The Right Honourable Herbert Vere Evatt QC KStJ |
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Justice of the High Court of Australia | |
In office 19 December 1930 – 2 September 1940 |
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Nominated by | James Scullin |
Preceded by | Sir Charles Powers |
Succeeded by | Sir Dudley Williams |
Chief Justice of New South Wales | |
In office 15 February 1960 – 24 October 1962 |
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Preceded by | Sir Kenneth Street |
Succeeded by | Sir Leslie Herron |
Leader of the Opposition Elections: 1954, 1955, 1958 |
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In office 20 June 1951 – 9 February 1960 |
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Monarch |
George VI Elizabeth II |
Governor-General |
Sir William McKell Sir William Slim |
Prime Minister | Robert Menzies |
Deputy | Arthur Calwell |
Preceded by | Ben Chifley |
Succeeded by | Arthur Calwell |
Leader of the Labor Party | |
In office 20 June 1951 – 9 February 1960 |
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Deputy | Arthur Calwell |
Preceded by | Ben Chifley |
Succeeded by | Arthur Calwell |
Attorney-General of Australia | |
In office 7 October 1941 – 19 December 1949 |
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Prime Minister |
John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley |
Preceded by | Billy Hughes |
Succeeded by | John Spicer |
Minister for External Affairs | |
In office 7 October 1941 – 19 December 1949 |
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Prime Minister |
John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley |
Preceded by | Sir Frederick Stewart |
Succeeded by | Percy Spender |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Barton |
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In office 21 September 1940 – 22 November 1958 |
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Preceded by | Albert Lane |
Succeeded by | Len Reynolds |
Member of the Australian Parliament for Hunter |
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In office 22 November 1958 – 10 February 1960 |
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Preceded by | Rowley James |
Succeeded by | Bert James |
Personal details | |
Born |
Herbert Vere Evatt 30 April 1894 Maitland, New South Wales, British Empire |
Died | 2 November 1965 Canberra, Australian Capital Territory, Australia |
(aged 71)
Political party | Labor |
Spouse(s) | Mary Sheffer (m. 1920; wid. 1965) |
Relations |
Clive Evatt (brother) Elizabeth Evatt (niece) Penelope Seidler (niece) |
Children | 2 |
Education | Fort Street High School |
Alma mater | University of Sydney |
Occupation |
Trade union executive (University of Sydney Union) Trade union lawyer (Transport Workers Union |
Profession |
Trade Unionist Barrister Politician |
Herbert Vere Evatt, QC KStJ (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965), usually known as H. V. Evatt or Bert Evatt, and often as "Doc" Evatt on account of his Doctor of Laws (LLD) degree, was an Australian judge, lawyer, parliamentarian and writer.
Evatt was a Justice of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940; Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949; the third President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1948 to 1949, when he helped to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Leader of the Australian Labor Party (and Leader of the Opposition) from 1951 to 1960; and Chief Justice of New South Wales from 1960 to 1962.
Evatt was born in Maitland, New South Wales, the fifth of eight sons of John Ashmore Evatt, an English publican from British India, and Sydney-born Irish-Australian Jane "Jeanie" Sophia (née Gray). His younger brother was the politician and lawyer Clive Evatt. Their father died when Bert was seven years old, and his mother shouldered the task of encouraging an intellectually gifted family. (He was never known as Herbert, as his family called him "Bert".)