Julie Bishop

For the American actress, see Julie Bishop (actress).
The Honourable
Julie Bishop
MP
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office
18 September 2013
Prime Minister Tony Abbott
Preceded by Bob Carr
Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party
Incumbent
Assumed office
29 November 2007
Leader Brendan Nelson
Malcolm Turnbull
Tony Abbott
Preceded by Peter Costello
Deputy Leader of the Opposition
In office
3 December 2007 – 18 September 2013
Leader Brendan Nelson
Malcolm Turnbull
Tony Abbott
Preceded by Julia Gillard
Succeeded by Anthony Albanese
Minister for Education and Science
In office
27 January 2006 – 3 December 2007
Prime Minister John Howard
Preceded by Brendan Nelson
Succeeded by Julia Gillard
Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues
In office
27 January 2006 – 3 December 2007
Prime Minister John Howard
Preceded by Kay Patterson
Succeeded by Tanya Plibersek
Minister for Ageing
In office
7 October 2003 – 27 January 2006
Prime Minister John Howard
Preceded by Kevin Andrews
Succeeded by Santo Santoro
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Curtin
Incumbent
Assumed office
3 October 1998
Preceded by Allan Rocher
Majority 17.42%
Personal details
Born 17 July 1956
Lobethal, South Australia
Political party Liberal Party
Other political
affiliations		 Coalition
Spouse(s) Neil Gillon (1983–1988)
Alma mater University of Adelaide
Religion Christianity[1]

Julie Isabel Bishop MP (born 17 July 1956) is an Australian politician who has been the Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2013 and the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party since 2007.[2][3] Bishop grew up in the Adelaide Hills and was educated at the St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School, later attending the University of Adelaide and the Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts. She began her early career as a solicitor at the Adelaide law firm Mangan, Ey & Bishop for several years.

Bishop began her political career as a member of the Australian House of Representatives during the 1998 federal election for the seat of Curtin in Western Australia. She is the first female Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and only the third woman to have held the title of Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

Bishop previously served in the Howard Government as the Minister for Ageing from 2003 to 2006 and the Minister for Education, Science and Training from 2006 to 2007 until the defeat of the Liberal/National Coalition at the election held on 24 November 2007. She is a republican.[4] She holds a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide and was managing partner of the Perth office of the law firm Clayton Utz from 1994 to 1998.

Early life and career

Bishop in 2007

Bishop was born in Lobethal, South Australia, growing up on a cherry farm in the Adelaide Hills.[5][6] She was educated at St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School and later at the University of Adelaide, where she studied law, graduating in 1978. She practised as a barrister and solicitor at the Adelaide law firm Mangan, Ey & Bishop, where she was a partner.

In 1983, Bishop moved to Perth, Western Australia, where she practised as a commercial litigation solicitor at Clayton Utz (then known as Robinson Cox). While working at Clayton Utz, she was part of the legal team which defended compensation claims against CSR by asbestos mining workers who had contracted mesothelioma as a result of their work for the company.[7][8] She became a partner of Clayton Utz in 1985.

Bishop became managing partner of the Perth office of Clayton Utz in 1994. In 1996, she attended Harvard Business School in Boston, Massachusetts, and completed the eight-week Advanced Management Program for Senior Managers. She has stated that it was at this course that she was inspired to give up her lucrative law career and enter politics.[9][10]

Bishop chaired the Town Planning Appeal Tribunal of Western Australia, belonged to the senate of Murdoch University and was a director of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and a director and fellow of the Australian Institute of Management. She has also served on the Council of Governors of the Lions Ear and Hearing Institute.[11]

Member of Parliament

Bishop won preselection for the Liberal Party for the seat of Curtin, Western Australia, in 1998, and went on to win the seat at the federal election later that year, defeating the sitting member, Liberal turned independent Allan Rocher, who had held the seat since 1981.

Following the Liberals' February 2001 state election loss by Richard Court to Geoff Gallop, Bishop was mooted as a possible contender for leader of the state opposition.[11] Initially, Court announced that he would lead the Liberals into opposition. However, behind the scenes he was engineering a deal under which both he and his deputy leader and factional opponent, Colin Barnett, would resign from the state legislature. Bishop would have handed her comfortably safe federal seat to Barnett, entered the state parliament via a by-election in either Barnett or Court's comfortably safe state seats and succeeded Court as state Liberal leader.[12] The deal soon collapsed, however, when Bishop turned it down, declaring that the arrangement wasn't bizarre, but "innovative, different".[11] Court was forced to leave politics altogether, and Barnett took over as state opposition leader.

Minister in the Howard government

Bishop was appointed Minister for Ageing in 2003. She was later promoted to Minister for Education, Science and Training and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Women's Issues in the cabinet reshuffle on 24 January 2006 and served in those positions until the defeat of the Coalition government at the federal election held on 24 November 2007.

Bishop's education policies centred on the development of national education standards as well as performance-based pay for teachers.[13] On 13 April 2007, the Australian state governments expressed opposition to Bishop's policies, notably those relating to performance pay. In the 2007 budget, the federal government announced a $5b "endowment fund" for higher education, with the expressed goal of providing world-class tertiary institutions in Australia.[14]

Some of Bishop's comments, such as "the states have ideologically hijacked school syllabi and are wasting $180 million in unnecessary duplication", were criticised by teachers. An advance media kit for a 2006 speech claimed parts of the contemporary curriculum came "straight from Chairman Mao"; however, the reference was dropped from her speech.[15][16][17]

In 2006, Bishop was offered substantial donations to the Liberal Party by Tim Johnston, the Perth-based head of the fraudulent company Firepower International, who sought her co-operation in obtaining substantial Commonwealth funding for his operations.[18] Bishop facilitated Johnston's access to the Howard government at the highest level, compounding extensive official complicity and Austrade funding of the multi-million-dollar scam.[19] For example, Firepower was promoted as a co-sponsor (with BHP Billiton) of the trade show "Australia Week in Moscow", which was opened by the Australian head of state, Governor General Michael Jeffery[20]:114 on 10 May 2005.[21]

Shadow ministry and deputy Liberal leader

Following the Coalition's loss at the 2007 election, Bishop was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party under Brendan Nelson on 29 November 2007. In a ballot of Liberal party room members, Bishop prevailed with 44 votes, one more than the combined total of her two competitors, Andrew Robb (25 votes) and Christopher Pyne (18 votes).[22] Nelson opted not to give National Party leader Warren Truss the post of Deputy Leader of the Opposition, instead giving it to Bishop. Bishop was also given the shadow portfolio of employment, business and workplace relations in the Nelson shadow cabinet.[23]

Bishop and Quentin Bryce, 2013

On 22 September 2008, Bishop was offered the role of Shadow Treasurer by Nelson's successor as Opposition Leader, Malcolm Turnbull, in his shadow cabinet,[24] making her the first woman to hold the portfolio of any major party at the federal level.[25] On 16 February 2009, she resigned from the position of Shadow Treasurer due to dissatisfaction within Liberal ranks over her performance. Bishop moved to foreign affairs while maintaining her position of Deputy Leader and the shadow treasury portfolio was taken over by Joe Hockey.[26] On 1 December 2009, Tony Abbott was elected leader after a leadership spill. Bishop retained the deputy role without being challenged for the position[27] and also retained her role as Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs in Abbott's shadow cabinet.[28]

In 2010, Bishop defended the suspected forgery of Australian passports by Mossad, saying that many countries practised the forging of passports for intelligence operations, including Australia.[29] The government attacked Bishop over the statements, saying she had "broken a long-standing convention" in not speculating about intelligence practices.[30][31] She later clarified her statement, saying, "I have no knowledge of any Australian authority forging any passports of any nation."[32]

Following the Coalition's narrow loss in the 2010 federal election, Bishop retained the roles of Deputy Leader and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and was given the added responsibility of Shadow Minister for Trade.[33]

Minister in the Abbott government

Bishop being sworn in as Foreign Minister by Quentin Bryce at Government House
Bishop with US Secretary of State John Kerry

Following the election of the Abbott Coalition government in September 2013, Bishop remained as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party and was appointed as Australia's first female Minister for Foreign Affairs.[34]

In a 2015 speech explaining the Australian government's measures against the Islamic State, Bishop compared the psychological underpinnings of the IS with that of Nazism. Extensively citing Eric Hoffer's seminal work The True Believer, she argued that the declared Caliphate drew from the same source that drove the masses into supporting Hitler. His fanatic conviction of building a new Thousand Year Reich order spread the feeling to be in league with eternity while breaking his antagonists' determination. As Bishop argues, the same holds for the Islamic State: "Invincibility was – until the US-led airstrikes – all part of its attraction."[35]

Personal life

In 1983, Bishop married property developer Neil Gillon. The couple divorced in 1988. She has subsequently had relationships with Liberal state MP and senator Ross Lightfoot and a former Lord Mayor of Perth, Peter Nattrass.[36][37] Her current partner is property developer David Panton.[38]

Titles, styles and honours

Honours

Foreign honours

References

  1. ↑ "Julie Bishop: Australia's newest female Member of Cabinet". ABC (ABC). 12 April 2006. Retrieved 31 December 2014.
  2. ↑ "Tony Abbott's cabinet and outer ministry". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). AAP. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
  3. ↑ Pearlman, Jonathan (29 November 2007). "Nelson wins Liberal leadership". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 29 November 2007.
  4. ↑ "Abbott 'won't set back republican cause'". The Australian (News Corp Australia). AAP. 26 August 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  5. ↑ Spagnolo, Joe (21 September 2013). "Julie Bishop is living the dream following Coalition election to government". The Sunday Telegraph (Sydney: News Corp Australia). Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  6. ↑ King, Madonna (21 November 2014). "Less of a Bishop, more of a pope". The Sydney Morning Herald (Sydney: Fairfax Media). Retrieved 21 November 2014.
  7. ↑ "Bishop's lawyer work a source of shame". Herald Sun (Melbourne: News Limited). AAP. 27 November 2012. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  8. ↑ Maher, Sid (19 November 2012). "I was advised by the best on asbestos cases, says Julie Bishop". The Australian (News Limited). Retrieved 14 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "Advanced Management Program | Leadership | Programs – HBS Executive Education". Exed.hbs.edu. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Davis, Mark (7 September 2007). "True blue to her boots". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 11.2 Grattan, Michelle (11 October 2003). "New kid on the block". The Age (Melbourne: Fairfax Media). Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  12. ↑ Provost, Jenelle (26 February 2001). "New WA Liberals leader takes on divided party (transcript)". The 7:30 Report (ABC Television). Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  13. ↑ Bishop, Julie (30 January 2007). "Rudd revolution will take more than rhetoric – Opinion". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  14. ↑ "Hon Julie Bishop MP – Budget 2007–08 Media Releases". Dest.gov.au. 8 May 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  15. ↑ "Thatcher v Mao – what a week for ideology – Opinion". The Age (Melbourne: Fairfax Media). 7 October 2006. Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  16. ↑ Ferrari, Justine (6 October 2006). "Canberra to seize syllabus from states". The Australian (News Limited). Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  17. ↑ Turtle, Michael (13 April 2007). "States reject performance pay for teachers". PM (ABC Radio National). Retrieved 6 May 2007.
  18. ↑ Ryle G. & Magnay J. Firepower chief had dinner with Howard. Sydney Morning Herald 15 July 2008
  19. ↑ Austrade doles out to secretive firm. Sydney Morning Herald 10 January 2007
  20. ↑ Ryle, Gerard Firepower: The most spectacular fraud in Australian history Allen & Unwin, Sydney 2009. ISBN 978-1-74175-355-4
  21. ↑ Australia Week Moscow - May 2005 at dining-downunder.com. Accessed 20 March 2015
  22. ↑ O'Malley, Sandra (29 November 2007). "Divided Liberals choose Nelson to lead". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). AAP. Retrieved 13 July 2007.
  23. ↑ "Nelson unveils shadow ministry". The Age (Melbourne: Fairfax Media). AAP. 6 December 2007. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  24. ↑ "Malcolm Turnbull Shadow Ministry team". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney: News Limited). 22 September 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  25. ↑ Hudson, Phillip (22 September 2008). "Nelson's men dumped". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  26. ↑ Coorey, Phillip (16 February 2009). "Bishop quits as shadow treasurer". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). AAP. Retrieved 16 February 2009.
  27. ↑ Kerr, Christian (2 December 2009). "Julie Bishop keeps job continuity as deputy leader". The Australian (News Limited). Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  28. ↑ Sharp, Ari (8 December 2009). "Abbott reveals new frontbench after reshuffle". The Age (Melbourne: Fairfax Media). Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  29. ↑ Harvey, Michael (26 May 2010). "Liberal Deputy Julie Bishop 'jeopardising' security over passport claim". Herald Sun (Melbourne: News Limited). Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  30. ↑ "First the Israelis, now Julie Bishop's under attack over faked passport scandal". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). AAP. 26 May 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  31. ↑ Lester, Tim (25 May 2010). "Australia forges passports too, says Bishop". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 13 June 2010.
  32. ↑ Grattan, Michelle; Lester, Tim; Koutsoukis, Jason. "Passport gaffe trips Liberals' deputy leader". The Age (Melbournedate=26 May 2010: Fairfax Media). Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  33. ↑ "Abbott announces his shadow ministry". Australian Conservative. 11 September 2010. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
  34. ↑ Harris-Rimmer, Susan (20 September 2013). "Bishop joins ranks of the few". The Canberra Times (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  35. ↑ Bishop, Julie (18 March 2015). "Battling the Orwellian nightmare of Islamic State's mind control". Australian Financial Review. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  36. ↑ Mayes, Andrea (10 August 2007). "Rise and rise of Julie Bishop". The Sunday Times (Perth: News Limited). Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  37. ↑ Snow, Deborah (23 September 2013). "The talented Miss Julie". The Sydney Morning Herald (Fairfax Media). Retrieved 20 October 2013.
  38. ↑ Butler, Ben (5 November 2014). "All's laissez-faire in love and war". theaustralian.com.au. Retrieved 7 November 2014.
  39. ↑ Medal of Merit, Embassy, Consulate-General and Consulates, Australia, 5 September 2014, retrieved 8 September 2014

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julie Bishop.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by
Allan Rocher		 Member of Parliament
for Curtin
1998–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Kevin Andrews		 Minister for Ageing
2003–2006 		Succeeded by
Santo Santoro
Preceded by
Brendan Nelson		 Minister for Education and Science
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Julia Gillard
Preceded by
Kay Patterson		 Minister for Women's Issues
2006–2007 		Succeeded by
Tanya Plibersek
Preceded by
Julia Gillard		 Deputy Leader of the Opposition
2007–2013 		Succeeded by
Anthony Albanese
Preceded by
Bob Carr		 Minister for Foreign Affairs
2013–present 		Incumbent
Party political offices
Preceded by
Peter Costello		 Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party
2007–present 		Incumbent