- Entry type: Person
- Entry ID: AWE2730
Wooldridge, Mary
(1967 – )- Born 29 July 1967, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Occupation Parliamentarian
Summary
Mary Wooldridge was elected Member of the Legislative Assembly for Doncaster in November 2006, representing the Liberal Party. She was Shadow Minister for Mental Health, Drug Abuse and Aged Care. She was re- elected in November 2010 and was a Minister in the Liberal Government, holding the portfolios of Mental Health, Women’s Affairs and Community Service. Her seat was abolished in a redistribution for the 2014 election, and she was subsequently elected to the Victorian Legislative Council for Eastern Metropolitan Region in November’s state election. She held the Shadow portfolio of Health and was Leader of the Opposition and of the Liberal Party in the Legislative Council.
Wooldridge announced her intention to retire from state politics on 8 December 2019, using the moment to call on the Liberal Party to consider gender quotas as a way of increasing female representation in the Victorian Parliament.
Details
Mary Wooldridge completed a Bachelor of Commerce (Hons) degree at the University of Melbourne and a Master of Business Administration at Harvard University. She took on employment with consultants McKinsey & Co., and became an Executive Director with media organisation Publishing & Broadcasting Limited (PBL). She was also a Senior Advisor to the Hon. Nick Minchin, Minister for Industry, Science and Resources, and was elected MLA for Doncaster in 2006.
Wooldridge has served as Chief Executive Officer of The Foundation for Young Australians, and retains a strong interest in community participation and volunteering as well as women’s health. She has been a Director of the Breast Cancer Network Australia, Foundation Boroondara, Trinity College at Melbourne University and the Otis Foundation, a network of rural retreats for women with breast cancer.
Published resources
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Site Exhibition
- Carrying on the Fight: Women Candidates in Victorian Parliamentary Elections, Australian Women's Archives Project, 2008, http://www.womenaustralia.info/exhib/cws/home.html
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Resource
- Trove: Wooldridge, Mary (1967-), http://nla.gov.au/nla.party-755087