Sallyanne Atkinson AO (born 23 July 1942, Kerr) is an Australian former politician who served as Lord Mayor of Brisbane from 1985 to 1991 in

Queensland Queensland ( , commonly abbreviated as Qld) is a States and territories of Australia, state in northeastern Australia, and is the second-largest and third-most populous state in Australia. It is bordered by the Northern Territory, South Austr ...

, Australia. She is the only woman to have held the position. As of 2017, she was Chairman of the Museum of Brisbane, President of the Council of The Women's College at 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 chair of the advisory board of the Queensland Brain Institute at the University of Queensland.

Early life

Atkinson was born in

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

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

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

, 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 in 1967, majoring in History and Political Science. After joining 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 ...

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 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 Labor 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 Jim Soorley, who received preferences from the Greens 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 Rankin 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 in the world. ICC represents over 45 million businesses in over 170 countries who have interest ...

. While a representative of the Australian Olympic Committee, she supported the Olympic bids of many cities around Australia, including the Brisbane bid for the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

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 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 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 ...

for service to local government and the community, and in 2001 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 and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or g ...

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 university, public research university in South East Queensland on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of Australia. The university was founded in 1971, but was not officially opened until 1975. Griffith ...

and the University of Queensland. In the early 2000's Sallyanne served as a board member and then chairperson of Binna Burra Lodge, in Lamington National Park. Sallyanne Atkinson was chairman in Queensland for Barton Deakin 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 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 ...

* 2001 – Australian Sports Medal * 2001 –

Atkinson has been honoured by

Rotary International Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and p ...

, is an Honorary Fellow for the Australian Institute of Management, and is an honorary Life Member of the National Trust. 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, 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

External links

Sallyanne Atkinson digital story and oral history
- State Library of Queensland
Sallyanne Atkinson Collection, State Library of Queensland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atkinson, Sallyanne 1942 births Living people Mayors and lord mayors of Brisbane Women mayors of places in Queensland Fellows of the Australian Institute of Management Officers of the Order of Australia Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal Delegates to the Australian Constitutional Convention 1998 20th-century Australian politicians Australian lobbyists 20th-century Australian women politicians Queensland Greats