Sir Edward Jonathan Somers (9 September 1928 – 3 June 2002) was a New Zealand jurist and member of the Privy Council.

Biography

Somers was born in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon Rive ...

in 1928, and was educated at Christ's College and the University of Canterbury, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws. In 1952, Somers became engaged to Mollie Louise Morison, and they later married and went on to have three children. Somers practised as a barrister and solicitor between 1952 and 1971, and solely as a barrister thereafter. In 1973, he was appointed

Queen's Counsel In the United Kingdom and in some Commonwealth countries, a King's Counsel (post-nominal initials KC) during the reign of a king, or Queen's Counsel (post-nominal initials QC) during the reign of a queen, is a lawyer (usually a barrister o ...

, and the following year he became a judge of the Supreme Court (now High Court). He was appointed a judge of the Court of Appeal in 1981, a role from which he retired in 1990.Sir Edward Somers
. Bloody Sunday Trust. Retrieved 18 May 2013. In 1981, he was also appointed to the Privy Council. Somers was a part-time lecturer at the University of Canterbury from 1954 to 1974. In 1998, Somers was appointed by the British government to be a member of the Bloody Sunday Inquiry. He resigned from that role for personal reasons in 2000. Somers died of cancer in Christchurch in 2002. His wife, Louise, Lady Somers, died in Christchurch in 2021.

Honours

In the 1989 Queen's Birthday Honours, Somers was appointed a

Knight Bachelor The title of Knight Bachelor is the basic rank granted to a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not inducted as a member of one of the organised orders of chivalry; it is a part of the British honours system. Knights Bachelor are th ...

. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws by the University of Canterbury in 1992.Honorary Graduates
University of Canterbury. Retrieved 18 May 2013.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Somers, Edward 1928 births 2002 deaths People from Christchurch People educated at Christ's College, Christchurch University of Canterbury alumni Academic staff of the University of Canterbury 20th-century New Zealand judges New Zealand King's Counsel High Court of New Zealand judges Court of Appeal of New Zealand judges Members of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom Deaths from cancer in New Zealand