Sir William Rees Morgan Davies (May 1863 – 14 April 1939), more commonly known as William Rees-Davies, was a British politician, lawyer and colonial judge. His last appointment was as Chief Justice of Hong Kong. He was the father of William Rupert Rees-Davies, who was also a politician and lawyer.

Early life

After attending

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

, Rees-Davies studied at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge) is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. It is the fifth-oldest surviving college of the university, having been founded in 1350 by ...

, where he graduated with a BA degree in 1885. He was called to the Bar of the

Inner Temple The Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, commonly known as the Inner Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court and is a professional associations for barristers and judges. To be called to the Bar and practise as a barrister in England and ...

in 1887 and joined the South Wales Circuit.

Parliamentary service

He was a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

Member of Parliament for Pembrokeshire, from July

1892 Events January–March * January 1 – Ellis Island begins accommodating immigrants to the United States. * February 1 - The historic Enterprise Bar and Grill was established in Rico, Colorado. * February 27 – Rudolf Diesel applies fo ...

1898 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York as the world's second largest. The city is geographically divided into five boroughs: Manhattan, B ...

, having succeeded his father, Sir William Davies in the seat. He was private secretary to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William Harcourt, from 1893 to 1895. He was succeeded by the Liberal politician John Philipps, 1st Viscount St Davids.

Legal appointments

He left Parliament on being appointed Attorney General of

The Bahamas The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to 88% of the ar ...

. He stayed in the Bahamas until 1902 and acted as Chief Justice at times. He was appointed King's Advocate in

Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...

in June 1902, serving as such until 1907. In 1907, he was appointed

Attorney General of Hong Kong The Secretary for Justice () is the head of the Hong Kong Department of Justice, the chief legal advisor to the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, and the chief law enforcement officer of the Government of Hong Kong. Before the Transfer of the So ...

. In that position he was entitled to a seat on the Executive Council and Legislative Council. He was appointed a King's Counsel in Hong Kong in 1908. In 1912, he was appointed Chief Justice of Hong Kong succeeding Sir Francis Piggott. He was knighted in 1913. Rees-Davies retired as Chief Justice in 1924 and returned to England. He was succeeded by Sir

Henry Gollan Sir Henry Cowper Gollan CBE KC (8 January 1868 – 5 August 1949) was a British lawyer and judge. He served as attorney general and chief justice of a number of British colonies in the early 20th century. His last position before retirement w ...

Death

He died on 14 April 1939 in Folkestone, England.''The Solicitors' Journal'', Volume 83, p. 319.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rees-Davies, William 1863 births 1939 deaths People educated at Eton College Members of the Parliament of the United Kingdom for Pembrokeshire constituencies Chief Justices of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong Attorneys General of Hong Kong Hong Kong Queen's Counsel British Hong Kong judges Attorneys General of the Colony of the Bahamas UK MPs 1892–1895 UK MPs 1895–1900 Liberal Party (UK) MPs for Welsh constituencies