Margaret Reid (politician)
Margaret Reid | |
|---|---|
| President of the Australian Senate | |
| In office 20 August 1996 – 19 August 2002 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Beahan |
| Succeeded by | Paul Calvert |
| Senator for Australian Capital Territory | |
| In office 5 May 1981 – 14 February 2003 | |
| Preceded by | John Knight |
| Succeeded by | Gary Humphries |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Margaret Elizabeth McLachlan 28 May 1935 Crystal Brook, South Australia |
| Political party | Liberal |
| Spouse |
Tom Reid (m. 1966) |
| Alma mater | University of Adelaide |
| Profession | Barrister |
Margaret Elizabeth Reid AO (born 28 May 1935) is a former Australian politician. She was the first woman to be President of the Australian Senate.[1]
Early years
Born Margaret McLachlan[2] at Crystal Brook near Adelaide, South Australia, Reid was educated at the University of Adelaide, obtaining a LLB. There she joined the Liberal Party, becoming the first female president of the Australian Liberal Students Federation. After graduating, Reid became a barrister, specialising in family law; and moved to Canberra in 1965.
Political career
On 5 May 1981, Margaret Reid was elected by a joint sitting of the Australian Parliament to fill a casual vacancy in the representation of the Australian Capital Territory in the Senate, following the sudden death of her close friend, Senator John Knight. This was the first of only two occasions on which a Senate casual vacancy was filled in this manner, as the law was later changed to provide for a replacement senator to be appointed by the relevant territory (ACT or NT) legislative assembly.[3]
Reid became Liberal Whip in the Senate in 1987 and held the office until 1995. In 1996, she was elected President of the Senate, retiring from the position in 2002 after six years. Reid resigned from the Senate on 14 February 2003, and was replaced by the former ACT Chief Minister, Gary Humphries.
Honours and awards
In 2004 she was appointed an Officer (AO) in the Order of Australia for her service to the Australian Parliament and the community.
Personal life
She married Tom Reid, a widower with four children, in 1966. She adopted his children; they had no further children.[4]
Margaret Reid is an active patron of over 80 community organisations in Canberra. She is the patron of the Australian Women's History Forum with Mary Sexton.[5] She was inaugural President of the Australian Centre for Christianity and Culture.[citation needed]
External links
References
- ^ "Senate Brief No 6". The President of the Senate. Commonwealth of Australia. October 2009.
- ^ http://www.heidesmith.com/margaret_reid.html
- ^ "Rules for Joint Sittings" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
- ^ Emma Macdonald, "Rising above the genteel rumble of the pink palace", Canberra Sunday Times, 7 January 2001, Sunday Focus, p. 18
- ^ About Australian Women's History Forum, accessed 18 August 2011.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
- Use dmy dates from August 2011
- 1935 births
- Living people
- Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia
- Members of the Australian Senate
- Members of the Australian Senate for the Australian Capital Territory
- Presidents of the Australian Senate
- University of Adelaide Law School alumni
- Women members of the Australian Senate
- Officers of the Order of Australia
- 21st-century Australian politicians
- 21st-century women politicians
- 20th-century Australian politicians