Maurice Ashkanasy CMG QC (1901 - 71) was a barrister and Jewish community leader whose family emigrated from London when he was nine years old. Appointed QC in 1940 at the age of 39, he served with distinction in Malaya and New Guinea during the second world war. As chairman of the Victorian Bar Council from 1953 to 1956, he did much to improve the conditions and organisation of the Bar, and he was vice president of the Australian arm of the International Commission of Jurists. Throughout his life he was an active member of the Labor party and was deeply involved in Jewish community affairs. He was five times president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry.
Collection: National Portrait Gallery
Gift of Dr Vivianne de Vahl Davis
and Professor Neal Ashkanasy 2000
Accession number: 2000.21
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