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Solicitor-General of Victoria
Victorian coat of arms
Flag of Victoria
Incumbent Rowena Orr KC since 10 May 2021
Department of Justice and Community Safety
Appointer	Governor of Victoria
Term length	At the governor's pleasure
Formation	15 July 1851
First holder	Redmond Barry
Website	Victorian Government Solicitor's Office

The Solicitor-General of Victoria, known informally as the Solicitor-General, is the state's Second Law Officer and the deputy of the Attorney-General. The Solicitor-General acts alongside the Crown Advocate and Crown Solicitor, and serves as one of the legal and constitutional advisers of the Crown and its government in the Australian state of Victoria.

The Solicitor-General is addressed in court as "Mr/Ms Solicitor". Despite the title, the position may only be filled by a barrister admitted serving as Senior Counsel, for a period specific by the Governor of Victoria. The inaugural Solicitor-General was Redmond Barry, who serviced from 15 July 1851 to 18 January 1852. The current Solicitor-General is Rowena Orr KC.

History and function

Formerly, they were elected members of parliament, but have not been so since the early/mid twentieth century. The functions of the Victorian Solicitor-General are two-fold. First, they act as Victoria's senior legal adviser. Second, they represent the state in significant legal proceedings where Victoria is party, or where the Victorian Attorney-General intervenes either in Commonwealth matters under section 78A of the Judiciary Act 1903 or in matters concerning the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006 under s 34 of that Act. In 2003, Victoria appointed its first female Solicitor-General, Pamela Tate, following an unprecedented public advertising of the position.

See also

• Solicitor-General of Australia
• Solicitor General for New South Wales

Notes

1. acting from 4 January 1854 to 28 November 1855.
2. Appointed on after his resignation from the Legislative Assembly
3. ^ Appointed both Attorney-General and Solicitor-General

References

1. Solicitor-General Act 1951 (Vic) s2(1) "As on and from the commencement of this Act the office of Solicitor-General shall not be held by a responsible Minister of the Crown".
2. ^ "Media Release: Pamela Tate Victoria's First Female Solicitor-General". Legislation.vic.gov.au. 8 July 2003. Archived from the original on 16 October 2008.
3. ^ "Part 1 Blue Book" (PDF). Statistical Register of the State of Victoria for the year 1916.
4. "Appointments – Solicitor General - Redmond Barry". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 15 July 1851. p. 1851:80.
5. "Sir Redmond Barry". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
6. "Appointments – Solicitor General - Edward Williams". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 13 April 1852. p. 1852:351.
7. "Williams, Sir Edward Eyre". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
8. "Appointments – Solicitor General - James Croke". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 21 July 1852. p. 1852:716.
9. "James Croke". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
10. "Appointment Solicitor General Robert Molesworth (acting)". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 6 January 1854. p. 1854:37.
11. "Appointment Solicitor General Robert Molesworth". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 28 November 1855. p. 1855:3125.
12. "Sir Robert Molesworth". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
13. "Appointment Solicitor General Thomas Fellows". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 28 June 1856. p. 1856:1083.
14. ^ "Thomas Howard Fellows". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
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16. "Robert Sacheverell Wilmot Sitwell". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
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18. "John Dennistoun Wood". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
19. "Appointment Solicitor General Thomas Fellows". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 29 April 1857. p. 1857:727.
20. "Appointment Solicitor General Richard Ireland MLA". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 10 March 1858. p. 1858:477.
21. "Richard Davies Ireland". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
22. "Appointment Solicitor-General Travers Adamson". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 27 October 1859. p. 1859:2299.
23. "Travers Adamson". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
24. "Appointment Solicitor-General James Martley". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 5 March 1860. p. 1860:441.
25. "James Frederick Martley". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
26. "Appointment Solicitor-General James Casey MLA". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 2 September 1869. p. 1869:1315.
27. "James Joseph Casey". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
28. ^ "Appointment Solicitor-General Cole Aspinal". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 19 January 1870. p. 1870:69.
29. "Butler Cole Aspinall". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
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31. "Sir Henry John Wrixon". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
32. "Appointment Solicitor-General Howard Spensley MLA". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 19 June 1871. p. 1871:969.
33. "Howard Spensley". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
34. "Appointment Solicitor-General George Kerford MLA". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 10 June 1872. p. 1872:1125.
35. "Kerferd, George Briscoe". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
36. "Appointment Solicitor-General Townsend McDermott MLA". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 31 July 1874. p. 1874:1459.
37. "Townsend McDermott". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
38. "Appointment Solicitor-General Frank Dobson MLC". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 9 July 1881. p. 1881:2059.
39. Barrow, Elizabeth. "Dobson, Frank Stanley (1835 - 1895)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
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40. "Appointment Solicitor-General Alfred Deakin MLA". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 12 March 1883. p. 1883:2569.
41. ^ Norris, R (1981). "Deakin, Alfred (1856–1919)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
    "Alfred Deakin". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
42. "Appointment Solicitor-General Alfred Deakin MLA". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 1 September 1890. p. 1890:3537.
43. Serle, Geoffrey. "Turner, Sir George (1851 - 1916)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
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46. "Sir Henry Cuthbert". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 5 December 2013.
47. ^ Freeman, R D. "Davies, Sir John Mark (1840 - 1919)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
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49. "Appointment Solicitor-General John Mackey". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 28 February 1908. p. 1908:1506.
50. Serle, Geoffrey. "Mackey, Sir John Emanuel (1863–1924)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
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51. "Appointment Solicitor-General John Davies". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 8 September 1908. p. 1908:4616.
52. "James Drysdale Brown". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2014.
53. "William Evans". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
54. "Donald Mackinnon". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
55. ^ "Harry Lawson". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
56. ^ Appleby, G (28 September 2012). "The Constitutional Role of the Solicitor-General" (PDF). Retrieved 21 January 2019.
57. "Appointments Ministers of the Crown Solicitor-General Arthur Robinson". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 21 March 1918. p. 1918:1217.
58. ^ "Arthur Robinson". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
59. "Appointments Ministers of the Crown Solicitor-General Harry Lawson". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 20 January 1920. p. 1920:105.
60. "Ministers of the Crown Appointment Solicitor-General Arthur Robinson". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 20 September 1920. p. 1920:2951.
61. "Appointments Ministers of the Crown Attorney-General & Solicitor-General Henry Cohen". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 11 July 1924. p. 1924:2333.
62. "Henry Isaac Cohen". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
63. "Appointments Ministers of the Crown Attorney-General & Solicitor-General William Slater". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 18 July 1924. p. 1924:2487.
64. ^ Cannon, M. "Slater, William (Bill) (1890? - 1960)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
    "William Slater". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
65. Osmond, Warren. "Eggleston, Sir Frederic William (1875 - 1954)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
    "Sir Frederic William Eggleston". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
66. "John Allan". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
67. ^ "Ian [John Robert MacFarlane] MacFarlan". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
68. "Sir Robert Gordon Menzies". Re-Member: a database of all Victorian MPs since 1851. Parliament of Victoria. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 12 February 2019.
69. "Appointment Minister of Public Instruction & Solicitor-General Harold Edward Cohen". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 20 March 1935. p. 1935:1003.
70. Falk, Barbara (1981). "Cohen, Harold Edward (1881–1946)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
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71. "Appointment Attorney-General & Solicitor-General Albert Louis Bussau". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 2 April 1935. p. 1935:1069.
72. Duplain, R C. "Bussau, Sir Albert Louis (Lou) (1884 - 1947)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
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73. "Appointment Solicitor-General Albert Dunstan". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 22 April 1938. p. 1938:1315.
74. "Dunstan, Sir Albert Arthur (1882 - 1950)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
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75. Wright, R. "Oldham, Trevor Donald (1900–1953)". Australian Dictionary of Biography. Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University. ISBN 978-0-522-84459-7. ISSN 1833-7538. OCLC 70677943.
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77. "Appointments Senior Counsel to the Attorney-General". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 25 January 1950. p. 1950:442.
78. "Appointment Solicitor-General Henry Winneke KC". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 12 December 1951. p. 1951:8621.
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79. "Appointment Solicitor-General Tony Murray QC". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 9 September 1964. p. 1964:2856.
80. Fullagar, R, Obituary Basil Lathrop "Tony" Murray CBE QC (PDF) (1999) 73(7) The Law Institute Journal 44.
81. "Appointments – Solicitor-General - Daryl Dawson QC". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 11 September 1974. p. 1975:3369.
82. "Appointments – Solicitor-General – Hartog Berkeley QC". Victoria Government Gazette. Victorian Government Printer. 11 September 1974. p. 1982:3051.
83. "Obituary - Hartog Carel Berkeley QC" (PDF). VicBar.com.au. 17 February 2017. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
84. Obituary Douglass Graham QC (PDF) (2008 Winter) Victorian Bar News 19.
85. "Welcome the Honourable Justice Stephen McLeish". VicBar.com.au. 12 March 2015.
86. Pakula, Martin (10 June 2015). "Richard Niall QC appointed Solicitor-General" (PDF).
87. Pakula, Martin (28 November 2017). "New Solicitor-General for Victoria appointed" (PDF).
88. "New Victorian Solicitor-General Appointed". Premier of Victoria. 4 May 2021. Retrieved 8 September 2021.

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