Sir Ragnar Hyne (1893 – 4 October 1966) was a Norway-born lawyer who served in several British colonies. He was Attorney General of Sierra Leone and Chief Justice in both Fiji and Tonga.

Biography

Born in

Randsfjord Randsfjorden is Norway's fourth-largest lake with an area of . Its volume is estimated at just over , and its greatest depth is . The lake is located at an elevation of above sea level. It is located in Innlandet and Viken counties in the munic ...

in Norway,''Who's who in Australia, Volume 12'', p454 Hyne graduated from the University of Queensland. He worked for the Queensland Education Service until serving in the army during World War I.Mr. Ragnar Hyne is Fiji's New Chief Justice
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', November 1952, p28 Following the war, he was appointed Director of Education in Tonga in 1920, a position he held until 1929. He married Dorothy Harpur (a daughter of Queensland Supreme Court judge

John Laskey Woolcock John Laskey Woolcock (7 November 1861 – 18 January 1929) was a barrister and Supreme Court judge in Queensland, Australia.W. Ross Johnston,Woolcock, John Laskey (1861–1929), Australian Dictionary of Biography, Vol.12, Melbourne University ...

) in November 1920, and was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

in Queensland in 1924. After Dorothy died in 1924, he married Effie Harris in 1930. He was appointed Legal Advisor to the government and Chief Police Magistrate of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate in 1929.Sir Ragnar Hyne
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', November 1966, p153 In May 1932 he returned to Tonga as Director of Education, and was appointed Secretary to the

Premier Premier is a title for the head of government in central governments, state governments and local governments of some countries. A second in command to a premier is designated as a deputy premier. A premier will normally be a head of governm ...

a month later. In January 1933 he became Chief Police Magistrate and Legal Advisor. Between January and October 1934 he served as Acting Chief Justice, also holding the post between January 1935 and June 1936. In June 1936 he was formally appointed Chief Justice, a role he held until April 1938. He also served as Acting British Consul to Tonga in 1937. In 1938 he returned to the Solomon Islands to become Chief Magistrate. In 1942 he relocated to Fiji, where he was appointed Assistant Legal Advisor to the Western Pacific High Commission and a resident magistrate. He left Fiji in 1944 and was appointed Solicitor-General of Sierra Leone. The following year he became Attorney-General, also served as Acting Governor.Ragnar Hyne Now a Supreme Court Judge
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', September 1948, p7 After a brief spell in England, he returned to Africa to become a member of the

Supreme Court of Ghana The Supreme Court of Ghana is the highest judicial body in Ghana. Ghana's 1992 constitution guarantees the independence and separation of the Judiciary from the Legislative and the Executive arms of government.1992 Constitution Article 125( ...

. He was called to the bar in England in 1950. Hyne returned to Fiji in 1953 to become Chief Justice and Chief Judicial Commissioner for the Western Pacific. He was knighted in the

1956 New Year Honours The New Year Honours 1956 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced on 2 January 1956 to celebrat ...

.Three New Knights
''Pacific Islands Monthly'', January 1956, p23 He retired from his posts in Fiji in 1958, after which he was appointed to legal positions in Cyprus and Gibraltar. He died in England in October 1966 at the age of 73.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyne, Rangar 1893 births University of Queensland alumni Public servants of Queensland Australian barristers Tongan civil servants British Solomon Islands people Fijian civil servants Colony of Fiji judges Attorneys-general of the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate Governors of Sierra Leone Gold Coast (British colony) judges Justices of the Supreme Court of Ghana English barristers Chief Magistrates of Fiji Chief justices of Tonga Chief judicial commissioners for the Western Pacific Knights Bachelor British Cyprus judges 20th-century Gibraltarian judges 1966 deaths 20th-century English lawyers