Kiefel, Susan (1954-…), an Australian lawyer and judge, became the first woman to serve as chief justice of Australia’s High Court. She was appointed chief justice in 2017 and held the position until she retired from the court in 2023. She had become a judge on the High Court in 2007. The High Court decides constitutional questions and serves as the ultimate court of appeal in Australia.
Susan Mary Kiefel was born on Jan. 17, 1954, in Cairns, in the northeastern Australian state of Queensland. In 1969, she dropped out of high school. Over the next few years, she completed her secondary schooling at night while working full time as a legal secretary. She then studied law at night while continuing to work during the day. In 1975, she became a barrister of the Supreme Court of Queensland, the highest court in the state. A barrister is a lawyer who has the right to argue cases in higher courts.
In 1985, Kiefel earned a Master of Laws degree from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. She married Michael Albrecht, an anthropologist, on Sept. 19, 1987. That November, she was appointed queen’s counsel. A queen’s counsel is a distinguished barrister who serves as legal adviser to the British Crown. The title changed to king’s counsel after Charles III succeeded Elizabeth II as the British monarch in 2022.
From 1993 to 1994, Kiefel was a judge of the Supreme Court of Queensland. In 1994, she was appointed to serve as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia, a position she held until 2007. The Federal Court of Australia hears cases involving trade practices; bankruptcy; industrial disputes; and administrative law, which is the field of law that centers on the operations of government agencies. From 2004 to 2007, Kiefel also served as a judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island, an Australian territory in the South Pacific Ocean. In 2007, she was appointed to serve as a judge on the High Court of Australia. In 2011, she was made a Companion in the Order of Australia. The Order of Australia is an award for service to the country or to humanity.
