Arthur Christian Luft (21 July 1915 – 21 June 2009) was a Manx judge, a former First Deemster and Clerk of the Rolls and a Member of the Legislative Council of the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = " O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europ ...

. He first set up practice in the Isle of Man in 1947 and in 1972 was appointed

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

and thus sat on the Legislative Council ex officio. In 1974 he was made Second Deemster before being promoted to First Deemster,

Clerk of the Rolls The Clerk of the Rolls ( gv, Cleragh ny Lioaryn) is a judge and Head of the Judiciary in the Isle of Man. This position was formerly distinct from that of the Deemsters but now the Clerk of the Rolls is held jointly with the office of First D ...

and Deputy Governor in 1980. He was the first First Deemster not to have an ''ex officio'' seat in the LegCo, the right having been removed by an

Act of Tynwald An Act of Tynwald is a statute passed by Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man. Structure Acts of Tynwald are structured in a similar format to Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Commencement Originally, each Act began with t ...

in 1980. He retired as Deemster in 1988 but was elected by the

House of Keys The House of Keys () is the directly elected lower house of Tynwald, the parliament of the Isle of Man, the other branch being the Legislative Council. History The oldest known reference to the name is in a document of 1417, written in ...

to sit on the Legislative Council, which he did for 10 years before retiring in 1998. He was appointed CBE in the

1988 Birthday Honours Queen's Birthday Honours are announced on or around the date of the Queen's Official Birthday in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The dates vary, both from year to year and from country to country. All are published in supple ...

References

1915 births 2009 deaths Manx judges Manx politicians Commanders of the Order of the British Empire {{IsleofMan-bio-stub