Barry O'Farrell
 Barry O'Farrell    (politician) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 24 May 1959 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Alma mater | St John's College (Darwin), Australian National University |
| Spouse | Rosemary Cowan |
| Party | Liberal Party of Australia |
Barry Robert O'Farrell is a former Australian politician who has been Australia's High Commissioner to India since May 2020. O'Farrell was the 43rd Premier of New South Wales and Minister for Western Sydney from 2011 to 2014, when he ha to resign after expensive gifts to him were discovered.
He was the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party from 2007 to 2014, and was a Member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1995 to 2015, representing Northcott and Ku-ring-gai on the Upper North Shore of Sydney from 1999 to 2015. He is currently President and Independent Board Chair of Diabetes Australia, Chair of the Wests Tigers Rugby League Football Club and CEO of Racing Australia Ltd.
Born in Melbourne, his father's Army career saw O'Farrell and his family move around Australia, ending up in Darwin in the Northern Territory. In 1977 O'Farrell moved to Canberra to study at the Australian National University, where he gained a Bachelor of Arts. O'Farrell started his career as a graduate trainee in the Australian Public Service in Canberra. O'Farrell served as the State Director of the party in New South Wales from 1992 to 1995.
O'Farrell was elected as the Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and consequently as Leader of the Opposition in 2007. He became Premier in a landslide at the 2011 election, winning the largest majority government in New South Wales history.
On 16 April 2014, O'Farrell announced his intention to resign as party leader and NSW Premier as well as Minister for Western Sydney after misleading a New South Wales Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) investigation.[1][2][3]
O'Farrell denied receiving a $3,000 bottle of wine (an investment that easily and untraceable can be converted to cash later) in 2011 from Australian Water Holdings (AWH) executive Nick Di Girolamo. The Premier also said he had no recollection of a 28-second call made from his phone to Di Girolamo around the time he was allegedly sent the wine. A bit later a handwritten note from Mr O'Farrell, thanking Mr Di Girolamo for the wine, was uncovered.[4]
ICAC held a protecting hand over him, subsequently found "that there was no intention on Mr O'Farrell's part to mislead".[5] He formally resigned on 17 April as Liberal Party leader and on 24 November 2014, O'Farrell announced his intention not to stand for re-election at the 2015 NSW election.
References
- ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-16/barry-ofarrell-calls-snap-media-conference/5393478
- ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/premiers-fate-sealed-in-own-handwriting-20140416-36sbx.html
- ↑ http://theconversation.com/barry-ofarrell-quits-as-nsw-premier-over-icac-memory-fail-25700
- ↑ https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-04-16/nsw-premier-barry-ofarrell-to-resign-over-icac-grange-wine/5393478
- ↑ https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/former-nsw-premier-barry-ofarrell-cleared-of-any-wrongdoing-in-icac-report/news-story/47241d2d611119338d6ce0d177371028
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