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 = , ...

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