Géza Francis Kim Santow AO LLD (1941 - 2008)

Born 11 Mar 1941 in New South Wales, Australia

Ancestors

Died 10 Apr 2008 at age 67 in New South Wales, Australia

Biography

Kim Santow AO LLD is Notable.

Kim Santow AO LLD has Jewish Roots.

The Honourable Justice Géza Francis Kim Santow AO LLD was an Australian Judge of the Supreme Court of New South Wales Court of Appeal. He was born on 11th March 1941 in New South Wales, Australia. He was the only child of Hungarian-born Dr Géza Santow, a surgeon and obstetrician, and English-born Vivian Finlay, medical doctor and noted romantic novelist. The Szántó family were of Hungarian Jewish descent. Kim's parents divorced whilst he was still quite young; his mother returning to England whilst he remained with his father in Sydney. Kim was educated at The Friends' School, Hobart and Sydney Grammar School. Influenced greatly by his late uncle, Holocaust victim, Judge Imre Szántó, he graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Laws.

From 1965 to 1993, he was a partner at Freehill Hollingdale & Page, where he recruited and mentored David Gonski. He served as a Judge on the Equity Division of the Supreme Court from 1993, and on the Court of Appeal since 2002. He was a part-time law lecturer at the University of Sydney and the University of New South Wales. From 2001 to 2007, he was the Chancellor of the University of Sydney. He was a director of various companies and sat on a variety of government and charity committees, such as the:

• Art Gallery of New South Wales,
• St Vincent's Hospital, and
• Malcolm Sargent Fund for Children With Cancer.

In 1990, he was awarded the Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM),^[1] which was upgraded to Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in the 2007 Queen's Birthday Honours.^[2] Sydney University awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws ((LLD) in 2007.

Kim passed away, from a brain tumour, on 10th April 2008 in New South Wales.^[3] A memorial ceremony was held by the University of Sydney in the Great Hall on 23rd April 2008 with more than 600 alumni and guests gathered to honour his memory. He was survived by his wife Lee (nee Frankel) and their three sons, Simon, William and Edward.

Sources

1. ↑ It's an Honour: Medal of the Order of Australia; accessed 2 Dec 2018
2. ↑ It's an Honour: Officer of the Order of Australia; accessed 2 Dec 2018
3. ↑ Sydney Morning Herald 14th April 2008, Humble judge with brain for business; accessed 4 Jan 2019

• unsubstantiated family records

See also

• Wikipedia: Kim Santow.