Gerard Brennan

Sir Francis Gerard Brennan, AC, KBE, QC , is an Australian lawyer and jurist who served as the 10th Chief Justice of Australia, appointed by Prime Minister Paul Keating in 1995. Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser appointed Brennan to the Court in 1981. He has been described as the ideal judicial statesman possessing an acute sense of fairness both within and outside the courtroom, a passion for justice under the rule of law, integrity, strong commitment to duty and public service, and great modesty. He is the father of prominent Jesuit priest and human rights lawyer, Frank Brennan.

Brennan was born in Rockhampton, Queensland, the grandson of an Irish immigrant, and the son of Frank Tenison Brennan and Gertrude Marty Brennan. He grew up in what he later described as a loving Catholic household, attending the Range Convent School, St Josephs Christian Brothers College in Rockhampton, and Downlands College in Toowoomba. Brennan excelled at school, passing his exams so early that he was deemed too young to go to university . After waiting a year, Brennan enrolled in a combined degree, Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at the University of Queensland. While at university, Brennan was active in student politics and was elected President of the National Union of Students in 1949.

Source: Wikipedia