Margaret Reid

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The Hon. Margaret Elizabeth Reid AO (born 28 May 1935) was an Australian politician. She was the first woman to be President of the Australian Senate.

Born near Adelaide, South Australia, Reid was educated at the University of Adelaide. There she joined the Liberal Party, becoming the first female president of the Australian Liberal Students Federation. After graduating Reid became a barrister by trade, specialising in family law. She moved to Canberra in 1965.

In March 1981 Reid was selected to fill a casual vacancy in the Senate following the death of her close friend, Senator John Knight. She became Liberal Whip in the Senate in 1987 and held the office until 1995. In 1996 she was elected Senate President, retiring in 2002 after six years, the first woman to hold that office.

Reid resigned from the Senate in February 2003, and was replaced in the Senate by former Australian Capital Territory Chief Minister Gary Humphries. An active patron of over eighty community organisations in Canberra, in 2004 she was appointed an Officer in the Order of Australia for her service to the Australian Parliament and the community.