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|image = LCJW Court of Appeal.jpg
|image = LCJW Court of Appeal.jpg
|caption = Whitten sitting in the [[Court of Appeal of Tonga]].
|caption = Whitten sitting in the [[Court of Appeal of Tonga]].
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”’Michael Hargreaves Whitten”’ is an Australian jurist who served as Lord Chief Justice of [[Tonga]] from September 2019 to September 2023.
”’Michael Hargreaves Whitten”’ is an Australian jurist who served as Lord Chief Justice of [[Tonga]] from September 2019 to September 2023.
Whitten grew up in [[Mackay, Queensland]] and is the son of a butcher and a boiler marker.<ref name=DM2019a>{{cite news |title=Lawyer’s new royal duties; King taps Mackay man on shoulder |work=Daily Mercury |page=4 |author=Zizi Averill |date=30 July 2019 |via=GaleOneFile}}</ref> He worked as a public defender in [[Brisbane]] from 1986–88, and then as a clerk for a Queensland District Court judge from 1988 – 1989.<ref name=VBBio>{{cite web |url=https://www.vicbar.com.au/news-events/appointment-michael-whitten-qc |title=Appointment – Michael Whitten QC |publisher=Victorian Bar |date= |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> In 1990 he was admitted to the Queensland bar, and practiced criminal and family law.<ref name=VBBio/> He moved to [[Melbourne]] in 1996, where he practiced civil and commercial law.<ref name=VBBio/> In 2015 he was appointed a [[Queen’s Counsel]].<ref name=VBBio/>
Whitten grew up in [[Mackay, Queensland]] and is the son of a butcher and a boiler marker.<ref name=DM2019a>{{cite news |title=Lawyer’s new royal duties; King taps Mackay man on shoulder |work=Daily Mercury |page=4 |author=Zizi Averill |date=30 July 2019 |via=GaleOneFile}}</ref> He worked as a public defender in [[Brisbane]] from 1986–88, and then as a clerk for a Queensland District Court judge from 1988 – 1989.<ref name=VBBio>{{cite web |url=https://www.vicbar.com.au/news-events/appointment-michael-whitten-qc |title=Appointment – Michael Whitten QC |publisher=Victorian Bar |date= |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> In 1990 he was admitted to the Queensland bar, and practiced criminal and family law.<ref name=VBBio/> He moved to [[Melbourne]] in 1996, where he practiced civil and commercial law.<ref name=VBBio/> In 2015 he was appointed a [[Queen’s Counsel]].<ref name=VBBio/>
In July 2019 he was appointed to the [[Supreme Court of Tonga]] as Lord Chief Justice, replacing [[Owen Paulsen]].<ref name=VBBio/><ref name=KT2019>{{cite web |url=https://www.kanivatonga.nz/2019/07/new-chief-justice-named-as-justice-michael-hargreaves-whitten/ |title=New Chief Justice named as Justice Michael Hargreaves Whitten |publisher=Kaniva Tonga |date=30 July 2019 |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> His term as Chief Justice began on 2 September 2019.<ref name=KT2019/>
In July 2019 he was appointed to the [[Supreme Court of Tonga]] as Lord Chief Justice, replacing [[Owen Paulsen]].<ref name=VBBio/><ref name=KT2019>{{cite web |url=https://www.kanivatonga.nz/2019/07/new-chief-justice-named-as-justice-michael-hargreaves-whitten/ |title=New Chief Justice named as Justice Michael Hargreaves Whitten |publisher=Kaniva Tonga |date=30 July 2019 |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> His term as Chief Justice began on 2 September 2019.<ref name=KT2019/>
As Chief Justice he presided over the appeal of former Prime Minister [[Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō]] against his bribery, money laundering and firearms convictions,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/401980/former-tonga-pm-fails-in-appeal-bid |title=Former Tonga PM fails in appeal bid |publisher=[[RNZ]] |date=29 October 2019 |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> and over the electoral petition which saw cabinet minister [[Sione Sangster Saulala]] lose his seat following the [[2021 Tongan general election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kanivatonga.nz/2022/05/saulala-commits-bribery-court-says-another-tongan-mp-loses-seat-in-election-petitions/ |title=Saulala ‘commits bribery’, court says : another Tongan MP loses seat in election petitions |publisher=Kaniva Tonga |date=2 May 2022 |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://matangitonga.to/2022/05/02/court-finds-sangstar-saulala-committed-bribery-tongatapu-no-7-pr-election-void |title=Court finds Sangster Saulala committed bribery, Tongatapu no. 7 PR election void |publisher=Matangi Tonga |date=2 May 2022 |access-date=2 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502054915/https://matangitonga.to/2022/05/02/court-finds-sangstar-saulala-committed-bribery-tongatapu-no-7-pr-election-void |archive-date=2 May 2022}}</ref>
As Chief Justice he presided over the appeal of former Prime Minister [[Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō]] against his bribery, money laundering and firearms convictions,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/international/pacific-news/401980/former-tonga-pm-fails-in-appeal-bid |title=Former Tonga PM fails in appeal bid |publisher=[[RNZ]] |date=29 October 2019 |access-date=31 July 2022}}</ref> and over the electoral petition which saw cabinet minister [[Sione Sangster Saulala]] lose his seat following the [[2021 Tongan general election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.kanivatonga.nz/2022/05/saulala-commits-bribery-court-says-another-tongan-mp-loses-seat-in-election-petitions/ |title=Saulala ‘commits bribery’, court says : another Tongan MP loses seat in election petitions |publisher=Kaniva Tonga |date=2 May 2022 |access-date=2 May 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://matangitonga.to/2022/05/02/court-finds-sangstar-saulala-committed-bribery-tongatapu-no-7-pr-election-void |title=Court finds Sangster Saulala committed bribery, Tongatapu no. 7 PR election void |publisher=Matangi Tonga |date=2 May 2022 |access-date=2 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220502054915/https://matangitonga.to/2022/05/02/court-finds-sangstar-saulala-committed-bribery-tongatapu-no-7-pr-election-void |archive-date=2 May 2022}}</ref>
In 2020 his home in Tonga was destroyed by [[Cyclone Harold]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Son’s home hit by wave. |work=Daily Mercury |page=5 |date=13 April 2020 |author=Zizi Averill |via=GaleOneFile}}</ref>
In 2020 his home in Tonga was destroyed by [[Cyclone Harold]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Son’s home hit by wave. |work=Daily Mercury |page=5 |date=13 April 2020 |author=Zizi Averill |via=GaleOneFile}}</ref>
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitten, Michael Hargreaves}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Whitten, Michael Hargreaves}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Australian judges on the courts of Tonga]]
[[Category:People from Mackay, Queensland]]
[[Category:People from Mackay, Queensland]]
[[Category:Australian King’s Counsel]]
[[Category:Australian King’s Counsel]]
Australian jurist
Michael Hargreaves Whitten, KC is an Australian jurist who served as Lord Chief Justice of Tonga from September 2019 to September 2023.
Whitten grew up in Mackay, Queensland and is the son of a butcher and a boiler marker.[1] He worked as a public defender in Brisbane from 1986–88, and then as a clerk for a Queensland District Court judge from 1988 – 1989.[2] In 1990 he was admitted to the Queensland bar, and practiced criminal and family law.[2] He moved to Melbourne in 1996, where he practiced civil and commercial law.[2] In 2015 he was appointed a Queen’s Counsel.[2]
In July 2019, he was appointed to the Supreme Court of Tonga as Lord Chief Justice, replacing Owen Paulsen.[2][3] His term as Chief Justice began on 2 September 2019.[3]
As Chief Justice, he presided over the appeal of former Prime Minister Sialeʻataongo Tuʻivakanō against his bribery, money laundering and firearms convictions,[4] and over the electoral petition which saw cabinet minister Sione Sangster Saulala lose his seat following the 2021 Tongan general election.[5][6]
In 2020 his home in Tonga was destroyed by Cyclone Harold.[7]
He retired as chief justice in September 2023.[8]
