Sian Elias was born in London and came to New Zealand as a young child. She graduated in law from Auckland University and, too young (at twenty) to be admitted to the Bar, then obtained a Masters in Law from Stanford University. She practised as a barrister and solicitor and in 1988 was one of two New Zealand women appointed as Queen’s Counsel - the first from this country to be so recognised. For five years she was a member of the New Zealand Law Commission, undertaking a special project on Company Law, and chairing an inquiry into the health consequences of a major chemical fire. She was counsel for the Màori Council in a landmark case which confirmed the principle of partnership and required the Crown to take positive action to protect Màori land rights under the Treaty of Waitangi. Returning to private practice, she made frequent appearances in court on behalf of Màori claimants, and took the Manukau Harbour claim to the Waitangi Tribunal. She saw the treaty as
cause for real optimism as it was founded on the expectation that justice would be achieved through the law.

In 1995 Sian Elias was appointed a Judge of the High Court, where her judgment on a defamation case involving a former prime minister was significant in addressing the balance between the freedom of the press and the privacy of a citizen. She became New Zealand’s first woman Chief Justice in 1999. In her inaugural speech she emphasised that judges must respond to the community, its values, its history, and its diverse cultures. She aimed to support a judiciary which was both rigorous and open, holding to what was best in its inheritance, while developing a voice which was truly that of New Zealand.