Sallyanne Atkinson AO (born 23 July 1942) was Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1985 to 1991 in

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, Australia. She is the only woman to have held the position. As of 2017, she was Chairman of the

Museum of Brisbane Museum of Brisbane (MoB) explores contemporary and historic Brisbane, Australia, and its people through a program of art and social history exhibitions, workshops, talks, tours and children's activities. Located on Level 3, of Brisbane City Hall ...

, President of the Council of The Women's College at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = ...

and chair of the advisory board of the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland.

Early life

Atkinson was born in Sydney.Sallyanne Atkinson
Our House, ninemsn.com.au She attended Bishop's College and the Royal Naval School in

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, Sri Lanka and completed her secondary education at St Hilda's School on

's Gold Coast. In 1960 she began an Arts degree at the University of Queensland, before becoming a journalist on the Brisbane Telegraph from 1960 to 1962, the Sydney Telegraph from 1962 to 1963, and the Courier Mail from 1963 to 1964. She completed her Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in History and Political Science, in 1967. After joining the

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in the early 1970s Atkinson worked as a research assistant to the Hon Jim Killen, Minister for Defence,from 1975 to 1978, before being elected as Alderman for Indooroopilly in the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisdic ...

in 1979. She also wrote a number of books, including ''Sallyanne Atkinson's Brisbane Guide'' which was released in 1985.UQ Alumni
Sallyanne Atkinson AO, former Brisbane Lord Mayor

Lord Mayor of Brisbane

Sallyanne Atkinson was elected Lord Mayor in 1985, after defeating the

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incumbent Roy Harvey. She became the first female Lord Mayor of Brisbane, as well as the first from the

. She was eventually defeated in 1991 in a narrow upset election win by the virtually unknown Jim Soorley, who received preferences from the

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candidate Drew Hutton.

Subsequent career

After leaving the position as Lord Mayor of Brisbane, she became the first woman on the boards of several major companies, including Caltex, She unsuccessfully ran as the Liberal candidate for the federal seat of

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at the 1993 election. Atkinson was then Australia's Senior Trade Commissioner to France from 1994–1997. Her role was to promote Australian exports and encourage investment in Australia. She was also Australia's representative to the

International Chamber of Commerce The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC; French: ''Chambre de commerce internationale'') is the largest, most representative business organization A business entity is an entity that is formed and administered as per corporate law in order ...

. While a representative of the

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, she supported the Olympic bids of many cities around Australia, including the Brisbane bid for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1992, ca, Jocs Olímpics d'estiu de 1992), officially known as the Games of the XXV Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XXV Olimpiada, ca, Jocs de la XXV Olimpíada) and commonly known as ...

and the successful Sydney 2000 Olympics Bid. In France she was the European Representative for the Sydney Olympic Committee. She was subsequently made the

Deputy Mayor The deputy mayor (also known as vice mayor, assistant mayor, or mayor ''pro tem'') is an elective or appointive office of the second-ranking official that is present in many, but not all, local governments. Duties and functions Many elected dep ...

of the athletes' village. Atkinson was awarded Australian Catholic University's (ACU National) highest honour, Doctor of the University (honoris causa), at the Brisbane Campus graduation ceremony held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 2 April 2004. ACU National Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Sheehan AO, said the award recognises Ms Atkinson's extraordinary contribution to Australia's international reputation as a location for sporting events, and her contribution to government and the community. "Through her many years of generous service, in particular her work on the Olympic bids for Brisbane and Sydney and as Deputy Mayor of the Olympic Village at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Ms Atkinson has contributed to Australia's eminent status in world sport. In 1993 Ms Atkinson was created an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Go ...

for service to local government and the community, and in 2003 she was awarded a

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 The Federation of Australia was the process by which the six separate ...

for service to local government and to business. Professor Peter Sheehan AO stated during an ACU Graduation Address in 2004, "Sallyanne Atkinson is a most distinguished Australian, an eminent Queenslander, and has brought great credit to the city of Brisbane." She was also awarded Honorary Doctorates from

Griffith University Griffith University is a public research university in South East Queensland on the east coast of Australia. Formally founded in 1971, Griffith opened its doors in 1975, introducing Australia's first degrees in environmental science and Asia ...

and the University of Queensland. In the early 2000's Sallyanne served as a board member and then chairperson of

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, inside the Lamington National Park, Queensland. Sallyanne Atkinson was chairman in Queensland for

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Government Relations, providing strategic advice to businesses and not-for-profits on working with government from 2012 to 2015.

Honours and awards

* 1993 –

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

* 2001 –

Australian Sports Medal The Australian Sports Medal is an award given to recognise achievements in Australian sport to commemorate Australian participation in major sporting events. Original recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, offi ...

* 2001 –

Atkinson has been honoured by

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, is an Honorary Fellow for the

Australian Institute of Management The Australian Institute of Management Education and Training Pty Ltd, commonly known as AIM or AIMET, is an Australian education provider. Its courses include business, management and leadership. AIM offers short courses, nationally accredited qu ...

, and is an honorary Life Member of the

National Trust The National Trust, formally the National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, is a charity and membership organisation for heritage conservation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, there is a separate and ...

. The French Government made her a Chevalier of the Ordre National du Merite. She served as founding member of the board of the United Nations'

International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability (or simply ICLEI) is an international non-governmental organization that promotes sustainable development. ICLEI provides technical consulting to local governments to meet sustainability objectives. ...

, a role in which she chaired the first meeting at the UN in New York, and was the founding co-president with Sir Gustav Nossal of Sustainable Development Australia. In 2014, Atkinson was a recipient of the Queensland Greats Awards.

Published works

* * (autobiography)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Sallyanne