Allan Neil MacLean (24 November 1944 – 17 November 2022) was a New Zealand District Court judge and that country's first chief coroner, from 2007 to 2015. He was the coroner during the

Pike River Mine disaster The Pike River Mine disaster was a coal mining accident that began on 19 November 2010 in the Pike River Mine, northeast of Greymouth, in the West Coast region of New Zealand's South Island following a methane explosion at approximately 3:44 pm ...

and the

Christchurch earthquakes A major earthquake occurred in Christchurch on Tuesday 22 February 2011 at 12:51 p.m. local time (23:51 UTC, 21 February). The () earthquake struck the entire of the Canterbury region in the South Island, centred south-east ...

Early life and family

Born on 24 November 1944, MacLean was the son of Donald Iain Neil MacLean, a solicitor and later magistrate, and Marjorie Parker MacLean (née Butcher). He was educated at Christchurch Boys' High School, and went on to study at the

University of Canterbury The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1967. In 1969, he married Susan Gordon Eliott, and the couple went on to have three children.

Career

After completing a period of

compulsory military training Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...

, MacLean worked at his father's law firm. Between 1972 and 1993, he was a partner in three different Christchurch legal practices. He was appointed as a coroner in 1978. After his appointment as a judge of the District Court in 1993, MacLean moved to Gisborne in 1994, where he was the sole judge. He combined work as a coroner and a judge, and in 2007 he was appointed as the country's first chief coroner. During his tenure, he presided over coronial inquiries into the

and the

. Following his mandatory retirement as a District Court judge at the age of 70 in 2014, MacLean was appointed an acting District Court judge for a further two-year term. He sat on the Accident Compensation Appeals Authority from 2015 to 2018, and served as a member of the Parole Board until October 2021. MacLean died on 17 November 2022.

Honours and awards

In 2012, MacLean received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Canterbury. In the

2015 Queen's Birthday Honours The 2015 Queen's Birthday Honours are appointments by some of the 16 Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. The Birthday Honours are awarded as p ...

, he was appointed a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the judiciary.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacLean, Neil 1944 births 2022 deaths District Court of New Zealand judges University of Canterbury alumni Companions of the Queen's Service Order Coroners 20th-century New Zealand lawyers 20th-century New Zealand judges People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School University of Canterbury Faculty of Law alumni