David Michael John Bennett AC, KC (born 22 December 1941) is an Australian barrister and former

Solicitor-General of Australia The Solicitor-General of Australia is the country's second highest-ranking law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The position is often known as the Commonwealth Solicitor-General in order to distinguish it from the state solicit ...

.Who's Who in Australia: David Bennett

Early years

Bennett was born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire to Louis Bennett and Lily Bennett (née Black). He was educated at the Hall School in Hampstead, then moved with his family to Australia in 1951 and attended

the Scots College , motto_translation = O that we may be worthy of our forefathers , location = Bellevue Hill, Eastern Suburbs, Sydney , country = Australia , type = Independent single-sex primary ...

, Sydney. He subsequently attained degrees in Arts and Law (with honours) from the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's ...

and an

LLM A Master of Laws (M.L. or LL.M.; Latin: ' or ') is an advanced postgraduate academic degree, pursued by those either holding an undergraduate academic law degree, a professional law degree, or an undergraduate degree in a related subject. In mos ...

and SJD from Harvard Law School. His father, Louis Bennett, was a distinguished solicitor in Sydney, and as a Provost Major was in charge of the escort that took the Nazi '' Oberkommando der Wehrmacht'' to

Nuremberg Nuremberg ( ; german: link=no, Nürnberg ; in the local East Franconian dialect: ''Nämberch'' ) is the second-largest city of the German state of Bavaria after its capital Munich, and its 518,370 (2019) inhabitants make it the 14th-largest ...

for trial. Bennet's Aunt Major Jane Bennet

served at the GCCS at Bletchley Park where the British broke several Nazi codes.

Career

Bennett was a solicitor from 1964 to 1967. He was called to the New South Wales bar in 1967, and was appointed King's Counsel in 1979. He was president of the

Australian Bar Association The Australian Bar Association (ABA) is the peak body representing more than 6,000 barristers throughout Australia. The ABA was established in 1963 to serve, promote and represent its members, and advocate for fair and equal justice for all. ...

from 1995 to 1996 and of the New South Wales Bar Association from 1995 to 1997. Bennett was president of the Association of Lawyer Arbitrators and Mediates in 1998 and President of the

Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences The Australian Academy of Forensic Sciences is a multi-disciplinary learned society founded in 1967 modelled on the British Academy of Forensic Sciences. The Academy conducts regular conferences, undertakes liaison with other Australian professi ...

from 1999 to 2001. He was Solicitor-General of Australia from 1998 to 2008. Bennett was awarded the Centenary Medal in 2003. He is married to Annabelle Bennett, a former judge of the Federal Court of Australia. In a September 2011 '' Sydney Morning Herald'' article he addressed international agreement-making by writing that: "A non-binding promise by Australia or the US is worth more than a binding undertaking by Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, David 1941 births Living people Australian barristers Solicitors-General of Australia Companions of the Order of Australia Harvard Law School alumni People educated at The Hall School, Hampstead People from Amersham Australian King's Counsel Australian Jews Sydney Law School alumni People educated at Scots College (Sydney)