Appointment As Chief Justice
On 17 May 1999, Elias was sworn in as Chief Justice of New Zealand, the first woman to hold that position in New Zealand. She was appointed by Jenny Shipley, the first woman to be Prime Minister in New Zealand. Apparently Shipley made no secret of the fact to her colleagues that she was determined to appoint a woman as chief justice although no one in the legal profession disputes that Elias is up to the job. Before the Supreme Court was established in 2004, the Chief Justice was more of an administrative role, with the right to sit on any case. Once the Supreme Court replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council as the final court of appeal in New Zealand, Elias assumed the mantle of pre-eminent jurist as head of the Supreme Court.
Read more about this topic: Sian Elias
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