Maurice Heenan (8 October 1912 – 26 September 2000) was a New Zealand-born barrister and solicitor, who served as

Attorney General of Hong Kong The secretary for justice () is the head of the Hong Kong Department of Justice, the chief legal advisor to the chief executive of Hong Kong and the government, and the chief law enforcement officer of the Government of Hong Kong. Before th ...

and as a senior lawyer for the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

Early life

Born to David Donnoghue Heenan (died 1942), and Ann Heenan (née Frame; died 1976), Heenan attended Ashburton High School and then the Canterbury College, University of New Zealand, earning an LLB. Heenan was a barrister and solicitor of the

Supreme Court of New Zealand The Supreme Court of New Zealand () is the highest court and the court of last resort of New Zealand. It formally came into being on 1 January 2004 and sat for the first time on 1 July 2004. It replaced the right of appeal to the Judicial Co ...

from 1937 through 1939. From 1940 to 1946 he was a major in the 2nd NZEF and saw active service in the Western Desert,

Libya Libya, officially the State of Libya, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to Egypt–Libya border, the east, Sudan to Libya–Sudan border, the southeast, Chad to Chad–L ...

Cyrenaica Cyrenaica ( ) or Kyrenaika (, , after the city of Cyrene), is the eastern region of Libya. Cyrenaica includes all of the eastern part of Libya between the 16th and 25th meridians east, including the Kufra District. The coastal region, als ...

and

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and was mentioned in dispatches.Who's Who 2001 In 1944, he was selected to attend

Staff College, Camberley Staff College, Camberley, Surrey, was a staff college for the British Army and the presidency armies of British India (later merged to form the Indian Army). It had its origins in the Royal Military College, High Wycombe, founded in 1799, which ...

in the UK where he was awarded the Staff College Award. It was in London that he met his future wife, Claire Gabriela Stephanie (née Ciho), daughter of Emil Ciho (died 1975) and Irene (née Rotbauer; died 1950) of Trenčín, Bratislava, Czechoslovakia. Claire Ciho, who was attending a summer course for foreign students at Oxford, was one of the first students permitted by the Czechoslovakian government to attend a foreign college after the war. . The couple wed in 1951; they had two daughters.

Overseas legal career

In 1946, Heenan was appointed to British Overseas Civil Service and was

Crown Counsel Crown counsel are lawyers, generally in Common Law jurisdictions, who provide advice to the government and acts as prosecutors in cases. In various jurisdictions their title can vary and they could also be known as the Queen's Advocate, King's Adv ...

for the Palestine Mandate in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

until 1948. He was transferred to

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

in 1948 and in 1952 was appointed Senior

. He acted as

Solicitor General of Hong Kong The Solicitor General of Hong Kong is head of the Legal Policy Division of the Department of Justice (Hong Kong), Department of Justice () in Hong Kong. He (to date no woman has held the post) is responsible for the development of legal policy ...

and

at various times. In 1961 he was appointed, first

and then, two months later,

. He served as

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...

until 1966. He was 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 1962 while serving as Attorney General. In 1966, he became the Deputy Director of the General Legal Division (

United Nations Office of Legal Affairs The United Nations Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) is a United Nations office currently administered by Under-Secretary-General for Legal Affairs and Legal Counsel of the United Nations Elinor Hammarskjöld. History Established in 1946, the Uni ...

), Offices of the Secretary General,

. On his departure from Hong Kong Michael Gass, the Acting Governor, thanked Heenan for his service at the last meeting of the Legislative Council he attended. Heenan served as Deputy Director of the General Legal Division until 1973, when he was named General Counsel for the

United Nations Relief and Works Agency United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

(UNRWA) for Palestinian Refugees in

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, Lebanon.

Awards

In 1966 he was inducted into the Order of St. Michael and St. George (CMG) at

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

in London.

Clubs and recreations

In Hong Kong, he was a member of the Hong Kong Club, the Hong Kong Cricket Club and Hong Kong Lawn Tennis Association. He was also a voting member of the

Hong Kong Jockey Club The Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) was founded in 1884 and is one of the oldest institutions in Hong Kong. In 1960, it was granted a royal charter and renamed The Royal Hong Kong Jockey Club (). The institution reverted to its original name in 19 ...

. He was a member of the Country Club of New Canaan in America. His recreations included rugby, tennis, squash, skiing and golf.

Last years and death

In 1977, he retired to his home in

New Canaan, Connecticut New Canaan () is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 20,622 according to the 2020 census. The town is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region. About an hour from New York City by train, the town ...

. He died in 2000, aged 87, and was survived by his wife, two daughters and several grandchildren.New York Times Obituary, 8 October 2000 (paid notice).

References

Sources

* ''Debrett's Distinguished People of Today''; edited by David Williamson & Patricia Ellis. Debrett's Peerage Ltd.: 1988, p. 497 * ''Who's Who U.K.–An Annual Biographical Dictionary'' published annually since 1849. A & C Black: London, England, 2000, p. 928
''Encyclopedia of New Zealand 1966''
site visited 2 August 2009. *
Who is Who in the United Nations and Related Agencies
'. Arno Press/A New York Times Company: New York, U.S., 1975, p. 247; site visited 2 August 2009 * ''Debrett's Handbook'' (eds Suzanne Duke, Dawn Henderson, Antonia Gaisford-St. Lawrence), Debrett's Peerage Ltd.: London, England, 1984, p. 904 {{DEFAULTSORT:Heenan, Maurice 1912 births 2000 deaths People from Wyndham, New Zealand People educated at Ashburton College University of Canterbury alumni New Zealand Army personnel New Zealand military personnel of World War II Graduates of the Staff College, Camberley 20th-century New Zealand lawyers British officials of the United Nations New Zealand officials of the United Nations New Zealand emigrants to the United States Hong Kong civil servants Solicitors general of Hong Kong Attorneys general of Hong Kong Hong Kong Queen's Counsel New Zealand Companions of the Order of St Michael and St George