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 was not always the case.

The attorney-general oversees the Attorney-General's Department. The current attorney-general since March 2022 is Kyam Maher , a member of the South Australian Labor Party.

List of advocates-general of South Australia (1837 to 1851) With the establishment of the province of South Australia, the colony's first First Law Officer Charles Mann was appointed Advocate-General, Crown Solicitor and Public Prosecutor. The appointment as Advocate-General bestowed the office holder with membership of the Council in Government. With the arrival of self government in 1857, the position of Advocate-General became that of Attorney-General.

Advocate-GeneralTime in office Charles Mann'Mann, Charles (1799 - 1860)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, MUP, 1967, pp 201-202. Retrieved on 3 September 2015; Castles, A and Harris, M, Lawmakers and Wayward Whigs (Wakefield Press, 1987) 1837–38'Advertising' South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register (Adelaide, SA : 1836 - 1839) 3 June 1837: 1 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31749645 George Milner Stephen'Stephen, George Milner (1812 - 1894)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume ?, MUP, 1967, pp ??-??. Retrieved on 28 August 2014; Castles, A and Harris, M, Lawmakers and Wayward Whigs (Wakefield Press, 1987); 1838'MR. GEORGE STEPHEN' South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register (Adelaide, SA : 1836 - 1839) 17 Feb 1838: 3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31749808 Robert Bernard 1838–40'Advertising' South Australian Gazette and Colonial Register (Adelaide, SA : 1836 - 1839) 14 Jul 1838: 1 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article31750009 William Smillie 1840–52'OFFICIAL CHANGES & APPOINTMENTS' Adelaide Chronicle and South Australian Advertiser (SA : 1839 - 1840) 31 Mar 1840: 2 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195859739 William Bartley (Acting) 1849–50'ERRATA IN "OBSERVER'S" LETTER' South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) 6 Jan 1849: 3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article50246699 Charles Mann (Acting)'Mann, Charles (1799 - 1860)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 2, MUP, 1967, pp 201-202. Retrieved on 3 September 2015; Castles, A and Harris, M, Lawmakers and Wayward Whigs (Wakefield Press, 1987) 1850–51'OFFICIAL APPOINTMENTS' South Australian Gazette and Mining Journal (Adelaide, SA : 1847 - 1852) 5 Jan 1850: 3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article195939144 Richard Davies Hanson 'Hanson, Richard Davies (1805 - 1876)', Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume ?, MUP, 1967, pp ??-??. Retrieved on 3 September 2015 1851–57Hanson originally acted in the role until Smillie's death in December 1852 whereupon he was appointed the provinces last Advocate-General. In 1857, Hanson became South Australia's first Attorney-General upon the province achieving the right of responsible government. 'THE GOVERNMENT GAZETTE' South Australian Register (Adelaide, SA : 1839 - 1900) 18 Jul 1851: 3 http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article38449569; Ralph M Hague, History of the Law in South Australia 1837-1867 (University of Adelaide Barr Smith Press 2005), 719

List of attorneys-general of South Australia Ordinal Attorney-General Party Term start Term end Time in office Richard Hanson 24 October 1856 21 August 1857 Edward Castres Gwynne 21 August 1857 1 September 1857 Richard Bullock Andrews 1 September 1857 30 September 1857 Richard Hanson 30 September 1857 9 May 1860 Henry Strangways 9 May 1860 20 May 1861 Randolph Isham Stow 20 May 1861 8 October 1861 Henry Gawler 8 October 1861 17 October 1861 Randolph Isham Stow 17 October 1861 4 July 1863 Richard Bullock Andrews 4 July 1863 22 July 1864 Randolph Isham Stow 22 July 1864 22 March 1865 Richard Bullock Andrews 22 March 1865 23 October 1865 7 James Boucaut 23 October 1865 3 May 1867 Richard Bullock Andrews 3 May 1867 24 September 1868 8 John Tuthill Bagot 24 September 1868 13 October 1868 Richard Bullock Andrews 13 October 1868 3 Nov 1868 Henry Strangways 3 Nov 1868 30 May 1870 9 Richard Baker 30 May 1870 21 July 1871 10 Charles Mann 21 July 1871 22 January 1872 James Boucaut 22 January 1872 4 March 1872 11 George Stevenson 4 March 1872 22 July 1873 Charles Mann 22 July 1873 3 June 1875 12 Samuel Way 3 June 1875 23 March 1876 Henry Gawler 23 March 1876 25 March 1876 Charles Mann 25 March 1876 6 June 1876 13 John Cox Bray 6 June 1876 26 October 1877 Charles Mann 26 October 1877 27 September 1878 14 William Bundey 27 September 1878 10 March 1881 15 Josiah Symon 10 March 1881 24 June 1881 16 John Downer 24 June 1881 16 June 1884 17 Charles Kingston 16 June 1884 16 June 1885 John Downer 16 June 1885 11 June 1887 Charles Kingston 11 June 1887 27 June 1889 18 Beaumont Moulden 27 June 1889 19 March 1890 19 Frederick Turner 31 March 1890 2 May 1890 20 Henry Downer 2 May 1890 19 August 1890 21 Robert Homburg 19 August 1890 21 June 1892 22 William Stock 21 June 1892 15 October 1892 Robert Homburg 15 October 1892 16 June 1893 Charles Kingston 16 June 1893 1 December 1899 23 Paddy Glynn 1 December 1899 8 December 1899 24 John Hannah Gordon 8 December 1899 2 December 1903 25 Louis von Doussa 2 December 1903 4 July 1904 Robert Homburg 4 July 1904 24 February 1905 26 James R. AndersonThough not a legislator, Anderson was chosen by premier Butler for the position, as allowed for in the Constitution, being under six months duration. 1 March 1905 26 July 1905 27 Archibald Peake Liberal and Democratic Union (LDU) 26 July 1905 5 June 1909 28 Samuel Mitchell LDU 5 June 1909 22 December 1909 29 Hermann Homburg LDU 22 December 1909 3 June 1910 30 Bill Denny United Labor 3 June 1910 17 February 1912 Hermann Homburg Liberal Union 17 February 1912 21 January 1915 31 Herbert Angas Parsons Liberal Union 21 January 1915 3 April 1915 32 John Vaughan United Labor/Nationals 3 April 1915 14 July 1917 33 Henry Barwell Liberal Union 14 July 1917 27 August 1917 Archibald Peake Liberal Union 27 August 1917 29 April 1918 Henry Barwell Liberal Union 29 April 1918 16 April 1924 Bill Denny Labor 16 April 1924 8 April 1927 Hermann Homburg Liberal Federation 8 April 1927 17 April 1930 Bill Denny Labor 17 April 1930 18 April 1933 34 Shirley Jeffries Liberal and Country League (LCL) 18 April 1933 6 May 1944 35 Charles Abbott LCL 15 May 1944 17 April 1946 36 Reginald Rudall LCL 17 April 1946 1 January 1955 37 Thomas Playford IV LCL 6 January 1955 6 April 1955 38 Colin Rowe LCL 6 April 1955 10 March 1965 39 Don Dunstan Labor 10 March 1965 16 April 1968 40 Robin Millhouse LCL 17 April 1968 1 June 1970 41 Len King Labor 2 June 1970 20 June 1975 Don Dunstan Labor 20 June 1975 9 October 1975 42 Peter Duncan Labor 9 October 1975 15 March 1979 43 Don Banfield Labor 15 March 1979 1 May 1979 44 Chris Sumner Labor 1 May 1979 18 September 1979 45 Trevor Griffin Liberal 18 September 1979 10 November 1982 Chris Sumner Labor 10 November 1982 14 December 1993 Trevor Griffin Liberal 14 December 1993 4 December 2001 46 Robert Lawson Liberal 4 December 2001 5 March 2002 47 Michael Atkinson Labor 5 March 2002 30 June 2003 48 Paul Holloway Labor 30 June 2003 29 August 2003 Michael Atkinson Labor 29 August 2003 25 March 2010 49 John Rau Labor 25 March 2010 19 March 2018 50 Vickie Chapman [1st female] Liberal 19 March 2018 21 March 2022 51 Kyam Maher Labor 24 March 2022 incumbent

See also

Justice ministry Government of South Australia

References

Statistical Record of the Legislature 1836 – 2007 List of Australian Attorneys-General (Australian Parliamentary Library) Former Members of the Parliament of South Australia (Parliament of South Australia)