Gladys Berejiklian

Gladys Berejiklian (/ˌbɛrɛˈdʒiːkliən/; born 22 September 1970) is an Australian politician serving as the 45th and current Premier of New South Wales and the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, offices which she assumed on 23 January 2017 following the resignation of Mike Baird. She has been a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly since 2003, representing the seat of Willoughby.

The Honourable Gladys Berejiklian MP
45th Premier of New South Wales Elections: 2019
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 January 2017
Monarch	Elizabeth II
Governor	David Hurley Margaret Beazley
Deputy	John Barilaro
Preceded by	Mike Baird
Ministerial positions 62nd Treasurer of New South Wales In office 2 April 2015 – 30 January 2017 Premier Mike Baird Preceded by Andrew Constance Succeeded by Dominic Perrottet Minister for Transport In office 3 April 2011 – 2 April 2015 Premier Barry O'Farrell Mike Baird Preceded by John Robertson Succeeded by Andrew Constance (as Minister for Transport and Infrastructure) Minister for Industrial Relations In office 2 April 2015 – 30 January 2017 Premier Mike Baird Preceded by Andrew Constance Succeeded by Dominic Perrottet Minister for the Hunter In office 23 April 2014 – 2 April 2015 Premier Mike Baird Preceded by Mike Gallacher Succeeded by abolished
Party leadership positions Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party Incumbent Assumed office 23 January 2017 Deputy Dominic Perrottet Preceded by Mike Baird Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party In office 17 April 2014 – 23 January 2017 Leader Mike Baird Preceded by Jillian Skinner Succeeded by Dominic Perrottet
Constituency Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Willoughby Incumbent Assumed office 22 March 2003 Preceded by Peter Collins
Personal details
Born	(1970-09-22) 22 September 1970 Manly, New South Wales, Australia
Political party	Liberal Party
Other political affiliations	Coalition
Residence	Northbridge[1]
Education	University of Sydney University of New South Wales
Occupation	Banker, politician
Website	gladys.com.au

Before becoming Premier, Berejiklian was the Treasurer of New South Wales and Minister for Industrial Relations in the second Baird government,[2][3] and Minister for Transport in the O'Farrell and first Baird governments.[4] She was also the Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party between 2014 and 2017. On 23 March 2019, she was re-elected as Premier of New South Wales when the Liberal-National Coalition won the 2019 state election.

Early years and background

Berejiklian was born in Sydney, the eldest of three daughters born to Armenian immigrant parents, Krikor and Arsha.[5] Her grandparents were orphaned in the Armenian Genocide in 1915.[6] Berejiklian spoke only Armenian until she was five years old, when she began learning English.[7] She has remained involved in the Armenian-Australian community, serving a term on the Armenian National Committee of Australia.[8] In 2015, she attended a commemoration ceremony in Yerevan for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.[6]

Berejiklian attended North Ryde High School, which became Peter Board High School from 1986, a public, co-educational school in North Ryde.[9] She was a member of Girl Guides and continues to support the organisation.[10] She has a Bachelor of Arts (1992) and a graduate diploma in international studies (1996) from the University of Sydney and a Masters in Commerce from the University of New South Wales (2001).[11] She joined the Liberal Party in 1993 and was president of the New South Wales Young Liberals from 1997 to 1998, being the third female president in its history.[12] She also served as a Delegate to State Council (1996–2003), Urban Representative of the NSW Liberal Party State Executive (1997–2003), Campaign Director for State seat of Willoughby (1999) and Chair of Convention Committee (2002). Berejiklian also worked for Peter Collins and Senator Helen Coonan and the Commonwealth Bank as general manager, Youth Retail Banking and Government & Industry Affairs.[13]

Berejiklian supports the Australian republican movement.[14][15][16]

Parliamentary career

Berejiklian (right) with Andrew Stoner, Victor Dominello and Liberal Leader Barry O'Farrell in 2008

Early years

Berejiklian won Liberal preselection for Willoughby in 2003 when former Opposition Leader Peter Collins, who had represented the Willoughby area since 1981, decided to retire. Willoughby has historically been a comfortably safe Liberal seat even by northern Sydney standards; counting its time as Middle Harbour, it has been held by the Liberals, their predecessors or a conservative independent for all but one term since 1927. However, she faced a spirited challenge from Pat Reilly, the longtime mayor of the City of Willoughby, who nearly took the seat on Labor preferences. Ultimately, Berejiklian won by 144 votes, with the Liberals suffering a swing of 10.9 points. However, Berejiklian easily saw off a rematch with Reilly after picking up a healthy swing of 14.5 points, enough to revert Willoughby to its traditional status as a comfortably safe Liberal seat. She has not faced a serious challenge since, with Labor often being pushed into third place.

Berejiklian joined the front bench in 2005 as Shadow Minister for Mental Health and was appointed to the opposition front bench portfolio of Transport by Peter Debnam in 2006. Following the 2007 State election, she was given the shadow portfolio of Citizenship by Opposition Leader O'Farrell in his Shadow Ministry.[17]

Following the election of the O'Farrell government at the 2011 state election, Berejiklian was appointed Transport Minister on 3 April 2011.[18] The major achievements in her term as Minister for Transport include the extension of the Sydney Light Rail Dulwich Hill Line from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill;[19] the phased introduction of the Opal card;[20][21] and commencement of construction of the North West Rail Link.[22] She was also Transport Minister at the time the NSW government stopped trains running to Newcastle Station, which now terminate at Wickham.[23] The former rail corridor has now been re-zoned by Newcastle City Council and a proportion of that land is expected to be sold.[24]

Deputy leadership

On 17 April 2014, Mike Baird was elected Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, and hence Premier, following the resignation of Barry O'Farrell. Berejiklian was elected as Baird's deputy.[25] In a subsequent ministerial reshuffle, in addition to her existing responsibilities, on 23 April 2014 Berejiklian was sworn in as the Minister for the Hunter.[11][26]

Berejiklian was appointed as Treasurer of New South Wales and Minister for Industrial Relations following a cabinet reshuffle announced on 1 April 2015 by Premier Baird, after the 2015 state election.[2][3][27][28] As Treasurer, Berejiklian oversaw New South Wales's return to surplus.[29] This was the first time New South Wales had been declared debt-free in more than 20 years.[30] She also oversaw the part-privatisation of the state's electricity network.[31]

Premier of New South Wales

See also: First Berejiklian ministry and Second Berejiklian ministry

Following the resignation of Mike Baird as NSW Liberal leader and Premier on 19 January 2017, Berejiklian announced her intention to succeed him as the leader of the Liberal Party, and hence to become the 45th Premier of New South Wales. Baird endorsed Berejiklian as his successor, declaring that she would be "an outstanding Premier... No doubt about it."[32] A deal was struck between the moderate, centre-right, and right factions of the Liberal Party, facilitating the moderate Berejiklian's rise to the leadership, with conservative Dominic Perrottet as her deputy.[33] The next day, ministers Andrew Constance and Rob Stokes—Berejiklian's only serious leadership challengers—decided not to contest the leadership, and instead opted to endorse Berejiklian. This left Berejiklian to take the leadership unopposed at the ensuing leadership contest held on 23 January.[34][35][36] She was duly sworn in as Premier later that day, becoming the second woman to hold the post. The first was Labor's Kristina Keneally, who served in the position from 2009 to 2011.

In October 2018, Berejiklian permitted advertising for The Everest stakes to be projected onto the sails of the Sydney Opera House (a move spearheaded by radio broadcaster Alan Jones), drawing widespread condemnation and criticism from many in the community, with a poll declaring that 80% of respondents opposed this decision.[37]

Berejiklian led the Coalition into the 2019 state election, becoming the third woman to take a major party into an election in NSW. With polls showing the race at a knife-edge, the Coalition suffered a swing of six seats, cutting its numbers down to 48 seats, a bare majority of two. This made Berejiklian the third woman elected as a state premier in Australia, after Anna Bligh and Annastacia Palaszczuk from Queensland, and the first non-Labor woman to lead a party to a state election victory in Australia.

In August–September 2019 Berejiklian expressed support for the Reproductive Health Care Reform Bill, a private member's bill aimed to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales.[38] Berejiklian allowed a conscience vote on the bill in her party. Many conservative parliamentarians of the Liberal Party opposed the bill. Three of these parliamentarians, MP Tanya Davies and Legislative Council members Matthew Mason-Cox and Lou Amato, "expressed dissatisfaction with Berejiklian's handling of the bill". They had repeatedly asked Berejiklian to "intervene to stop the "fast-tracking" of the bill and establish a joint select committee into the legislation reform". However, their requests were rejected by Berejiklian.[39] On 16 September 2019, the trio announced they would hold a party leadership spill motion against Berejiklian the following day. Senior ministers, including conservative ministers who opposed the bill, backed Berejiklian and condemned the actions of the trio. The right-wing faction of the party also clarified that they did not sanction the spill.[40] The trio called off the spill the next morning, after the trio claimed to have received “further concessions” on amendments to the bill, meaning their amendments would be considered in the debate in the Legislative Council.[41] The bill eventually passed Parliament with amendments on 26 September 2019 and came into force as the Abortion Law Reform Act 2019 on 2 October 2019.

See also

• First Berejiklian ministry
• Second Berejiklian ministry
• List of female heads of government in Australia
• Shadow ministry of Barry O'Farrell

References

1. Chancellor, Jonathan. "Gladys Berejiklian sells North Willoughby townhouse". propertyobserver.com.au. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
2. Hasham, Nicole (3 April 2015). "Premier Mike Baird's new NSW cabinet sworn in: Gladys Berejiklian and Gabrielle Upton first female Treasurer and Attorney-General". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
3. Coultan, Mark (1 April 2015). "Mike Baird reveals NSW cabinet". The Australian. Retrieved 6 April 2015.
4. Nicholls, Sean (22 April 2014). "Mike Baird's cabinet reshuffle a preparation for next election". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 April 2014.
5. "Gladys Berejiklian: sky's the limit for self-made Liberal", The Australian, 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
6. "NSW Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian, granddaughter of Armenian genocide victims, attends commemoration service in Yerevan", ABC News, 24 April 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
7. "The things you didn't know about Gladys Berejiklian", The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 January 2017. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
8. "News". anc.org.au. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
9. Jacobs, Rachael (23 January 2017). "Gladys Berejiklian: why she breaks the Liberal Party mould". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2017.
10. "WAGGGS Party Time" (PDF). The Waratah. March 2012. Retrieved 27 January 2017.
11. "The Hon. Gladys BEREJIKLIAN, BA, DIntS, MCom MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
12. "Past Presidents of the Young Liberals". Young Liberal Movement. Retrieved 3 October 2012.
13. Corporation, Curriculum (30 September 2006). "Parliament@Work Search". curriculum.edu.au. Retrieved 21 January 2017.
14. "Asia". economist.com.
15. https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/north-shore/premier-gladys-berejiklian-and-federal-minister-paul-fletcher-help-to-reignite-australian-republican-debate-on-eve-of-queens-birthday-long-weekend/news-story/f20864b7dbc8a4628be46a2c450f8a68
16. https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/can-a-woman-survive-in-australian-politics-gladys-berejiklian-is-about-to-find-out-20170419-gvnr1f.html
17. "ANC Australia Congratulates Berejiklian on Milestone". Armenian National Committee of Australia. Retrieved 9 March 2014.
18. "New faces in Barry O'Farrell's Cabinet". The Australian. News Limited. AAP. 3 April 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2011.
19. Saulwick, Jacob (27 March 2014). "Rain fails to dampen Barry O'Farrell's launch of tram extension to Dulwich Hill". The Age. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
20. "Test of city's ticket to ride will decide if Opal is Coalition's trump card". The Sydney Morning Herald. 26 November 2012.
21. "Enthusiasm but few takers on Opal launch day". The Sydney Morning Herald. 7 December 2012.
22. Saulwick, Jacob (6 April 2011). "Former CBD Metro chief to drive north-west rail link". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, New South Wales. Retrieved 6 April 2011.
23. Saulwick, Jacob (19 August 2014). "Transport Minister Gladys Berejiklian defends cutting Newcastle rail line despite likely fall in patronage". Sydney Morning Herald.
24. Parris, Michael (28 October 2018). "Doma heads back to the drawing board on units after buying Newcastle rail corridor land". Newcastle Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2018.
25. "NSW Premier-elect Mike Baird promises to restore trust". Yahoo!7. 17 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
26. "Mike Baird's NSW cabinet". The Sydney Morning Herald. 22 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
27. "NSW premier Mike Baird announces new cabinet". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
28. "NSW Premier Mike Baird shapes his cabinet to implement his poles and wires plan". The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 April 2015. Retrieved 1 April 2015.
29. Murphy, Damien (23 June 2015). "Berejiklian's dress is #blackandblue". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
30. Irvine, Jessica (17 December 2015). "NSW budget update: Treasurer Gladys Berejiklian to declare NSW net debt "effectively zero"". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
31. "The woman most likely to take Baird's job". NewsComAu. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
32. Nicholls, Sean. (19 January 2017). "Mike Baird backs Gladys Berejiklian as 'an outstanding Premier'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 January 2017
33. Clennell, Andrew. (19 January 2017). "Gladys Berejiklian to land top job as premier and leader of the NSW Liberal Party". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 20 January 2017
34. Loussikian, Kylar. (20 January 2017). "Gladys Berejiklian set for NSW Premier as Rob Stokes drops out of race". The Australian. Retrieved 20 January 2017
35. Raper, Ashleigh; Calderwood, Kathleen; Stuart, Riley. (20 January 2017). "Gladys Berejiklian is NSW's premier-in-waiting after senior Government MPs clear path for her". ABC News. Retrieved 20 January 2017
36. AAP. (20 January 2017). "Gladys Berejiklian to run unopposed for NSW Liberal Party leadership". The New Daily. Retrieved 20 January 2017
37. Pitt, H & Noyes J. (10 October 2018) "Opera House illumination time changed to avoid protesters". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 10 October 2018
38. "NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian defends controversial abortion bill". The Australian. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
39. "NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian to face spill motion after her handling of abortion bill angers MPs". ABC News. 16 September 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
40. "NSW politics LIVE: Gladys Berejiklian to remain NSW Premier as John Sidoti stands aside pending ICAC inquiry". 17 September 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
41. "NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian: leadership spill called off by anti-abortion MPs". The Guardian. 17 September 2019. Retrieved 30 January 2020.

External links

• gladys.com.au
• Premier.nsw.gov.au

New South Wales Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Peter Collins	Member for Willoughby 2003–present	Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by John Robertson	Minister for Transport 2011–2015	Succeeded by Andrew Constance as Minister for Transport and Infrastructure
Preceded by Mike Gallacher	Minister for the Hunter 2014–2015	Portfolio abolished
Preceded by Andrew Constance	Treasurer of New South Wales 2015–2017	Succeeded by Dominic Perrottet
	Minister for Industrial Relations 2015–2017
Preceded by Mike Baird	Premier of New South Wales 2017–present	Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by Jillian Skinner	Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party 2014–2017	Succeeded by Dominic Perrottet
Preceded by Mike Baird	Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party 2017–present	Incumbent