Michael Hargreaves Whitten
Michael Hargreaves Whitten | |
|---|---|
 Whitten sitting in the Court of Appeal of Tonga. | |
| Chief Justice of Tonga | |
| Assumed office 2 September 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Owen Paulsen |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mackay, Queensland |
Michael Hargreaves Whitten is an Australian jurist. Since 2 September 2019 he has served as Lord Chief Justice of Tonga.
Whitten grew up in Mackay, Queensland and is the son of a butcher and a boiler marker.[1] He worked as a public defender in Brisbane from 1986–88, and then as a clerk for a Queensland District Court judge from 1988 - 1989.[2] In 1990 he was admitted to the Queensland bar, and practiced criminal and family law.[2] He moved to Melbourne in 1996, where he practiced civil and commercial law.[2] In 2015 he was appointed a Queen's Counsel.[2]
In July 2019 he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Tonga as Lord Chief Justice, replacing Owen Paulsen.[2][3] His term as Chief Justice began on 2 September 2019.[3]
As Chief Justice he presided over the appeal of former Prime Minister Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō against his bribery, money laundering and firearms convictions,[4] and over the electoral petition which saw cabinet minister Sione Sangster Saulala lose his seat following the 2021 Tongan general election.[5][6]
In 2020 his home in Tonga was destroyed by Cyclone Harold.[7]
References
- ^ Zizi Averill (30 July 2019). "Lawyer's new royal duties; King taps Mackay man on shoulder". Daily Mercury. p. 4 – via GaleOneFile.
- ^ a b c d e "Appointment - Michael Whitten QC". Victorian Bar. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ a b "New Chief Justice named as Justice Michael Hargreaves Whitten". Kaniva Tonga. 30 July 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Former Tonga PM fails in appeal bid". RNZ. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 31 July 2022.
- ^ "Saulala 'commits bribery', court says : another Tongan MP loses seat in election petitions". Kaniva Tonga. 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ "Court finds Sangster Saulala committed bribery, Tongatapu no. 7 PR election void". Matangi Tonga. 2 May 2022. Archived from the original on 2 May 2022. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
- ^ Zizi Averill (13 April 2020). "Son's home hit by wave". Daily Mercury. p. 5 – via GaleOneFile.
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