The Rt Hon Sir John Greig Latham (1877–1964) was Chief Justice of the High Court from 11 October 1935 to 17 April 1952. He graduated from the University of Melbourne with degrees in arts and law. He was admitted to the Victorian Bar in 1904 and appointed a King's Counsel (KC) in 1922. He served as Lieutenant Commander in naval intelligence in World War I, and was an Australian adviser at the Paris Peace Conference 1919. He served as Australia’s first ambassador to Japan in 1940–41 and as a Member of the House of Representatives 1922–34, including as Attorney-General (1925–29, 1932–34), Minister for Industry (1928–29), Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for External Affairs (1932–34), and Leader of the Opposition (1929–31). He was President of the first Australian Legal Convention in 1933, and the first Australian Minister to visit Japan in 1940. He was Chancellor of the University of Melbourne from 1939–41. He was appointed a Companion in the Most Distinguished Order of St Michael and St George (CMG) in 1920, a Privy Counsellor (PC) in 1933, to the Grand Cross of St Michael and St George (GCMG) in 1935.