Barry O'Farrell
| Barry O'Farrell MP | |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 4 April 2007 |
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| Preceded by | Peter Debnam |
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| Constituency | Ku-ring-gai |
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| Born | 24 May 1959 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia  |
| Political party | Liberal Party |
| Spouse | Rosemary O'Farrell |
| Children | Thomas Kent O'Farrell and William David O'Farrell |
| Residence | Roseville |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | http://www.barryofarrell.com |
Barry O'Farrell (born 24 May 1959) is an Australian politician, Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party, member for the state seat of Ku-ring-gai in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly and Opposition Leader of New South Wales.
O'Farrell was born in Melbourne. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Australian history, politics and Indigenous studies at the Australian National University in 1980.
Political history
O'Farrell became a member of the Liberal Party that same year. He has served variedly in the Party, and was an advisor to John Howard and Bruce Baird in the late 1980s and early 1990s respectively. O'Farrell was State Director of the NSW Liberal Party from 1992–1995.
O'Farrell was elected to the seat of Northcott (1995-99) and then Ku-ring-gai (since 1999) in the NSW Legislative Assembly, and served as Shadow Treasurer and Shadow Leader of the House in the State Opposition.[1] O'Farrell was elected Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in 1999 and served until 2002 when John Brogden was elected Leader. O'Farrell successfully contested the deputy's position following the 2003 State election.
Following the resignation of John Brogden as NSW Liberal Party leader on 29 August 2005, O'Farrell was considered the foremost contender for leadership. However, following Brogden's purported suicide attempt the day following, O'Farrell withdrew his candidacy stating he did not believe he could ensure party unity, leaving the road clear for Peter Debnam and remaining Deputy Leader of the NSW Liberals.[2][3]
After the Liberals were defeated in the March 2007 state election, O'Farrell announced his intention to challenge Debnam for party leadership.[4] Debnam decided not to contest the leadership challenge which left the way clear for Mr O'Farrell to take the leadership position. On 4 April 2007 O'Farrell was elected unopposed as New South Wales Liberal Leader.
Family
O'Farrell resides within his electorate at Roseville with his wife Rosemary O'Farrell and their two young children. His wife Rosemary is the daughter of former National Party member Bruce Cowan.
Trivia
O'Farrell has had the nicknames of "Fatty O'Barrell" or "Bof" due to his weight and these nicknames were sometimes called around Parliament referring to his once imposing physical presence. He has now lost 40 kilograms in an effort to reimage himself.[5][6]
References
- ^ Mr Barry Robert O'Farrell, MP. Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
- ^ "The lean, mean fighting machine", The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 August 2005.
- ^ "Turmoil at top blamed for failure at ballot box", The Sydney Morning Herald, 31 August 2005.
- ^ "O'Farrell to challenge Debnam", ABC, 26 March 2007.
- ^ O'Dwyer, Erin. "Trade-off for O'Farrell's rise: less footy with Coalition kids", The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 April 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
- ^ McDougall, Bruce. "Can O'Farrell control the monkeys?", Daily Telegraph, 3 April 2007. Retrieved on 2007-05-08.
External links
- Barry O'Farrell personal website
- "Transcript of interview with Barry O'Farrell", Stateline, ABC Television, April 13 2007. Retrieved on 2007-04-18.
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | O'Farrell, Barry Robert |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | New South Wales politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 24 May 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Melbourne |
| DATE OF DEATH | Living person |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
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