Kathy Sullivan (Australian politician)

The Honourable
Kathy Sullivan
AM
Senator for Queensland
In office
18 May 1974  5 November 1984
Succeeded by Warwick Parer
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Moncrieff
In office
1 December 1984  8 October 2001
Preceded by New seat
Succeeded by Steven Ciobo
Personal details
Born Kathryn Jean Martin
(1942-03-08) 8 March 1942
Brisbane, Queensland
Nationality Australian
Political party Liberal Party of Australia
Alma mater University of Queensland
Occupation Teacher

Kathryn Jean Martin "Kathy" Sullivan AM (born 8 March 1942), Australian politician, was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate from 1974 to 1984, representing Queensland, and a member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Moncrieff, Queensland, from 1984 to 2001.[1] She previously held the record for the longest service in the Australian Parliament for a woman, oustripping the record previously held by Dorothy Tangney. This record has since been surpassed by Bronwyn Bishop.[2] She was the first woman member of the parliament to have served in both houses.[3]

Biography

Sullivan was born Kathryn Jean Martin in Brisbane, Queensland, and was educated at the University of Queensland, where she graduated in arts. She was a teacher, administrative officer and part-time lecturer before entering politics.[1]

She was elected to the Senate at the 1974 election, and sat as Senator Kathy Martin. She resigned from the Senate in 1984 in order to contest the newly created lower house seat of Moncrieff at the 1984 election. Soon after entering the House of Representatives she changed her name to Kathy Sullivan.

Sullivan was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry (1983–84) and (1993–94). She was Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs (1997–2000).[1]

She has been a vocal advocate for an increase in the number of women in parliament.[4]

Recognition

In 2003, she was made a Member of the Order of Australia, for service to the Parliament of Australia and to the community, particularly as an advocate for improved services and conditions affecting women.[5]

Sullivan was a relatively low-profile MP but in 1993 received national attention when ALP Treasurer John Dawkins taunted her by calling her "sweetheart" in Parliament, which outraged female MPs from Dawkins' own party.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Parliamentary profile
  2. Wilson, Janet, & McCann, Dr Joy (9 July 2014). "Representation of women in Australian parliaments 2014". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 2014-12-11.
  3. Dr Joy McCann and Janet Wilson (7 March 2012): Representation of women in Australian parliaments, Australian Parliamentary Library.
  4. Senate vacancy
  5. SULLIVAN, Kathy, It's an Honour, 2003.
Parliament of Australia
New division Member for Moncrieff
1984–2001
Succeeded by
Steven Ciobo
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Monday, February 08, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.