Background
Hughes was born in South Sydney, the son of lawyer and aviator Geoffrey Forrest Hughes.
politician Attorney-General of Australia
Hughes was born in South Sydney, the son of lawyer and aviator Geoffrey Forrest Hughes.
He was educated at Saint Ignatius" College, Riverview, and the University of Sydney, where he graduated in law.
He served in the Royal Australian Air Force in World World War II and was awarded the French Légion d"honneur in 2005 for his courage while flying planes in the Invasion of Normandy. He was called to the Sydney bar in 1949, becoming a Queen's Counsel in 1962. He was attorney-general in the government of John Gorton, but was dropped from the ministry by William McMahon, and the disillusionment this caused led him to retire at the 1972 election.
After leaving politics he became one of the leading figures at the Sydney Barometer
He is the brother of the late writer and critic Robert Hughes. He has three children, Lucy Turnbull (former Lord Mayor of Sydney, and spouse of Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull), Michael Hughes (prominent Sydney stockbroker) and Tom Hughes, Junior.
(barrister).
He was a Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from 1963 to 1972, representing first the seat of Parkes and then (when Parkes was abolished in 1969) the seat of Berowra. He was formerly engaged in full-time practice at the bar as a member of Sydney"s Blackstone Chambers. Hughes has long been considered the most senior member of the NSW Bar.