High Court judge Thomas Munro Gault has been appointed president of the Court of Appeal.

Justice Gault succeeds Sir Ivor Richardson, who retired this month.

Attorney-General Margaret Wilson yesterday said that Justice Gault was a distinguished member of the judiciary who had the necessary experience and skills to provide leadership to the court.

He was the court's most senior judge, having been appointed in 1991.

Justice Gault graduated from Victoria University of Wellington and practised with the law firms A.J. Park and Son and Ennis, Callander and Gault.

He became a barrister in 1981 and was appointed a Queen's Counsel in 1984. Three years later he became a High Court judge.

He begins his new role on May 24.

Ms Wilson also announced High Court judge Susan Glazebrook's appointment to the Court of Appeal.

She has been a judge of the High Court at Auckland since June 2000.

Ms Wilson said the High Court experience and Justice Glazebrook's taxation expertise would be an asset to the bench.

Justice Glazebrook is a leading expert in taxation and finance law.

She has served as a member of a number of committees advising the Government and the commercial sector on taxation and public policy issues.

Justice Glazebrook graduated from Auckland University with an honours degree in law and a masters degree with first-class honours in history.

In 1988, she completed her doctorate in French legal history at Oxford University in Britain.

Between 1988 and 2000 she was a partner in the law firm Simpson Grierson and also a part-time lecturer at Auckland University.

- NZPA