Williams was briefly a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry in 1994, serving as Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader of the Opposition on Constitutional Reform. In

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

, when the Liberals won office, he was appointed

first as a member of the outer ministry and then as a member of Cabinet from October 1997. He served in this capacity until 2003, serving the longest continuous term in the position since

H. V. Evatt Herbert Vere Evatt, (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a judge of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and l ...

(1941–49). Williams was also

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Just ...

for a period in 1996–97. He attended the 1998 Constitutional Convention as a parliamentary delegate. After the Liberal ministerial shakeup of 2003, Williams was appointed Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts. In April 2004, he announced he would not be contesting the 2004 election. He stood down from the ministry in July 2004.

Post-political career

Williams was seriously considered as a candidate to replace Justice

Mary Gaudron Mary Genevieve Gaudron (born 5 January 1943), is an Australian lawyer and judge, who was the first female Justice of the High Court of Australia. She was the Solicitor-General of New South Wales from 1981 until 1987 before her appointment to ...

as a judge of the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution. The High Court was established fol ...

in 2003, and was the nominee of the Western Australian Law Society for the post.

Dyson Heydon John Dyson Heydon (born 1 March 1943) is a former Australian judge and barrister who served on the High Court of Australia from 2003 to 2013 and the New South Wales Court of Appeal from 2000 to 2003, and previously served as Dean of the Sydney ...

was eventually appointed to the post. Williams was also considered a possible candidate for appointment to the High Court prior to the retirement of Justice

Michael McHugh Michael Hudson McHugh (born 1 November 1935) is a former justice of the High Court of Australia; the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Early years The son of a miner and steelworker, McHugh left school at 15 despite excelling ...

in 2005, following his retirement from politics.

Susan Crennan Susan Maree Crennan (née Walsh; born 1 July 1945), is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy. Early life and education Crennan was born in Melbourne, one of six children born to W ...

was eventually appointed as McHugh's replacement. In addition, Williams has been mooted as a contender for appointment as Chief Justice of the

Family Court of Australia The Family Court of Australia was a superior Australian federal court of record which deals with family law matters, such as divorce applications, parenting disputes, and the division of property when a couple separate. Together with the Fede ...

, a Justice of the

Federal Court of Australia The Federal Court of Australia is an Australian superior court of record which has jurisdiction to deal with most civil disputes governed by federal law (with the exception of family law matters), along with some summary (less serious) and indic ...

, the

Supreme Court of Western Australia The Supreme Court of Western Australia is the highest state court in the Australian State of Western Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters (although it usually only hears matters involving sums of A$750,00 ...

, or the Court of Appeal of Western Australia.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Daryl People educated at Perth Modern School University of Western Australia alumni Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford 1942 births Living people Australian King's Counsel Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Australian Rhodes Scholars Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Tangney Members of the Cabinet of Australia Members of the Order of Australia Attorneys-General of Australia Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 20th-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians Government ministers of Australia