Robert French

Robert Shenton French (born 19 March 1947) is an Australian lawyer and judge who served as the twelfth Chief Justice of Australia, in office from 2008 to 2017. He has been the chancellor of the University of Western Australia since 2017.French was born in Perth, Western Australia, and is a graduate of the University of Western Australia. He was admitted as a barrister and solicitor in 1972, and appointed to the Federal Court in 1986, serving as a justice on that court until his elevation to the High Court. He also held a number of other positions during that time, notably serving as chancellor of Edith Cowan University (1991–1997), chairman of the National Native Title Tribunal (1994–1998), and on the Supreme Court of Fiji (2003–2008). In July 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd named French to succeed Murray Gleeson as chief justice, taking office just over a month later. He became the first chief justice from Western Australia, and the third justice overall (after Sir Ronald Wilson and John Toohey).