Christopher Patrick Shanahan (born 18 September 1960) is the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania, an office he assumed on 20 January 2025, his appointment as chief justice and as lieutenant-Governor of Tasmania having been announced on 2 December 2024. Before his appointment, his Honour was a Senior Counsel in the State of Western Australia, who accepted briefs primarily in the areas of superior court appeals, equity and administrative law.

Early life and education

He was educated at

Aquinas College, Perth Aquinas College, informally known as Aquinas or AC, is an Independent school, independent Roman Catholicism in Australia, Roman Catholic Single-sex education, single-sex Primary school, primary and Secondary school, secondary Day school, day a ...

University of Western Australia University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Crawley, Western Australia, Crawley, a suburb in the City of Perth local government area. UW ...

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

and the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

. He completed his articles with Jackson MacDonald in 1983. He was admitted to practice in Western Australia in 1984, New South Wales in 1989 and the

High Court of Australia The High Court of Australia is the apex court of the Australian legal system. It exercises original and appellate jurisdiction on matters specified in the Constitution of Australia and supplementary legislation. The High Court was establi ...

in 1990.

Career

From 1990-91 he was a Senior Officer to the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. During 1993, he joined the Western Australian Bar Association and continued to work as a barrister. He was responsible for the development of the Bar Readers' Course, which was presented in 2004 by the Western Australian Bar Association. During his career at the Bar, his Honour taught at

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

in Sydney, lectured at

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

in Perth and in Ethics and Professional Responsibility with the

Law Society of Western Australia Law is a set of rules that are created and are law enforcement, enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a Socia ...

. In 2004, he was appointed Senior Counsel in the State of Western Australia. During 2005, he was appointed acting commissioner of the Corruption and Crime Commission in Western Australia. On 2 December 2024, it was announced that Mr Shanahan would be appointed to the role of Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Tasmania and he was sworn in to that office, and as lieutenant-governor of Tasmania, on 20 January 2025.

External links

Acting-CCC Profile - Christopher Shanahan

Supreme Court of Western Australia Media Release

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shanahan, Christopher 1960 births Living people Australian Senior Counsel People educated at Aquinas College, Perth University of New South Wales alumni