The Hon. Matthew Joseph Foley (born 24 January 1951) is a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

n politician.

Early life

Before entering politics, Foley was a barrister and social worker, and sub-dean of the Social Work Faculty at

Queensland University The University of Queensland is a 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 universities, an i ...

1981–1983. Foley was chairperson of the Social Security Appeals Tribunal (1983–1986), president of the Queensland Council for Civil Liberties (1985–1987), a member of the Criminal Law Sub-Committee of the Bar Association of Queensland and of the National Consumer Affairs Advisory Council (1988–1989) and National President of the Labor Lawyers Association (1989).

Political career

In 1989, Foley was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Queensland The Legislative Assembly of Queensland is the sole chamber of the unicameral Parliament of Queensland established under the Constitution of Queensland. Elections are held every four years and are done by full preferential voting. The Assembly ...

as the

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 ...

member for

Yeronga Yeronga is a southern riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeronga had a population of 7,062 people. Geography The suburb is bounded to the west and north by the Brisbane River and to the south-east by Ip ...

. From 1992 onward, Foley served as

Attorney-General of Queensland The attorney-general of Queensland is a ministerial position of the Government of Queensland with responsibility for the state's legal and justice system. , the attorney-general of Queensland is Deb Frecklington. List of attorneys-general of ...

and Minister for the Arts, among other roles, in the

Wayne Goss Wayne Keith Goss (26 February 1951 – 10 November 2014) was Premier of Queensland from 7 December 1989 until 19 February 1996, becoming the first Labor Premier of the state in over 32 years. Prior to entering politics, Goss was a solicitor, an ...

Government. In opposition from 1996 to 1998, Foley was Shadow Attorney-General. When Labor won government under

Peter Beattie Peter Douglas Beattie (born 18 November 1952) is an Australian former politician who served as the 36th Premier of Queensland, in office from 1998 to 2007. He was the state leader of the Labor Party from 1996 to 2007. Beattie was born in Syd ...

in 1998, Foley was appointed Minister for the Arts, Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. At the 2001 election, his seat was abolished and he successfully contested

Yeerongpilly Yeerongpilly is a southern suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Yeerongpilly had a population of 2,033 people. Geography Yeerongpilly is south-west of the Brisbane GPO. A small section of the north eastern bound ...

. Judge

Roslyn Atkinson Roslyn Gay Atkinson (born 30 November 1948 in Brisbane, Queensland) is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Queensland, who served for 20 years from 1998 until her retirement in 2018. In 2002 she also became the Chairperson of the Queensla ...

has credited Foley, in his role as Queensland Attorney-General, with making the Bench more inclusive and representative of wider society, and specifically appointing more women to the Bench.Interview with Judge Roslyn Atkinson, 'The Conversation Hour', ABC Radio National, 10 October 2015. http://www.abc.net.au/local/stories/2015/10/19/4334218.htm. Accessed 28 October 2015 After the election, he became Minister for Employment, Training and Youth, keeping his responsibility for the Arts but leaving his legal portfolios. Foley retired from politics in 2004.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foley, Matt Attorneys-general of Queensland 1951 births Living people Members of the Queensland Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Queensland 21st-century Australian politicians