H. V. Evatt

The Right Honourable Dr Herbert Evatt QC KStJ
Evatt in 1948
Justice of the High Court of Australia
In office 19 December 1930 – 2 September 1940
Nominated by	James Scullin
Preceded by	Sir Charles Powers
Succeeded by	Sir Dudley Williams
Chief Justice of New South Wales
In office 15 February 1960 – 24 October 1962
Preceded by	Sir Kenneth Street
Succeeded by	Sir Leslie Herron
Leader of the Opposition
In office 20 June 1951 – 9 February 1960
Prime Minister	Robert Menzies
Deputy	Arthur Calwell
Preceded by	Ben Chifley
Succeeded by	Arthur Calwell
Leader of the Labor Party
In office 20 June 1951 – 9 February 1960
Deputy	Arthur Calwell
Preceded by	Ben Chifley
Succeeded by	Arthur Calwell
Deputy Leader of the Labor Party
In office 31 October 1946 – 20 June 1951
Leader	Ben Chifley
Preceded by	Frank Forde
Succeeded by	Arthur Calwell
Attorney-General for Australia
In office 7 October 1941 – 19 December 1949
Prime Minister	John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley
Preceded by	Billy Hughes
Succeeded by	John Spicer
Minister for External Affairs
In office 7 October 1941 – 19 December 1949
Prime Minister	John Curtin Frank Forde Ben Chifley
Preceded by	Sir Frederick Stewart
Succeeded by	Percy Spender
President of the United Nations General Assembly
In office 1948–1949
Preceded by	José Arce
Succeeded by	Carlos P. Romulo
Member of the Australian Parliament for Barton
In office 21 September 1940 – 22 November 1958
Preceded by	Albert Lane
Succeeded by	Len Reynolds
Member of the Australian Parliament for Hunter
In office 22 November 1958 – 10 February 1960
Preceded by	Rowley James
Succeeded by	Bert James
Personal details
Born	Herbert Vere Evatt (1894-04-30)30 April 1894 East Maitland, Colony of New South Wales, British Empire
Died	2 November 1965(1965-11-02) (aged 71) Forrest, Australian Capital Territory, Australia
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Mary Sheffer ​ (m. 1920)​
Relations	Clive Evatt (brother) Elizabeth Evatt (niece) Penelope Seidler (niece) Sir George Evatt (uncle)
Children	2
Education	Fort Street Model School
Alma mater	University of Sydney
Occupation	Lawyer Academic Politician Judge

Herbert Vere Evatt, QC, PC, KStJ (30 April 1894 – 2 November 1965) was an Australian politician and judge. He served as a justice of the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1940, Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs from 1941 to 1949, and leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and Leader of the Opposition from 1951 to 1960. Evatt is considered one of Australia's most prominent public intellectuals of the twentieth century.^[1]

Evatt was born in East Maitland, New South Wales, and grew up on Sydney's North Shore. He studied law at the University of Sydney, attaining the degree of Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) in 1924. After a period in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly (1925–1930), Evatt was appointed to the High Court in 1930 by the Scullin government. He was 36 years old, and remains the youngest appointee in the court's history. He was considered an innovative judge, but left the court to seek election to federal parliament at the 1940 federal election.

In 1941, the ALP returned to government under Prime Minister John Curtin. Evatt was appointed Attorney-General and Minister for External Affairs, positions he held under Curtin and Ben Chifley until the government's defeat at the 1949 federal election. He served as President of the United Nations General Assembly from 1948 to 1949, and helped to draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. After Chifley's death in 1951, Evatt was elected as his successor as ALP leader. Internal tensions over the party's attitude to communism during the Cold War culminated in a party split in 1955. The ALP was defeated at three consecutive federal elections under Evatt's leadership, in 1954, 1955 and 1958. He faced three leadership spills before being convinced to retire from politics in 1960 and accept the post of Chief Justice of New South Wales.