Brenda Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond
Brenda Marjorie Hale, Baroness Hale of Richmond, DBE, PC, FBA (born 31 January 1945), is a British judge who served as President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom from 2017 until her retirement in 2020.
The Right Honourable The Baroness Hale of Richmond DBE PC FBA | |||||||||
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Hale in 2017 | |||||||||
| President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |||||||||
| In office 5 September 2017 – 11 January 2020 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | David Lidington | ||||||||
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Deputy |
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| Preceded by | The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Lord Reed of Allermuir | ||||||||
| Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |||||||||
| In office 28 June 2013 – 4 September 2017 | |||||||||
| Nominated by | Chris Grayling | ||||||||
| President | The Lord Neuberger of Abbotsbury | ||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Hope of Craighead | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | The Lord Mance | ||||||||
| Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom | |||||||||
| In office 1 October 2009 – 28 June 2013 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | Office created | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Lord Hamblen of Kersey | ||||||||
| Lord of Appeal in Ordinary | |||||||||
| In office 12 January 2004 – 30 September 2009 | |||||||||
| Preceded by | The Lord Millett | ||||||||
| Succeeded by | Office abolished | ||||||||
| Lady Justice of Appeal | |||||||||
| In office 1999–2003 | |||||||||
| High Court Judge | |||||||||
| In office 1994–1999 | |||||||||
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II | ||||||||
| Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal | |||||||||
| Assumed office 12 January 2004 | |||||||||
| Non-Permanent Judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong | |||||||||
| In office 30 July 2018 – 29 July 2021 | |||||||||
| Appointed by | Carrie Lam | ||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||
| Born | Brenda Marjorie Hale 31 January 1945 Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire, England | ||||||||
| Spouses |
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| Children | 1 | ||||||||
| Alma mater | Girton College, Cambridge | ||||||||
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Chinese | 何熙怡 | ||||||||
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In 2004, she joined the House of Lords as a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. She is the only woman to have been appointed to that position. She served as a Law Lord until 2009 when she, along with the other Law Lords, transferred to the new Supreme Court as a result of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005. She served as Deputy President of the Supreme Court from 2013 to 2017.
On 5 September 2017, Lady Hale was appointed under the premiership of Theresa May to serve as President of the Supreme Court, and was sworn in on 2 October 2017. She was the third person and first woman to serve in the role. Lady Hale is one of five women to have been appointed to the Supreme Court (alongside Lady Black of Derwent, Lady Arden of Heswall, Lady Rose of Colmworth and Lady Simler).
Lady Hale became a non-permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal of Hong Kong in 2018. In June 2021, she announced her decision not to seek reappointment on the Hong Kong court after the end of her term in July, mentioning the impact of the controversial Hong Kong national security law. She was the first senior British judge to withdraw from Hong Kong's top court after the enactment of the security law in 2020.
In 2019, Lady Hale was appointed an Honorary Professor of Law at University College London. Hale has also been Honorary President of the Cambridge University Law Society since 2015.
On 11 January 2020, Lady Hale was succeeded by Lord Reed as President of the Supreme Court. In 2021, Hale became an honorary fellow of Mansfield College, Oxford.