Stephen Paul Donaghue (born 7 January 1973) is an Australian barrister and constitutional lawyer and the present
Solicitor-General of Australia
The Solicitor-General of Australia is the country's second highest-ranking law officer, after the Attorney-General for Australia. The position is often known as the Commonwealth Solicitor-General in order to distinguish it from the state solicit ...
. Donaghue has been Solicitor-General since 16 January 2017, having been appointed following the resignation of
Justin Gleeson.
Born in 1973, Donaghue was educated at
Whitefriars College
, motto_translation = In The Care of a Loving Mother
, city = Donvale
, state = Victoria
, zipcode = 3111
, country = Australia
, coordinates =
, ...
in
Donvale
Donvale is a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Manningham local government area.
It is a leafy and peaceful suburb, with the side west of Springvale Road is desc ...
, then studied for a
Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
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 Chi ...
at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...
, where he was editor of the ''
Melbourne University Law Review'' and won the Supreme Court Prize. In 1996, Donaghue was granted a Menzies Scholarship and attended
Magdalen College
Magdalen College (, ) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. It was founded in 1458 by William of Waynflete. Today, it is the fourth wealthiest college, with a financial endowment of £332.1 million as of 2019 and one of the s ...
at the
University of Oxford
, mottoeng = The Lord is my light
, established =
, endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019)
, budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20)
, chancellor ...
from which he received a doctorate.
[''Who's Who in Australia'', ConnectWeb, 2016.]
In 1995, Donaghue joined the firm
MinterEllison
MinterEllison is a multinational law firm, and professional services firm, based in Australia. The firm has fifteen offices and operates in five countries. By number of lawyers it is the largest law firm in Australia.
History
MinterEllison is ...
as a solicitor. He was an associate to
Kenneth Hayne
Kenneth Madison Hayne (born 5 June 1945) is a former Justice of the High Court of Australia, the highest court in the Australian court hierarchy.
Early life and education
Hayne was born in Gympie, Queensland and attended Scotch College, Melbour ...
, former Justice of the
High Court of Australia
The High Court of Australia is Australia's apex court. It exercises Original jurisdiction, original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified within Constitution of Australia, Australia's Constitution.
The High Court was established fol ...
. He became a barrister in 2001, and in 2011 was appointed as a
Senior Counsel
The title of Senior Counsel or State Counsel (post-nominal letters: SC) is given to a senior lawyer in some countries that were formerly part of the British Empire. "Senior Counsel" is used in current or former Commonwealth countries or jurisdicti ...
, becoming a
Queen's Counsel
In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of ...
in 2014 when the title was restored by the
Victoria
Victoria most commonly refers to:
* Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia
* Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada
* Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory
* Victoria, Seychelle ...
n government.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Donaghue, Stephen
1973 births
Living people
Solicitors-General of Australia
Australian barristers
Australian King's Counsel
Melbourne Law School alumni
University of Melbourne alumni
Alumni of Magdalen College, Oxford