Terence (Terry) Connolly (14 February 1958 – 25 September 2007) was an Australian politician and judge.

Early years

The son of an Irish bricklayer, Connolly was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

and graduated with a

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 ...

and Bachelor of Arts (both with Honours) from the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

and a Masters in Public Law from the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. He was registered to practise as a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and solicitor in South Australia in 1982 and worked with Justice John Gallop. He moved to

Canberra Canberra ( ) is the capital city of Australia. Founded following the federation of the colonies of Australia as the seat of government for the new nation, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The ci ...

in 1983 and worked as a legal adviser in the Commonwealth departments of

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

Veterans' Affairs Veterans' affairs is an area of public policy concerned with relations between a government and its communities of military veterans. Some jurisdictions have a designated government agency or department, a Department of Veterans' Affairs, Minist ...

and

Foreign Affairs ''Foreign Affairs'' is an American magazine of international relations and U.S. foreign policy published by the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonprofit, nonpartisan, membership organization and think tank specializing in U.S. foreign policy and ...

. He was registered to practise in the

Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory (commonly abbreviated as ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a landlocked federal territory of Australia containing the national capital Canberra and some surrounding townships. ...

in 1985.

Career

Connolly joined the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

in 1976 and was elected as South Australian President of

Young Labor Australian Young Labor, also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all ALP members aged between 15 to 26. The organisation operates as a federation with independen ...

in 1978; and as National President in 1979. Connolly became a Labor Member of the

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory (known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly) is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Sq ...

in 1990 on the resignation of

Paul Whalan Paul Russell Whalan (born 10 July 1941) is an Australian political lobbyist, former politician and member of the first Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly, representing Canberra for the Labor Party. Whalan was elected in 1989 and ...

and served as Attorney-General from 1991 to 1995. With the creation of electorates in 1995, he became a member for Molonglo. Connolly also served as Minister for Housing and Community Services from 1991 to 1995 and Minister for Urban Services from 1992 to 1995. He resigned from the Assembly in February 1996 and was appointed Master of the Australian Capital Territory Supreme Court. Connolly was appointed a judge of the ACT Supreme Court in January 2003. Connolly died of a heart attack while cycling atop Red Hill in

; and his family carried out his wishes to donate his organs for the benefit of others. He is survived by his wife, Dr Helen Watchirs, the ACT Human Rights Commissioner and their two daughters; Lara and Maddy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Connolly, Terry 1958 births 2007 deaths Australian Labor Party members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Australian public servants Judges of the Supreme Court of the Australian Capital Territory Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Fellows of the Australian Academy of Law Attorneys-General of the Australian Capital Territory Organ transplant donors Australian National University alumni 20th-century Australian politicians