Elizabeth Meryl Penfold (born 15 September 1947) is an

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

retired politician who represented the seat of

Flinders Flinders may refer to: Places Antarctica * Flinders Peak, near the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula Australia New South Wales * Flinders County, New South Wales * Shellharbour Junction railway station, Shellharbour * Flinders, New South Wa ...

in the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly (also known as the lower house) is one of two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia, the other being the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assem ...

for the

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from 1993 to 2010. She is a graduate of the Company Directors Course and is a registered lobbyist with the State Government. Prior to election into politics, her education included a Certificate in Real Estate Sales, Political Studies undertaken by correspondence from

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

through the

University of Queensland The University of Queensland is a Public university, public research university located primarily in Brisbane, the capital city of the Australian state of Queensland. Founded in 1909 by the Queensland parliament, UQ is one of the six sandstone ...

, and was a Classified Teacher from the Wattle Park Teachers College, Adelaide. Penfold is a fellow of the

Flinders University Flinders University, established as The Flinders University of South Australia is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across a number of locations in South Australia and ...

of South Australia Foundation Inc. and Member of the

Eyre Peninsula The Eyre Peninsula is a triangular peninsula in South Australia. It is bounded by the Spencer Gulf on the east, the Great Australian Bight on the west, and the Gawler Ranges to the north. Earlier called Eyre's Peninsula, it was named after e ...

Agricultural Research Foundation as well as Patron of the Lower Eyre Peninsula She has also been a member of many economic, marine and arts organisations, and has participated in hospital and health fundraising. Penfold won Liberal

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presel ...

for Flinders at the 1993 election. The seat had been held by

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Peter Blacker since 1973. Blacker sat on a seemingly insurmountable margin of 10.9 percent. However, Penfold defeated him on a swing of 14.6 percent amid that year's massive Liberal landslide, taking 57.8 percent of the two-party vote. She actually won 54 percent of the primary vote, enough to win the seat outright. She defeated Blacker just as easily in a

1997 Events January * January 1 – The Emergency Alert System is introduced in the United States. * January 11 – Turkey threatens Cyprus on account of a deal to buy Russian S-300 missiles, prompting the Cypriot Missile Crisis. * January 1 ...

rematch. The 2006 election saw Penfold face a National candidate on the two party preferred vote. It was due to this that the Liberal vote collapsed from 18.3% to a margin of 10.1%. However the Liberal Labor margin was 78.6% making it the most conservative seat in the State. Penfold held Opposition portfolios of regional development, small business and consumer affairs. She did not contest the 2010 election. Former Australian Farmers' Federation Grains Council chairman Peter Treloar won the seat for the Liberals with a collapse in the National Party vote causing the two party preferred vote being between Liberal and Labor candidates.

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Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia 1947 births Living people 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the South Australian House of Assembly {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub