Margaret Reid (politician)

Margaret Elizabeth Reid AO (née McLachlan; born 28 May 1935) is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory from 1981 to 2003, representing the Liberal Party. She is the first woman to have served as President of the Senate, holding that office from 1996 to 2002.[1]

The Honourable
Margaret Reid
AO
President of the Australian Senate
In office
20 August 1996 – 18 August 2002
Preceded byMichael Beahan
Succeeded byPaul Calvert
Senator for Australian Capital Territory
In office
5 May 1981 – 14 February 2003
Preceded byJohn Knight
Succeeded byGary Humphries
Personal details
Born
Margaret Elizabeth McLachlan

(1935-05-28) 28 May 1935
Crystal Brook, South Australia
Political partyLiberal
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1966; died 2010)​
Alma materUniversity of Adelaide
ProfessionBarrister

Early years

Born Margaret McLachlan[2] at Crystal Brook, 200 kilometres (120 miles) north of Adelaide, South Australia, Reid was educated at Methodist Ladies' College, Adelaide and the University of Adelaide, where she graduated as a Bachelor of Laws. 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. She moved to Canberra in 1965.

Political career

On 5 May 1981, 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 Reid was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia for her service to the Australian Parliament and the community.

Personal life

Reid married in 1966 Tom Reid MBE, a widower with four children, who was Director of Honeysuckle Creek Tracking Station during its involvement in the Apollo program. She adopted his children; they had no further children.[4]

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.

References
  1. "Senate Brief No 6". The President of the Senate. Commonwealth of Australia. October 2009. Archived from the original on 22 February 2011.
  2. "Portrait of Margaret Reid photographed by Heide Smith". Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 28 March 2011.
  3. "Rules for Joint Sittings" (PDF). Commonwealth of Australia. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2010. Retrieved 13 August 2010.
  4. Emma Macdonald, "Rising above the genteel rumble of the pink palace", Canberra Sunday Times, 7 January 2001, Sunday Focus, p. 18
  5. About Archived 22 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine Australian Women's History Forum, Retrieved 18 August 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.