Leonard James King (1 May 1925 – 23 June 2011) was an Australian politician, lawyer and judge.

Early life

King matriculated from St Joseph's Memorial School at age 14, then worked at

Shell Company A shell corporation is a company or corporation with no significant assets or operations often formed to obtain financing before beginning business. Shell companies were primarily vehicles for lawfully hiding the identity of their beneficial ...

as a clerk. He served in the

Royal Australian Air Force The Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) is the principal Air force, aerial warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Australian Army. Constitutionally the Governor-Gener ...

in Australia and

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and used the

Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme Commonwealth Reconstruction Training Scheme (CRTS) was an Australian government scheme started during World War A world war is an international War, conflict that involves most or all of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is rese ...

to commence study for his law degree.

Legal career

King was admitted to practice as a barrister and solicitor in December 1950, and appointed

Queen's Counsel A King's Counsel (Post-nominal letters, post-nominal initials KC) is a senior lawyer appointed by the monarch (or their Viceroy, viceregal representative) of some Commonwealth realms as a "Counsel learned in the law". When the reigning monarc ...

in 1967.

Political career

King was a Labor Party member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

from 1970 to 1975, representing the eastern suburbs

electoral district of Coles Coles was an South Australian House of Assembly electoral districts, electoral district of the South Australian House of Assembly, House of Assembly in the Australian state of South Australia from 1970 to 2002. The district was based in the easte ...

. He was appointed to various ministerial portfolios during his career, including Aboriginal Affairs, Social Welfare, Community Welfare, and Prices & Consumer Affairs. In late 20th century South Australian history, he is one of the few newly elected members of Parliament that have been appointed straight to a Cabinet position without any previous parliamentary experience. He was the 40th

Attorney-General of South Australia The attorney-general of South Australia is the Cabinet minister in the Government of South Australia who is responsible for that state's system of law and justice. The attorney-general must be a qualified legal practitioner, although this wa ...

during the reformist

Don Dunstan Donald Allan Dunstan (21 September 1926 – 6 February 1999) was an Australian politician who served as the 35th premier of South Australia from 1967 to 1968, and again from 1970 to 1979. He was a member of the House of Assembly (MHA) for th ...

government, from 1970 until 1975.

Judicial career

King was a

puisne justice Puisne judge and puisne justice () are terms for an ordinary judge or a judge of lesser rank of a particular court. The term comes from a combination of the two French words, (since, later) and (born) which have been combined as or ; meaning ...

of the

Supreme Court of South Australia The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court of the Australian state of South Australia. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court hierarchy. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in ...

from 20 June 1975 until his promotion to Chief Justice on 30 October 1978. He retired on 28 April 1995. King worked until his death as a part-time mediator and sometimes as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court of South Australia.

Recognition

King was appointed a

Companion of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

(AC) in the 1987 Queen's Birthday Honours "For service to the South Australian Parliament, Government and to the law."1987 Queen's Birthday Honours
archived from www.gg.gov.au

Legacy

The South Australian Electoral district of King was created before the 2018 state election and named after Len King. It covers the northern foothills of the

Mount Lofty Ranges The Mount Lofty Ranges are a range of mountains in the Australian state of South Australia which for a small part of its length borders the east of Adelaide. The part of the range in the vicinity of Adelaide is called the Adelaide Hills and d ...

including Bibaringa, Yattalunga, Uleybury, One Tree Hill,

Gould Creek Gould Creek is an outer northeastern rural suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. Gould Creek is located in the City of Tea Tree Gully and City of Playford local government areas, and is adjacent to Greenwith, South Australia, Greenwith, Salisbur ...

, Hillbank, Salisbury Park, Salisbury Heights, Greenwith, Golden Grove and part of

Salisbury East Salisbury East ( ) is a suburb of Adelaide, South Australia, located 20 kilometres north of the Adelaide CBD. The residential part of the suburb is in the local government area (LGA) of the City of Salisbury, however the eastern part of the Cob ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Len 1925 births 2011 deaths Australian King's Counsel Chief justices of South Australia Companions of the Order of Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Adelaide Law School alumni Attorneys-general of South Australia Judges of the Supreme Court of South Australia 20th-century Australian judges Royal Australian Air Force personnel of World War II Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia