Gladys Berejiklian

Early years and background

Berejiklian was born in Sydney, the eldest of three daughters born to Armenian immigrant parents, Krikor and Arsha. Her grandparents were orphaned in the Armenian Genocide in 1915. Berejiklian spoke only Armenian until she was five years old, when she began learning English. She has remained involved in the Armenian-Australian community, serving a term on the Armenian National Committee of Australia. In 2015, she attended a commemoration ceremony in Yerevan for the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.

Berejiklian attended North Ryde High School, which became Peter Board High School from 1986, a public, co-educational school in North Ryde. She was a member of Girl Guides and continues to support the organisation. She has a Bachelor of Arts (1992) and a graduate diploma in international studies (1996) from the University of Sydney and a Masters in Commerce from the University of New South Wales (2001). She joined the Liberal Party in 1993 and was president of the New South Wales Young Liberals from 1997 to 1998, being the third female president in its history. She also served as a Delegate to State Council (1996–2003), Urban Representative of the NSW Liberal Party State Executive (1997–2003), Campaign Director for State seat of Willougby (1999) and Chair of Convention Committee (2002). Berejiklian also worked for Peter Collins and Senator Helen Coonan and the Commonwealth Bank as general manager, Youth Retail Banking and Government & Industry Affairs.

Berejiklian supports the Australian republican movement.

Early years

Elected as the Member for Willoughby in 2003, Berejiklian joined the front bench in 2005 as Shadow Minister for Mental Health and was appointed to the opposition front bench portfolio of Transport by Peter Debnam in 2006. Following the 2007 State election, she was given the shadow portfolio of Citizenship by Opposition Leader O'Farrell in his Shadow Ministry.

Following the election of the O'Farrell government at the 2011 state election, on 3 April 2011 Berejiklian was appointed Transport Minister. Berejiklian has been outspoken against the former NSW Labor Government's handling of trains, buses and ferries. The major achievements in her term as Minister for Transport include the extension of the Sydney Light Rail Dulwich Hill Line from Lilyfield to Dulwich Hill; the phased introduction of the Opal card; and commencement of construction of the North West Rail Link.

Deputy leadership

On 17 April 2014, Mike Baird was elected Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party and Berejiklian was elected Deputy Leader of the New South Wales Liberal Party following the resignation of Barry O'Farrell. In a subsequent ministerial reshuffle, in addition to her existing responsibilities, on 23 April 2014 Berejiklian was sworn in as the Minister for the Hunter.

Berejiklian was appointed as Treasurer of New South Wales and Minister for Industrial Relations following a cabinet reshuffle announced on 1 April 2015 by Premier Baird, after the 2015 state election. As Treasurer, Berejiklian oversaw New South Wales' return to surplus. This was the first time New South Wales had been declared debt-free in more than 20 years. She also oversaw the privatization of the states electricity network.

Premier of New South Wales

Following the resignation of Mike Baird as NSW Liberal leader and Premier on 19 January 2017, Berejiklian announced her intention to succeed him as the leader of the Liberal Party, and hence to become the 45th Premier of New South Wales. Baird endorsed Berejiklian as his successor, declaring that she would be "an outstanding Premier... No doubt about it." A deal was struck between the moderate, centre-right and right factions of the Liberal Party, facilitating the moderate Berejiklian's rise to the leadership, and for Dominic Perrottet of the right to become the Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party. The next day, ministers Andrew Constance and Rob Stokes—Berejiklian's only serious leadership challengers—decided not to contest the leadership, and instead opted to endorse Berejiklian. This left Berejiklian to take the leadership unopposed at the ensuing leadership contest held on January 23. She was duly sworn in as Premier later that day, becoming the second woman to hold the post. The first was Labor's Kristina Keneally, who served in the position from 2009 to 2011. Berejiklian is also the first non-Labor female state premier in Australia.