Ellen France

Ellen Dolour Larkin was born to parents who were both teachers.[1] She graduated LLB from the University of Auckland in 1981, and obtained her masters from Queen's University in Ontario, Canada, in 1983.[2] From 1982, she worked as a solicitor for the Auckland practice of Subritzky, Tetley Jones & Way.[2]

From 1984, France was a legal adviser in the Department of Justice Law Reform Division, followed by work for the Crown Law Office.[3]

In 2002, France was appointed to the High Court in Auckland. She received her appointment as a judge to the Court of Appeal in June 2006.[2] She was appointed president of the Court of Appeal of New Zealand with effect from 1 September 2014, succeeding Sir Mark O'Regan.[2] She made history in August 2015 when the Appeal Court bench was made up by three women when she sat with Justice Christine French and Justice Helen Winkelmann.[4]

In the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours, France was appointed a Dame Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, for services to the judiciary.[1][5]

France's late husband, Simon France, was a judge of the Court of Appeal until just prior to his death in 2023.[6] They met in their first year at Auckland University Law School in the late 1970s.[1][7]