Maurice Heenan (8 October 1912 – 26 September 2000) was a New Zealand-born barrister and solicitor, who served as

Attorney General of Hong Kong The Secretary for Justice () is the head of the Hong Kong Department of Justice, the chief legal advisor to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and the chief law enforcement officer of the Government of Hong Kong. Before the Transfer of the So ...

and as a senior lawyer for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

Early life

Born to David Donnoghue Heenan (died 1942), and Ann Heenan (née Frame; died 1976), Heenan attended Ashburton High School and then the Canterbury College, University of New Zealand, earning an LLB. Heenan was a barrister and solicitor of the Supreme Court of New Zealand from 1937 through 1939. From 1940 to 1946 he was a major in the 2nd NZEF and saw active service in the Western Desert,

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika ( ar, برقة, Barqah, grc-koi, Κυρηναϊκή ��παρχίαKurēnaïkḗ parkhíā}, after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between ...

and

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and was mentioned in dispatches.Who's Who 2001 In 1944, he was selected to attend Staff College, Camberley in the UK where he was awarded the Staff College Award. It was in London that he met his future wife, Claire Gabriela Stephanie (née Ciho), daughter of Emil Ciho (died 1975) and Irene (née Rotbauer; died 1950) of Trenčín, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Claire Ciho, who was attending a summer course for foreign students at Oxford, was one of the first students permitted by the Czechoslovakian government to attend a foreign college after the war. . The couple wed in 1951; they had two daughters.

Overseas legal career

In 1946, Heenan was appointed to British Overseas Civil Service and was

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Advo ...

for the Palestine Mandate in

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

until 1948. He was transferred to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

in 1948 and in 1952 was appointed Senior

. He acted as

Solicitor General of Hong Kong The Solicitor General of Hong Kong is head of the Legal Policy Division of the Department of Justice () in Hong Kong. He (to date no woman has held the post) is responsible for the development of legal policy, advising the Secretary for Justic ...

and

at various times. In 1961 he was appointed, first

and then, two months later,

. He served as Attorney General until 1966. He was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

in 1962 while serving as Attorney General. In 1966, he became the Deputy Director of the General Legal Division (

United Nations Office of Legal Affairs The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs is a United Nations office currently administered by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations Miguel de Serpa Soares. History Established in 1946, the United ...

), Offices of the Secretary General,

. On his departure from Hong Kong Michael Gass, the Acting Governor, thanked Heenan for his service at the last meeting of the Legislative Council he attended. Heenan served as Deputy Director of the General Legal Division until 1973, when he was named General Counsel for the

United Nations Relief and Works Agency The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is a UN agency that supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees. UNRWA's mandate encompasses Palestinians displaced by the 1948 P ...

(UNRWA) for Palestinian Refugees in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, Lebanon.

Awards

In 1966 he was inducted into the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) at Buckingham Palace in London.

Clubs and recreations

In Hong Kong, he was a member of the

Hong Kong Club The Hong Kong Club () is the first gentlemen's club in Hong Kong. Opened on 26 May 1846, it is a private business and dining club in the heart of Central, Hong Kong. Its members were (and still are) among the most influential people in the city, ...

, the Hong Kong Cricket Club and Hong Kong Lawn Tennis Association. He was also a voting member of the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong, having been founded in 1884. In 1959, it was granted a Royal Charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name ...

. He was a member of the Country Club of New Canaan in America. His recreations included rugby, tennis, squash, skiing and golf.

Last years and death

In 1977, he retired to his home in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. About an hour from Manhattan by train, the town is considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast. The town is bound ...

. He died in 2000, aged 87, and was survived by his wife, two daughters and several grandchildren.New York Times Obituary, 8 October 2000 (paid notice).

References

Sources

* ''Debrett's Distinguished People of Today''; edited by David Williamson & Patricia Ellis. Debrett's Peerage Ltd.: 1988, p. 497 * ''Who's Who U.K.–An Annual Biographical Dictionary'' published annually since 1849. A & C Black: London, England, 2000, p. 928
''Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966''
site visited 2 August 2009. *
Who is Who in the United Nations and Related Agencies
'. Arno Press/A New York Times Company: New York, U.S., 1975, p. 247; site visited 2 August 2009 * ''Debrett's Handbook'' (eds Suzanne Duke, Dawn Henderson, Antonia Gaisford-St. Lawrence), Debrett's Peerage Ltd.: London, England, 1984, p. 904 {{DEFAULTSORT:Heenan, Maurice 1912 births 2000 deaths New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George 20th-century New Zealand lawyers British officials of the United Nations New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand emigrants to the United States New Zealand people of World War II University of Canterbury alumni Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley Hong Kong civil servants Attorneys General of Hong Kong Hong Kong Queen's Counsel People from Wyndham, New Zealand People educated at Ashburton College New Zealand officials of the United Nations Solicitors General of Hong Kong