Edward McTiernan

Sir Edward McTiernan
McTiernan in his chambers, 1954.
Justice of the High Court of Australia
In office
20 December 1930 – 12 September 1976
Nominated byJames Scullin
Appointed byLord Stonehaven
Preceded bySir Isaac Isaacs
Succeeded bySir Keith Aickin
Member of the Australian House of Representatives
In office
12 October 1929 – 19 December 1930
Preceded byCharles Marr
Succeeded byCharles Marr
ConstituencyParkes
Attorney General of New South Wales
In office
12 April 1920 – 13 April 1922
PremierJohn Storey
James Dooley
Preceded byJohn Garland
Succeeded byThomas Bavin
In office
17 June 1925 – 26 May 1927
PremierJack Lang
Preceded byThomas Bavin
Succeeded byAndrew Lysaght
Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly
In office
20 March 1920 – 7 September 1927
Preceded bySeat created
Succeeded bySeat abolished
ConstituencyWestern Suburbs
Personal details
Born(1892-02-16)16 February 1892
Glen Innes, New South Wales, Australia
Died9 January 1990(1990-01-09) (aged 97)
Turramurra, New South Wales, Australia
Political partyLabor (to 1930)
Spouse
Kathleen Lloyd
(m. 1948)

Sir Edward Aloysius McTiernan, KBE (16 February 1892 – 9 January 1990), was an Australian lawyer, politician, and judge. He served on the High Court of Australia from 1930 to 1976, the longest-serving judge in the court's history.

McTiernan was born in Glen Innes, New South Wales. He graduated from the University of Sydney in 1915, and was called to the bar the following year. McTiernan was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 1920, representing the Labor Party, and was soon after appointed Attorney-General of New South Wales. He served as attorney-general under John Storey, James Dooley, and Jack Lang, but left state politics in 1927. McTiernan was elected to the House of Representatives in 1929, but served for little over a year before Prime Minister James Scullin nominated him to the High Court. He was 38 at the time; only H. V. Evatt (another Scullin nominee) was appointed at a younger age. On the court, McTiernan was considered a moderate, and was known for the consistency of his decisions. He generally favoured the position of the federal government, upholding the constitutionality of contentious legislation from both sides of politics. McTiernan retired reluctantly at the age of 84, after just under 46 years on the High Court bench. He lived to the age of 97, and was the last surviving MP from the 1920s.