Patricia Forsythe (born 1 March 1952) is an Australian politician and diplomat who was the Australian High Commissioner to New Zealand from March 2019 to March 2022. As of 2024, she is Chancellor at the University of Newcastle. She was previously the Executive Director of the

Sydney Business Chamber The Sydney Business Chamber, established in 1825 as the Sydney Chamber of Commerce, is the second-oldest business entity in New South Wales. Today, it is a division of the NSW Business Chamber and known as Business Sydney. Its membership is dr ...

since September 2006. Prior to her appointment to the Chamber, she was a member of the

Legislative Council of New South Wales The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

representing 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 ...

between 1991 and 2006.

Biography

Born in

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

, she received a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(

Diploma of Education The Diploma of Education, often abbreviated to DipEd or GradDipEd, is a postgraduate qualification offered in many Commonwealth countries including Australia, Sri Lanka, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Overview The diploma can build on th ...

) from the

University of Newcastle, Australia The University of Newcastle is a Public university#Australia, public university in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia. Established in 1965, it has a primary campus in the Newcastle suburb of Callaghan, New South Wales, Callaghan. The univers ...

and became a high school teacher from 1974 to 1978 and 1983 to 1986. She had joined the Liberal Party in 1968, and served on the State Executive 1982-1991 and 1993–1995. After a period as a public affairs manager from 1987 to 1988, she was Executive Officer to the Minister for Local Government and Planning from 1988 to 1991.

Political career

1991 It was the final year of the Cold War, which had begun in 1947. During the year, the Soviet Union Dissolution of the Soviet Union, collapsed, leaving Post-soviet states, fifteen sovereign republics and the Commonwealth of Independent State ...

, Forsythe was elected to the

New South Wales Legislative Council The New South Wales Legislative Council, often referred to as the upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, parliament of the Australian state of New South Wales. Along with the New South Wales Legislative As ...

as a Liberal member. During her period in the Legislative Council, Forsythe spoke against moves by the Federal party and student Liberal organisations who were promoting

voluntary student unionism Voluntary student unionism (VSU), as it is known in Australia, or voluntary student membership (VSM), as it is known in New Zealand, is a policy under which membership of – and payment of membership fees to – university student organisations ...

In 2005, Forsythe expressed concern over the "extreme religious right" in the Liberal Party after the resignation and suicide attempt of then Liberal leader John Brogden. Forsythe named David Clarke as leader of the religious right. Forsythe was challenged for preselection by Matthew Mason-Cox for the 2007 state election. However, she resigned on 22 September 2006 and took up appointment as Executive Director of the NSW Business Chamber. She was replaced by Mason-Cox in the Legislative Council.

Life after politics

Forsythe is currently a member of the Council of

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. ...

, and serves on the boards of the Hunter Development Corporation, the Hunter Medical Research Institute, Business Events Sydney, the Anglican Board of Mission, and

Cricket NSW Cricket NSW (officially known as the ''New South Wales Cricket Association'') is an Australian sporting association that administers cricket in New South Wales. It is based at the Sydney Olympic Park. The New South Wales Blues, the New South W ...

. She has previously been a member of the

National Trust The National Trust () is a heritage and nature conservation charity and membership organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Trust was founded in 1895 by Octavia Hill, Sir Robert Hunter and Hardwicke Rawnsley to "promote the ...

, the Institute of Political Science, the

Sydney Institute The Sydney Institute is a privately funded Australian policy forum founded on the 23 of August, 1989. The institute took over the resources of the New South Wales division of the Institute of Public Affairs. Columnist and writer Gerard Henderso ...

Amnesty International Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...

, and Friends of La Perouse Museum. On 1 March 2019 it was announced that Forsythe had been appointed the post of High Commissioner to New Zealand, despite having no previous diplomatic experience and the role being typically held by a career Department of Foreign Affairs officer. Forsythe served concurrently as non-resident High Commissioner to the

Cook Islands The Cook Islands is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands whose total land area is approximately . The Cook Islands' Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) covers of ocean. Avarua is its ...

and

Niue Niue is a self-governing island country in free association with New Zealand. It is situated in the South Pacific Ocean and is part of Polynesia, and predominantly inhabited by Polynesians. One of the world's largest coral islands, Niue is c ...

until 2020, and completed her term as High Commissioner to New Zealand in March 2022. Forsythe was appointed a

Member 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 2019 for significant service to business, and to the people and Parliament of New South Wales. On 4 October 2023 the University of Newcastle announced the appointment of Forsythe as the university's next chancellor, replacing Paul Jeans. Forsythe's term as chancellor commenced on 1 January 2024.

Biography

Political career

Life after politics

References

Further reading