Nicholas Hasluck was born in
Canberra. His father, Sir
Paul Hasluck was a minister in the Federal Government under
Robert Menzies, and was later appointed
Governor-General of Australia. Nicholas went to school at Scotch College,
Perth, and
Canberra Grammar School, before studying law at
University of Western Australia (1963) and
Oxford (1966). After completing his studies he worked briefly in
Fleet Street in
London as an editorial assistant before returning to Australia in 1967 to work as a solicitor, initially in partnership with
Robert Holmes à Court. He was a partner in the law firm Keall Brinsden from 1971 to 1984. While working as a barrister from 1985 to 2000 he was appointed Queen's Counsel in 1988 and served as part-time President of the Equal Opportunity Tribunal (WA). He was deputy chair of the
Australia Council from 1978 to 1982 and was made a
Member of the Order of Australia (AM). He served as Chair of the Literature Board from 1998 to 2001 and as Chair of the Art Gallery of Western Australia from 2014 to 2018. ==Judicial career==