John Francis Hughes (11 May 1857 – 18 December 1912) was an Australian solicitor and politician.

Early years and background

He was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

to merchant John Hughes and Susan Sharkey. He was the elder brother of Sir Thomas Hughes. From 1870 he was educated at

Stonyhurst College Stonyhurst College is a co-educational Catholic Church, Roman Catholic independent school, adhering to the Society of Jesus, Jesuit tradition, on the Stonyhurst, Stonyhurst Estate, Lancashire, England. It occupies a Grade I listed building. Th ...

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

, and in 1876 he graduated from the

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degree ...

. He returned to Sydney and worked as a solicitor's clerk before his admission as a practising solicitor in 1884. On 2 July 1884 he married Mary Rose Gillhooley, with whom he had nine children. From 1887 he partnered with his brother, and he was also a landowner.

Political career

From 1891 to 1894 he was a Sydney City alderman for Fitzroy Ward. In 1895 he was appointed to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. The other is the Legislative Assembly. Both sit at Parliament House in th ...

. He was a member of the Reid ministry, serving as

Vice-President of the Executive Council The Vice-President of the Executive Council is the minister in the Government of Australia who acts as the presiding officer of meetings of the Federal Executive Council when the Governor-General is absent. The Vice-President of the Executive ...

and Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council from November 1898 to September 1899. He briefly served as

Minister of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a v ...

from July to September 1899. He was also a member of the

Carruthers ministry The Carruthers ministry was the 32nd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 16th Premier of New South Wales, Premier, Joseph Carruthers. The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was n ...

and its successor, the

Wade ministry The Wade ministry was the 33rd ministry of the New South Wales Government, and was led by the 17th Premier of New South Wales, Premier, Charles Wade. The title of Premier was widely used to refer to the Leader of Government, but was not a forma ...

, again serving as Vice-President of the Executive Council and Representative of the Government in the Legislative Council from August 1904 to October 1910.

Later life and legacy

Hughes died in North Sydney on . He was the father of rugby union players James Hughes (1886–1943) and Bryan Desmond Hughes (1888–1918; killed in the First World War).

Honours

He was created Knight Commander of St Gregory by

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

in 1903.

References

1857 births 1912 deaths Members of the New South Wales Legislative Council Knights Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great Lawyers from the Colony of New South Wales {{Australia-politician-stub