Sir Ronald Ormiston Sinclair,

KBE KBE may refer to: * Knight Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, post-nominal letters * Knowledge-based engineering Knowledge-based engineering (KBE) is the application of knowledge-based systems technology to the domain o ...

, (2 May 1903 – 18 November 1996) was a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

lawyer and judge who served in the

British Colonial Service The Colonial Service, also known as His/Her Majesty's Colonial Service and replaced in 1954 by Her Majesty's Overseas Civil Service (HMOCS), was the British government service that administered most of Britain's overseas possessions, under the aut ...

Biography

Sinclair was born in 1903. Sources differ whether the place of birth was

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

Dunedin Dunedin ( ; ) is the second-most populous city in the South Island of New Zealand (after Christchurch), and the principal city of the Otago region. Its name comes from ("fort of Edin"), the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, the capital of S ...

. His father was the Reverend William Sinclair, who had emigrated to New Zealand from

Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...

in 1855. His mother was Rosa Elizabeth Nicolls (). Sinclair was educated at Elmwood and Gloucester Street primary schools in

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

, followed by

Christchurch Boys' High School Christchurch Boys' High School, often referred to as CBHS, is a single sex state secondary school in Christchurch, New Zealand. It is situated on a site between the suburbs of Riccarton, New Zealand, Riccarton and Fendalton, to the west of ce ...

. He continued his secondary education at

New Plymouth Boys' High School New Plymouth Boys' High School is a single-sex boys' state secondary school in New Plymouth, Taranaki, New Zealand. The school currently caters for approximately 1300 students, including 210 boarders, on its site. The school often collaborat ...

. He received his tertiary education at the

University of Auckland The University of Auckland (; Māori: ''Waipapa Taumata Rau'') is a public research university based in Auckland, New Zealand. The institution was established in 1883 as a constituent college of the University of New Zealand. Initially loc ...

before moving to Britain to study at

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and aro ...

.East Africa and Rhodesia, volume=34, Africana., 1957 On graduation, he returned to New Zealand and was called to the New Zealand Bar in 1924. He entered the Colonial Service in 1931 and worked as a

Magistrate The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judi ...

in Nigeria until 1938.Who's who of Rhodesia, Mauritius, Central and East Africa: Supplement to the Who's who of Southern Africa, Combined Publishers., 1962 He then moved to

Northern Rhodesia Northern Rhodesia was a British protectorate in Southern Africa, now the independent country of Zambia. It was formed in 1911 by Amalgamation (politics), amalgamating the two earlier protectorates of Barotziland-North-Western Rhodesia and North ...

where he was appointed Resident Magistrate. He was called to the Bar in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

by the

Middle Temple The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known simply as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court entitled to Call to the bar, call their members to the English Bar as barristers, the others being the Inner Temple (with whi ...

in 1939. In 1946, he was promoted to a

Puisne Judge 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 ...

in Tanganyika and remained in the post until 1953 when he was again advanced, this time to Chief Justice of

Nyasaland Nyasaland () was a British protectorate in Africa that was established in 1907 when the former British Central Africa Protectorate changed its name. Between 1953 and 1963, Nyasaland was part of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. After ...

. Sinclair became Vice-President of the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa in 1956 and that same year was knighted in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

. He assumed the office of

Chief Justice of Kenya The chief justice of Kenya is a public office in the Republic of Kenya established under Article 161 of the country's Constitution as the head of the Judiciary of Kenya. Under Article 163, the chief justice also serves as the president of the S ...

in 1957 and remained in office until 1963 when he became President of the Court of Appeal for Eastern Africa and later

President of the Court of Appeal of The Bahamas The President of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas heads the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas. Legal basis The position of President of the Court of Appeal is authorised by Article 98(2)(a) of the Constitution of the Bahamas. Under Article 98(2)(b ...

.The Nairobi Law Monthly, Kaibi Limited, 1989 He was appointed KBE in 1963. He retired from service in 1964 and died in New Zealand on 18 November 1996. He was buried at Purewa Cemetery in the Auckland suburb of Meadowbank. His son Anthony Ronald Entrican Sinclair is a noted biologist.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Ronald 1903 births 1996 deaths 20th-century New Zealand lawyers Chief justices of Kenya People educated at New Plymouth Boys' High School Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford University of Auckland alumni New Zealand Knights Bachelor New Zealand people of English descent East African Court of Appeal judges Burials at Purewa Cemetery People educated at Christchurch Boys' High School New Zealand Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire