Ljiljanna Maria Ravlich (born Ljiljana Ravlić on 9 January 1958 in

Split, Croatia Split (, ), historically known as Spalato (; ; see #Name, other names), is the List of cities and towns in Croatia, second-largest city of Croatia after the capital Zagreb, the largest city in Dalmatia and the largest city on the Croatian coast ...

FPR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

) is a

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

n politician. She was a Labor Party member of the

Western Australian Legislative Council The Western Australian Legislative Council is the upper house of the Parliament of Western Australia, a state of Australia. It is regarded as a house of review for legislation passed by the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, Legislative A ...

from 1997 to 2015. She was the Minister for Education during the debate over the introduction of outcomes-based education. She subsequently served as Minister for Government Enterprises; Multicultural Interests and Citizenship; Youth; and Minister Assisting the Minister for Planning and Infrastructure.

Early life

Ravlich lived in the small village of Kozica,

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

until the age of five, when her family emigrated to

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, Western Australia in 1963. Her family initially lived in Midland, and Ravlich attended Governor Stirling Senior High School. She continued her tertiary education at

Curtin University of Technology Curtin University (previously Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology) is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, Prime Minister ...

where she completed a BA (SocSc) majoring in

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and also Graduate Diplomas in Education and Education Administration. From 1980, she worked as a high school teacher in Norseman, Kambalda, Northam and Morawa. Later she moved into education management before starting her own consulting company. She married in 1984, but the marriage lasted only two years.

Political career

Ravlich was elected to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in 1996, becoming the first woman born in a non-English speaking country to enter the

Parliament of Western Australia The Parliament of Western Australia is the bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Australian states and territories of Australia, state of Western Australia, which constitutes the legislative branch of the state's political system. The parl ...

. She is also thought to be the first Croatian-born woman elected to a parliament outside

. When the

Gallop The canter and gallop are variations on the fastest gait that can be performed by a horse or other equine. The canter is a controlled three-beat gait, while the gallop is a faster, four-beat variation of the same gait. It is a natural gait po ...

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

government was elected in

2001 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

, she served as a parliamentary secretary until 2005, when she was appointed as Local Government Minister. Shortly afterwards she became the Minister for Education. Charged with the implementation of a controversial outcomes-based education policy, she held a high-profile portfolio and received much media coverage before losing her ministerial position in December 2006.

PLATO WA PLATO WA, an abbreviation of 'People Lobbying Against Teaching Outcomes', was a lobby group led by Marko Vojkovic that was at the forefront of an ultimately successful campaign of parents and teachers against the implementation of Outcomes Based E ...

, a community-based lobby group, celebrated her demotion. In March 2007, as a result of a cabinet reshuffle by Premier Alan Carpenter, Ravlich was reinstated into the cabinet. She lives in Cottesloe, and is the partner of Western Australia's former State Opposition Leader Eric Ripper.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ravlich, Ljiljanna 1958 births Australian people of Croatian descent Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Curtin University alumni People educated at Governor Stirling Senior High School Living people People from Split-Dalmatia County Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Yugoslav emigrants to Australia 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Council Ministers for education (Western Australia)