Susan Ryan | |
|---|---|
 Ryan in 2015 | |
| Age Discrimination Commissioner | |
| In office 30 July 2011 – 29 July 2016 | |
| Appointed by | Julia Gillard |
| Preceded by | Elizabeth Broderick |
| Succeeded by | Kay Patterson |
| Special Minister of State | |
| In office 24 July 1987 – 19 January 1988 | |
| Prime Minister | Bob Hawke |
| Preceded by | Michael Tate |
| Succeeded by | Frank Walker |
| Minister for Education | |
| In office 11 March 1983 – 24 July 1987 | |
| Prime Minister | Bob Hawke |
| Preceded by | Peter Baume |
| Succeeded by | John Dawkins |
| Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women | |
| In office 11 March 1983 – 19 January 1988 | |
| Prime Minister | Bob Hawke |
| Preceded by | Office Created |
| Succeeded by | Margaret Reynolds |
| Senator for theAustralian Capital Territory | |
| In office 13 December 1975 – 29 January 1988 | |
| Preceded by | Seat Created |
| Succeeded by | Bob McMullan |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Susan Maree Ryan (1942-10-10)10 October 1942 Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia |
| Died | 27 September 2020(2020-09-27) (aged 77) Randwick, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Labor |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Alma mater | University of Sydney, Australian National University |
| Profession | Educator |
Susan Maree Ryan (10 October 1942 – 27 September 2020) was an Australian politician and public servant. She was a member of theAustralian Labor Party (ALP) and held ministerial office in theHawke government asMinister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women (1983–1988),Minister for Education and Youth Affairs (1983–1984),Minister for Education (1984–1987) andSpecial Minister of State (1987–1988). She was the first woman from the ALP to serve incabinet and was notably involved in the creation of theSex Discrimination Act 1984 and theAffirmative Action (Equal Opportunities in Employment) Act 1986. Ryan served as asenator for theAustralian Capital Territory from 1975 to 1987. After leaving politics she served as theAge Discrimination Commissioner from 2011 to 2016, within theAustralian Human Rights Commission.[1]
Ryan was born on 10 October 1942 inCamperdown, New South Wales. She was the daughter of Florence Ena (née Hodson) and Arthur Francis Aloysius Ryan;[2] her mother worked as a sales assistant and her father was a public servant. Ryan grew up in the suburb ofMaroubra and attended the Brigidine Convent. She enrolled at theSydney Teachers' College in 1960, graduating with aBachelor of Arts in 1963. In the same year she married future diplomatRichard Butler.[3]
Ryan worked as a schoolteacher until the birth of her first child in 1964, later running a small business, the Living Parish Hymn Book Publishing Company, from her home inCremorne. In 1965 the family moved toCanberra for her then husbandRichard Butler's career. She enrolled as a postgraduate at theAustralian National University (ANU), studying English literature. In 1966 the family moved to Austria, where Butler was second secretary at the Australian embassy inVienna. They returned to Australia in 1969 and Ryan resumed her studies at ANU, also tutoring part-time at theCanberra College of Advanced Education. In 1970 they moved to New York for another of Butler's diplomatic postings; however, the marriage broke down and Ryan returned to Australia the following year. They divorced in 1972.[3]
In 1973, Ryan graduated from ANU with aMaster of Arts degree. In the same year she was appointed national executive officer of the Australian Council of State School Organisations. Ryan was also a foundation member of theBelconnen branch of theAustralian Labor Party (ALP) and theWomen's Electoral Lobby. She unsuccessfully stood for ALPpreselection in theDivision of Fraser prior to the1974 federal election.[3]
In 1974, Ryan was appointed to the non-governingACT Advisory Council and elected to the non-governingACT House of Assembly, servingbriefly between 1975 and 1976 as the member forFraser.[3]
In 1975 she was elected as one of the first two senators for the ACT, on the slogan "A woman's place is in the Senate".[4] She was the ACT's first female senator and first Labor senator.[3] When theHawke Labor government was elected inMarch 1983, Ryan was appointedMinister for Education and Youth Affairs andMinister assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women. She was Minister for Education in thesecond Hawke Ministry and opposed the re-introduction of fees for tertiary education despite strong support inCabinet for the user-pays principle. She lost the education portfolio in thethird Hawke Ministry and was instead given a much reduced role asSpecial Minister of State, with responsibility for the ill-fatedAustralia Card.[5] Subsequently, theHigher Education Contribution Scheme was introduced to partially fund higher education.[6] Ryan resigned from the Senate on 29 January 1988.[7]
Ryan had a strong focus on gender equality in politics. Aprivate member's bill introduced by her in 1981 was crucial to the development of theSex Discrimination Act 1984, theAffirmative Action (Equal Employment Opportunity for Women) Act 1986, thePublic Service Reform Act 1984 and theEqual Employment Opportunity (Commonwealth Authorities) Act 1987. She was also a founding member of theWomen's Electoral Lobby ACT branch.[6]
As Minister for Education Ryan was responsible for steering through the government's adoption of the National Policy on Languages in 1987, Australia's first explicit language policy, which she had commissioned Joseph Lo Bianco to prepare. In 2016 she participated in the 30th anniversary celebrations of this breakthrough, held at the RJ Hawke Centre, University of South Australia.
Following her resignation from politics, Ryan worked as an editor and in the insurance, plastics and superannuation industries.[8] In November 1998 Ryan was appointed one of the first two pro-chancellors of theUniversity of New South Wales,[9] a position she held until 2011. She was president of theAustralian Institute of Superannuation Trustees from 2000 to 2007. Ryan campaigned for an Australianbill of rights[6] and was deputy chairman of theAustralian Republican Movement from 2000 to 2003.[3] In 1999 Ryan published a political autobiography,Catching the Waves: life in and out of politics.[10]
In July 2011, Ryan was appointed as Australia's inaugural Age Discrimination Commissioner with theAustralian Human Rights Commission for a 5-year term.[11] She was also the Disability Discrimination Commissioner, from 2014 to 2016.[12][13]
Ryan was appointed an Officer of theOrder of Australia (AO) in June 1990.[14] She received honorary doctorates from theAustralian National University,University of Canberra,Macquarie University and theUniversity of South Australia.[6]
In April 2018 Ryan was awarded the Australian National University's Alumni of the Year award.[15]
Ryan died on 27 September 2020 in Sydney, aged 77.[16][17] She had fallen ill after going for a swim on 25 September, and had been in intensive care atPrince of Wales Hospital inRandwick since then.[18]
Paying tribute, former Prime MinisterPaul Keating said Ryan's greatest achievement in politics had been as Education Minister helping lift Australian high school retention from a rate of three children in 10 to nine children in 10. Incumbent Prime MinisterScott Morrison also paid tribute, calling her a "ground breaker" as the first Minister for Women. ACT senatorKaty Gallagher said Ryan campaigned that a woman's place was in "all the places where decisions were being made".[16]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Minister for Education 1983–1987 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women 1983–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Special Minister of State 1987–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Parliament of Australia | ||
| Preceded by | Senator for theAustralian Capital Territory 1975–1988 | Succeeded by |
| Legal offices | ||
| Preceded by | Age Discrimination Commissioner 2011–2016 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
