Sir Constant Hendrik de Waal, KCB, QC (1 May 1931 – 1 October 2016), known as Sir Henry de Waal, was a British- Dutch

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solic ...

and parliamentary draftsman.

Biography

Early life and education

De Waal was born in 1931 to Hendrik de Waal and Elizabeth, ''née'' von Ephrussi;"De Waal, Sir Constant Hendrik, (Sir Henry)"
''Who Was Who'' (online edition, Oxford University Press, December 2017). Retrieved 24 January 2019. his brother was

Victor de Waal Victor Alexander de Waal (born 2 February 1929) is a British Anglican priest. He was the Dean of Canterbury from 1976 to 1986. Early life Victor de Waal was born in Amsterdam, the son of Hendrik de Waal, a Dutch businessman, and Elisabeth of ...

dean of Canterbury The Dean of Canterbury is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral of Christ Church, Canterbury, England. The current office of Dean originated after the English Reformation, although Deans had also existed before this time; its immediate precur ...

, and his cousins included

Hugo de Waal Hugo Ferdinand de Waal (16 March 1935 – 6 January 2007) was Principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge from 1978 to 1991 and the suffragan Bishop of Thetford from 1992 until 2000. He was born at Jember on East Java and educated at Tonbridge School an ...

, bishop suffragan of Thetford and principal of Ridley Hall, Cambridge. He attended

Tonbridge School (God Giveth the Increase) , established = , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent day and boarding , religion = , president = , head_label ...

between 1944 and 1948,''The Register of Tonbridge School from 1900 to 1965'' (Old Tonbridgian Society, 1966), p. 237. and then

Pembroke College, Cambridge Pembroke College (officially "The Master, Fellows and Scholars of the College or Hall of Valence-Mary") is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college is the third-oldest college of the university and has over 700 ...

, graduating with a BA in law in 1951, and then a postgraduate

LLB 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 China, People's Republic ...

the following year. A

Dutch citizen Dutch nationality law details the conditions by which a person holds Dutch nationality. The primary law governing these requirements is the Dutch Nationality Act, which came into force on 1 January 1985. Regulations apply to the entire Kingdom o ...

, he was naturalised as a

British subject The term "British subject" has several different meanings depending on the time period. Before 1949, it referred to almost all subjects of the British Empire (including the United Kingdom, Dominions, and colonies, but excluding protectorates ...

in January 1953, and called to the bar at

Lincoln's Inn The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

later in the year; he was a Cassel Scholar at the Inn.

Career

De Waal was a

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of Pembroke College, Cambridge, between 1958 and 1960, when he joined the Office of the Parliamentary Counsel. Aside from two years with the Law Commission (between 1969 and 1971), he remained at the OPC until 1991, serving as a parliamentary counsel from 1971, before being promoted to Second Parliamentary Counsel in 1981 and First Parliamentary Counsel in 1987. He left that office in 1991, and became counsel to the Law Commission. He retired in 1996, by which time he had been appointed a Knight Commander of the

Order of the Bath The Most Honourable Order of the Bath is a British order of chivalry founded by George I of Great Britain, George I on 18 May 1725. The name derives from the elaborate medieval ceremony for appointing a knight, which involved Bathing#Medieval ...

and a bencher of

(both in 1989), a

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 1988),''The London Gazette''
20 April 1988 (no. 51308), p. 4665. and an honorary fellow of Pembroke College, Cambridge.

Death

De Waal died on 1 October 2016, leaving behind a widow and two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:de Waal, Henry 1931 births 2016 deaths Alumni of Pembroke College, Cambridge British King's Counsel Knights Commander of the Order of the Bath 20th-century King's Counsel 21st-century King's Counsel People educated at Tonbridge School Members of Lincoln's Inn Fellows of Pembroke College, Cambridge Dutch emigrants to the United Kingdom