Patrick James Downey (1 May 1927 – 23 January 2017) was a New Zealand barrister and solicitor. He served as the Chief Human Rights Commissioner, and was chairman of the Human Rights Commission from 1978 to 1984. He was director of legal publishers Butterworths of New Zealand between 1983 and 1993, editor of the '' New Zealand Law Journal'' from 1983 to 1996, and general editor of '' The Laws of New Zealand'' from 1991 to 1995.

Early life and education

Downey was born in

Timaru Timaru (; mi, Te Tihi-o-Maru) is a port city in the southern Canterbury Region of New Zealand, located southwest of Christchurch and about northeast of Dunedin on the eastern Pacific coast of the South Island. The Timaru urban area is home to ...

and spent his childhood in

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The most populous urban area in the country and the fifth largest city in Oceania, Auckland has an urban population of about ...

. He was a first-day pupil at St Peter's College, before completing his secondary education at Sacred Heart College in Ponsonby. He graduated

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

with second-class honours from

Auckland University College , mottoeng = By natural ability and hard work , established = 1883; years ago , endowment = NZD $293 million (31 December 2021) , budget = NZD $1.281 billion (31 December 2021) , chancellor = Cecilia Tarrant , vice_chancellor = Dawn F ...

in 1950, and

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 Ch ...

from

Victoria University College Victoria University of Wellington ( mi, Te Herenga Waka) is a university in Wellington, New Zealand. It was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. The university is well know ...

in 1959. In 1968, Downey married Krystyna Danuta Kolodynska.

Career

Downey was a practising lawyer with many other interests. At various times he was a university tutor and a civil servant. He was appointed as Chief Human Rights Commissioner in 1977 on the coming into effect of the New Zealand Human Rights Commission Act 1977. He was also involved with New Zealand broadcasting, being appointed to the board of the

New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation The New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation (NZBC) was a publicly owned company of the New Zealand Government founded in 1962. The Broadcasting Act 1976 then reformed NZBC as the Broadcasting Corporation of New Zealand (BCNZ). The corporation was ...

in 1973. He was subsequently chairman of Radio New Zealand and a member of the Broadcasting Council. He was for a time chairman of the committee responsible to the corporation for the

New Zealand Symphony Orchestra The New Zealand Symphony Orchestra (NZSO) is a symphony orchestra based in Wellington, New Zealand. The national orchestra of New Zealand, the NZSO is an autonomous Crown entity owned by the Government of New Zealand, per the New Zealand Symph ...

. Subsequently he was on the boards of the

Royal New Zealand Ballet The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company. History New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danish ...

and the

New Zealand School of Dance The New Zealand School of Dance was established in 1967 and is a tertiary educational institute in New Zealand that teaches contemporary dance and ballet. It started as the National School of Ballet, and after contemporary dance was added in 198 ...

. He was also a contributor to and reviewer for the '' New Zealand Listener'' and ''

Landfall Landfall is the event of a storm moving over land after being over water. More broadly, and in relation to human travel, it refers to 'the first land that is reached or seen at the end of a journey across the sea or through the air, or the fact ...

''. He was editor of the ''New Zealand Law Journal'' for 13 years until 1996. During much of this time he was also legal publishing director of Butterworths until retiring from that position in 1992 by which time he was engaged as the founding general editor of '' The Laws of New Zealand''. Downey died in Wellington on 23 January 2017.

Honours and awards

In 1977, Downey was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal. In the

1991 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1991 were appointments by Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by people of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth. They were published on 28 December 1990 for the United Kingdom, N ...

, he was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire, for services to the community.

Notes

References

* Downey, Patrick James, ''New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa 2001'', p. 293.

External links

Patrick James Downey
{{DEFAULTSORT:Downey, Pat 1927 births 2017 deaths People educated at St Peter's College, Auckland People educated at Sacred Heart College, Auckland University of Auckland alumni New Zealand public servants 20th-century New Zealand lawyers New Zealand people of Irish descent New Zealand Officers of the Order of the British Empire People from Timaru Victoria University of Wellington alumni