Ewan Charles Crawford, (born 8 April 1941) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Au ...

judge and former

Chief Justice of Tasmania The Chief Justice of Tasmania is the senior judge of the Supreme Court of Tasmania, and the highest ranking judicial officer in the Australian state of Tasmania. The Chief Justice is both the judicial head of the Supreme Court as well as the adm ...

Early life

Crawford was born in Launceston to parents Sir George and Lady Crawford. He went to

Launceston Church Grammar School (Unless the Lord is with us, our labour is in vain) , established = , type = Independent, co-educational, day & boarding , denomination = Anglican , slogan = Nurture, Challenge, I ...

. He became a student of law in 1959 and worked as an Associate to Sir George Crawford.

Career

He graduated from

University of Tasmania The University of Tasmania (UTAS) is a public research university, primarily located in Tasmania, Australia. Founded in 1890, it is Australia's fourth oldest university. Christ College, one of the university's residential colleges, first pro ...

on 12 May 1964 with a

Bachelor of Laws Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...

with

Honours Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...

. He was employed by Douglas and Collins, Barristers and Solicitors, in Launceston as a barrister and solicitor. At his swearing-in, he related that he had to send away his first client so that he could ask somebody to help him with his advice. He then gave the wrong advice to his second client, and had to call him back to set it straight. He took a year off in 1965 to travel overseas and returned as an employed solicitor in 1966. In 1968 he was made a partner of the firm. In that same year he married Robyn on 18 May, and they now have two sons and a daughter. He was a Council Member of the Law Society of Tasmania between 1972 and 1984. He became President of the Law Society for 1979–1980. He was also involved in the Northern Regional Law Society, State Standing Committee for Legal Assistance and the Northern Area Legal Assistance Committee. In 1988 Crawford was appointed as a judge of Tasmania's Supreme Court. He was appointed to the Council of the University of Tasmania from 1991 until 2001. He was a Member of the Board of Legal Education from 1997 until 2008, and a Member of the Law Admissions Consultative Committee from 1995 until 2008. In 2002 Crawford was made a Fellow of the University of Tasmania. It was announced on 8 April 2008 that Crawford was to be appointed Chief Justice following the appointment of

Peter Underwood Peter George Underwood, (10 October 1937 – 7 July 2014) was an Australian jurist and the Governor of Tasmania from 2008 until his death in 2014. He was the Chief Justice of Tasmania from 2004 to 2008, having been a judge of the Supreme Cou ...

Governor of Tasmania The governor of Tasmania is the representative in the Australian state of Tasmania of the Monarch of Australia, currently King Charles III. The incumbent governor is Barbara Baker, who was appointed in June 2021. The official residence of the ...

.Mercur
http://www.news.com.au/mercury/story/0,22884,23505372-3462,00.html
/ref> His swearing in ceremony was held on 24 April 2008. He was the first Chief Justice in Australia to have done away with the red and white robes and long ceremonial wigs in the Supreme Court.Legal bigwigs lock up full regalia. Marie Rae. 25 June 2008 Hobart Mercury saying "Personally I feel they're out of date and unnecessary". He retired as Chief Justice in April 2013 and also as Tasmania's Lieutenant Governor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Ewan 1941 births Living people Chief Justices of Tasmania Judges of the Supreme Court of Tasmania 20th-century Australian judges 21st-century Australian judges Australian solicitors Companions of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Centenary Medal University of Tasmania alumni People from Launceston, Tasmania