Michael Hargreaves Whitten is an Australian jurist who served as Lord Chief Justice of

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

from September 2019 to September 2023. Whitten grew up in

Mackay, Queensland } Mackay () is a city in the Mackay Region on the eastern or Coral Sea coast of Queensland, Australia. It is located about north of Brisbane, on the Pioneer River. Mackay is described as being in either Central Queensland or North Queensland ...

and is the son of a butcher and a boiler marker. He worked as a public defender in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ; ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and largest city of the States and territories of Australia, state of Queensland and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia, with a ...

from 1986–88, and then as a clerk for a Queensland District Court judge from 1988 - 1989. In 1990 he was admitted to the Queensland bar, and practiced criminal and family law. He moved to

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

in 1996, where he practiced civil and commercial law. In 2015 he was appointed a

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 July 2019 he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Tonga as Lord Chief Justice, replacing Owen Paulsen. His term as Chief Justice began on 2 September 2019. As Chief Justice he presided over the appeal of former Prime Minister

Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō Siale ʻAtaongo Kaho, Lord Tuʻivakanō (born 15 January 1952) is a Tongans, Tongan politician who served as the Prime Minister of Tonga, prime minister of Tonga from 2010 to 2014. Descent and naming Tuʻivakanō was born in Niutoua on Tongata ...

against his bribery, money laundering and firearms convictions, and over the electoral petition which saw cabinet minister

Sione Sangster Saulala Sione Sangster Saulala (born 9 April 1974" ...

lose his seat following the

2021 Tongan general election General elections were held in Tonga on 18 November 2021 to elect 17 of the 26 seats in the Legislative Assembly. Following the elections, four MPs were unseated for bribery. Background The 2017 general election resulted in a landslide vict ...

. In 2020 his home in Tonga was destroyed by

Cyclone Harold Severe Tropical Cyclone Harold was a very powerful tropical cyclone which caused widespread destruction in the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, and Tonga during April 2020. It was the first Tropical cyclone scales#Australia and Fiji, Category 5 ...

. He retired as chief justice in September 2023.

References

Living people People from Mackay, Queensland Australian King's Counsel Supreme Court of Tonga justices Chief justices of Tonga Year of birth missing (living people) {{Australia-law-bio-stub