Sir Denys Roberts | |
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Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Hong Kong | |
In office 1979–1987 |
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Preceded by | Geoffrey Briggs |
Succeeded by | Ti-liang Yang |
Chief Secretary of Hong Kong (Colonial Secretary 1973–76) |
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In office 1973–1976 |
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Preceded by | Hugh Norman-Walker |
Succeeded by | Jack Cater |
Attorney General of Hong Kong | |
In office 1966–1973 |
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Preceded by | Maurice Heenan |
Succeeded by | John William Dixon Hobley |
Personal details | |
Born |
London, United Kingdom |
19 January 1921
Died | 20 May 2013 Norfolk, United Kingdom |
(aged 92)
Spouse(s) |
Brenda Marsh (m. 1949; div. 1973) Anna Fiona Dollar Alexander (m. 1985) |
Children | 3 |
Experience | |
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Dato Seri Paduka Sir Denys Tudor Emil Roberts, KBE, SPMB, QC (Traditional Chinese: 羅弼時爵士, 19 January 1921 – 20 May 2013) was a British colonial official and judge. Joining the colonial civil service as a Crown Counsel in Nyasaland (now Malawi) in 1953, he became Attorney General of Gibraltar in 1960. In 1962, he was posted to Hong Kong as Solicitor-General, and was successively promoted to Attorney-General in 1966, Colonial Secretary/Chief Secretary in 1973 and Chief Justice in 1979. He was the first and only Attorney-General to become both Colonial Secretary (and Chief Secretary) in Hong Kong. Never having been a judge before, he was appointed as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in 1979 and was the first and only Colonial Secretary (and Chief Secretary) of Hong Kong to receive such appointment.
Roberts was the last non-Chinese person to hold the post of Chief Justice of Hong Kong. After retiring in 1988, he had served as President of the Court of Appeal of Bermuda, Chief Justice and President of Court of Appeal of Brunei Darussalam before finally retiring from the judicial service in 2003.
Roberts was born on 19 January 1921 in London, England, to William David Roberts, a barrister-at-law, and Dorothy Elizabeth Roberts. He was educated in Aldenham School in his childhood, and later studied law in Wadham College, Oxford in 1942. His education was interrupted when he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Artillery on 2 November 1943. During the Second World War, he served in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, and achieved the rank of captain. He was posted to India when the war ended in 1945.