Rita Rae, Lady Rae
Lady Rae | |
|---|---|
| Senator of the College of Justice | |
| In office 2014–2020 | |
| Nominated by | Alex Salmond As First Minister |
| Appointed by | Elizabeth II |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Rita Emilia Anna Rae 20 June 1950 |
| Alma mater | University of Edinburgh |
Rita Emilia Anna Rae, Lady Rae, CBE (born 20 June 1950) is a Scottish lawyer, judge and a former Senator of the College of Justice.[1]
Career
Rae modelled herself on her grandfather, who was an Italian lawyer who opposed Mussolini and died in 1937.[2]
Rae became a solicitor in 1974, joined the Faculty of Advocates from 1982, and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1992.[3]
From 2003 to 2006, Rae was a member of the Sentencing Commission for Scotland.
Rae served as a temporary sheriff from 1987 to 1997. She was appointed a sheriff at Glasgow in 1997. She became temporary judge at the Court of Session in 2004. From 2001 to 2007, she was a member (and vice-chair from 2005) of the Parole Board for Scotland.[4]
Rae was appointed as a permanent judge (a Lord Ordinary) of the Court of Session and a Judge of the Supreme Courts in January 2014. She acted as a Temporary Judge in the Supreme Courts, part time, from 2010 – 2013.
In 2015, Lady Rae presided over the trial of Alexander Pacteau after his guilty plea to the murder of Karen Buckley in Glasgow.[5] She retired in June 2020.[6]
In June 2019 Lady Rae was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Laws from the University of Glasgow.
On 21 April 2021, Rae was elected Rector of the University of Glasgow, succeeding Aamer Anwar.[7][8]
On 11 April 2024, Rae was succeeded as Rector by Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah.[9]
In 2022, Rae Became first chair of the new Scottish Catholic Safeguarding Standards agency.
On 18 November 2022, Rae was awarded a Fellowship from New College Lanarkshire for her "Outstanding Contribution to Scottish Public Life".
In November 2023, Rae became Chair of the Council of the Scottish Association for the Study of Offending.
Rae was appointed as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2026 New Years Honours list for services to for services to the Law, to Charity and to Education in Scotland.[10]
References
- ↑ "Appointment of Senators to the College of Justice". Scottish Government News. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ↑ "Rae's appearance on Desert Island Discs".
- ↑ "New judge sworn in". 14 July 2014. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 18 January 2020.
- ↑ "The Hon Lady Rae (Rita Rae)". Judiciary of Scotland.
- ↑ "You destroyed her young life and devastated a family". The Irish Times. Glasgow. 8 September 2015.
Full text of judge's statement in sentencing Alexander Pacteau
- ↑ "Lady Rae retires". Scottish Legal News. 18 June 2020. Retrieved 15 August 2020.
- ↑ @uofglasgow (21 April 2021). "Register" (Tweet). Retrieved 27 August 2023 – via Twitter.
- ↑ "Lady Rae in running to become Glasgow University's next rector". Scottish Legal News. 29 January 2020. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
- ↑ "Glasgow Uni". 14 April 2024.
- ↑ "Singer, judge and kiltmaker among Scots recognised in honours list". STV News. 30 December 2025. Retrieved 30 December 2025.
External links
- 1950 births
- Living people
- Senators of the College of Justice
- Scottish solicitors
- Members of the Faculty of Advocates
- Scottish women judges
- Scottish King's Counsel
- 20th-century King's Counsel
- Scottish sheriffs
- Women sheriffs
- Rectors of the University of Glasgow
- Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
- Commanders of the Order of the British Empire
- Scottish people stubs