Kathryn Therese Greiner (born 1946) is an Australian politician and social advocate. She is a former alderman of the

City of Sydney The City of Sydney is the Local government in Australia, local government area covering the Sydney central business district and surrounding inner city suburbs of the Greater Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established by Act of Parliament ...

from 1995 until 2004. She is separated from

Nick Greiner Nicholas Frank Hugo Greiner (; born 27 April 1947) is an Australian politician who served as the 37th Premier of New South Wales from 1988 to 1992. Greiner was Leader of the New South Wales Division of the Liberal Party from 1983 to 1992 and ...

, a former

Premier of New South Wales The premier of New South Wales is the head of government in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The Government of New South Wales follows the Westminster system, Westminster Parliamentary System, with a Parliament of New South Wales actin ...

Career

Kathryn Therese Callaghan was born in 1946, the second daughter of

Bede Callaghan Sir Bede Bertrand Callaghan CBE (16 March 1912 – 19 September 1993) was an Australian banker and university administrator. He was managing director of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia from 1965 to 1976 and chancellor of the University of N ...

(1912–1993) and Mollie née Brewer. Her father was a merchant banker, Chairman of the

Commonwealth Bank The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), also known as Commonwealth Bank or simply CommBank, is an Australian multinational bank with businesses across New Zealand, Asia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. It provides a variety of fi ...

and Chancellor of the University of Newcastle, and was knighted in 1976. She attended schools in London and Washington, and

Loreto Kirribilli Loreto Kirribilli is an independent Catholic comprehensive single-sex primary and secondary day school for girls, located in Kirribilli, a Lower North Shore suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Established at Milsons Point in ...

in Sydney, where she was Head Prefect. She graduated from the

University of New South Wales The University of New South Wales (UNSW) is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was established in 1949. The university comprises seven faculties, through which it offers bachelor's, master's and docto ...

with a Bachelor of Social Work. She also holds a Certificate in Early Childhood Development from

Macquarie University Macquarie University ( ) is a Public university, public research university in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Founded in 1964 by the New South Wales Government, it was the third university to be established in the Sydney metropolitan area. ...

. Prior to 1988, she spent her entire working life in the child care area. She married

, a businessman, in 1970. Following their marriage, the Greiners worked in the United States. She worked in the Institute of Human Resources at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

, specialising in childcare policy. On return to Australia she was a Program Officer in early childhood education for the NSW Department of Youth and Community Services 1976–1988.Ursula Woodhouse, ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 31 January 1988
Kathryn Greiner: Juggling her life politically
/ref> In 1980 Nick Greiner was elected to the NSW Legislative Assembly for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

, becoming Leader of the Opposition in 1983, and defeating the Labor Party's

Barrie Unsworth Barrie John Unsworth (born 16 April 1934) is an Australian former politician, representing the Labor Party in the Parliament of New South Wales from 1978 to 1991. He served as the 36th Premier from July 1986 to March 1988. Since the death o ...

in 1988 to become

. He was forced to resign as Premier in 1992. Kathryn Greiner first contested the Sydney City Council election in 1995 as an independent aligned with the Liberal Party. She outpolled sitting

Lord Mayor of Sydney The Right Honourable the Lord Mayor of Sydney is the head of the Council of the City of Sydney, which is the local government area covering the central business district of Sydney in the State of New South Wales, Australia. The Lord Mayor has b ...

Frank Sartor on the primary vote, but lost to him on preferences. In 1999 she led the Sydney Alliance team but again failed to become Lord Mayor.Craig McGregor, ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in Sydney, Australia, and owned by Nine Entertainment. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuous ...

'', 21 August 1999, Spectrum, "What Katy Did Next", pp. 1, 4 However, she served as an Alderman from 9 September 1995 to 6 February 2004.Sydney's Aldermen
Retrieved 19 May 2014 Sydney Alliance was voluntarily deregistered with the

New South Wales Electoral Commission The New South Wales Electoral Commission, known as the NSWEC or the NSW Electoral Commission is a statutory agency with responsibility for the administration, organisation, and supervision of elections in New South Wales. It reports to the NS ...

in 2003. In 2003, she resigned as chair of the Sydney Peace Foundation and as a member of the executive council of the Research Institute for Asia and the Pacific, both associated with the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

. This was done in response to her husband's enforced resignation as chair of the university's Graduate School of Management in the wake of academic protests against his simultaneous chairmanship of British American Tobacco (Australia). In September 2012 Kathryn Greiner was appointed Chair of the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Ageing by the NSW Minister for Ageing, Andrew Constance.NSW Government: Family & Community Services, Ageing, Disability & Home Car
Kathryn Greiner AO appointed Chair of Ministerial Advisory Committee on Ageing
. Retrieved 19 May 2014 Her numerous other directorships and involvements have included: Financial Planning Association, John Singleton Advertising, Deputy Chancellor of

Bond University Bond University is Australia's first private university, private not-for-profit university and is located in Robina, Queensland, Robina on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Since its opening on 15 May 1989, Bond University has primarily been a teachi ...

Australian Hearing Hearing Australia is a statutory authority constituted under the ''Australian Hearing Services Act 1991''. Hearing Australia is the largest provider of government-funded hearing services in Australia. One of their areas of interest is hearing tes ...

, the National Capital Authority, Pacific Power, Carlovers Ltd, L.E.K. Consulting, Chair of Biotechcapital Ltd, member of the Schools Funding Review Panel (Gonski Review),

Bell Shakespeare Bell Shakespeare is an Australian theatre company specialising in the works of William Shakespeare, his contemporaries and other classics. Founded by actor John Bell and based in Sydney, it is Australia's only national theatre company. Apart f ...

, Save the Children Australia, Asia Society Austral Asia Centre, Australian Ireland Fund,

Salvation Army The Salvation Army (TSA) is a Protestantism, Protestant Christian church and an international charitable organisation headquartered in London, England. It is aligned with the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. The organisation reports a worldwide m ...

Executive Committee, and Musica Viva Australia National Advisory Council. She has also been a media presenter for radio station

2UE 2UE is an all-music radio station in Sydney owned by Nine Entertainment and run under a lease agreement by Ace Radio. It currently broadcasts from its studios in Pyrmont, New South Wales. History 1920s 2EU Electrical Utilities applied to the P ...

and for television's

Nine Network Nine Network (stylised 9Network, and commonly known as Channel Nine or simply Nine) is an Australian commercial free-to-air television network. It is owned by parent company Nine Entertainment and is one of the five main free-to-air television ...

Personal life

Kathryn Callaghan married

on 1 August 1970. They have two children, Justin and Kara, and four grandchildren. The Greiners separated in 1995, after he admitted having had an extra-marital affair. They reconciled in early 1996. They separated again in October 2013.Michaela Whitbourn, ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 21 October 2013
"Nick Greiner splits from wife Kathryn"
Retrieved 19 May 2014 She is a strong Catholic.

Honours and awards

She was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

in January 2001, and appointed an

Officer of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

in June 2001, "for service to social welfare, particularly in the area of family support and the development of strategies to prevent child abuse, to charity through raising awareness of the need for funding to permit expansion and delivery of services, and to local government in Sydney".It's an Honour: AO
Retrieved 19 May 2014

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Greiner, Kathryn Living people 1946 births University of New South Wales alumni Macquarie University alumni Australian social workers Spouses of Australian politicians Sydney City Councillors Australian Roman Catholics Officers of the Order of Australia Australian people of Irish descent Women local councillors in Australia