Andrea Ruth Mitchell (7 February 1956 – 4 April 2020) was an Australian politician who was a member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 2008 to 2017, representing the seat of Kingsley. She was a minister in the government of

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other po ...

from March 2016.

Early life

Mitchell was born in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Queensland, and the third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of approximately 2.6 million. Brisbane lies at the centre of the South ...

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 , establishe ...

, to Margaret Isabel (née Gracie) and Ronald Selby Mitchell. She and her family moved to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

when she was 13, where she attended Melville Senior High School. She went on to the

University of Western Australia The University of Western Australia (UWA) is a public research university in the Australian state of Western Australia. The university's main campus is in Perth, the state capital, with a secondary campus in Albany and various other facilitie ...

, receiving a Bachelor of Physical Education degree and a teaching diploma. Mitchell worked as a physical education teacher for 15 years at various Perth high schools, and was then employed by the state government's

Department of Sport and Recreation Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, initially as a consultant and then in managerial positions. She was also president of Tennis West from 1996 to 2008, a director of

Tennis Australia Tennis Australia Limited is the governing body for Tennis in Australia. It is owned by Australian states and territories. The association organises national and international Tennis tournaments including the Australian Open, the Australian Open S ...

from 1997 to 2008, and a director of the

Hopman Cup The Hopman Cup is an international eight-team indoor hardcourt tennis tournament that played mixed-gender teams on a country-by-country basis.It was held in Perth, Western Australia each year from 1989 to 2019, before being replaced on the calen ...

. In 2000, Mitchell was awarded the

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 ...

for her work.

Politics

At the 2008 state election, Mitchell ran for the Liberal Party in the seat of Kingsley. She defeated the sitting

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

member, Judy Hughes, with 54.5 percent of the

two-party-preferred vote In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP ...

. Mitchell increased her majority at the 2013 election, recording 60.0 percent on

first preferences In certain ranked-voting systems, a first-preference vote (or first preference, 1st preference, or primary vote) is the individual voter's first choice amongst (possibly) many. In certain ranked systems such as Instant-Runoff Voting or Single T ...

and 64.8 of the two-party-preferred vote to turn Kingsley into a safe Liberal seat. Mitchell made her maiden speech to the Legislative Assembly on Thursday, 6 November 2008. After the 2013 election, she was made a parliamentary secretary. In 2014, Mitchell worked through the Legislative Assembly to pass the Mental Health Act 2014. Mitchell was elevated to the ministry in March 2016, replacing

Helen Morton Helen Margaret Morton (born 30 September 1949) is an Australian politician. She was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Council from 2005 to 2017, representing the region of East Metropolitan. On 14 December 2010, Morton ...

as Minister for Child Protection and Minister for Mental Health. Mitchell narrowly lost Kingsley to Labor's Jessica Stojkovski at the 11 March 2017 State Election by 307 votes after preferences, making the seat of

Kingsley Kingsley may refer to: People * Kingsley (given name) * Kingsley (surname) Places Australia * Kingsley, Western Australia Canada * Rural Municipality of Kingsley No. 124, Saskatchewan England * Kingsley, Cheshire * Kingsley, Hampshire *Kingsley ...

the second most marginal seat in WA after Labor's landslide election win. Mitchell died on 4 April 2020, as a result of a long-term heart condition.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, Andrea 1956 births 2020 deaths Australian sports executives and administrators Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia People educated at Melville Senior High School People from Brisbane University of Western Australia alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Recipients of the Australian Sports Medal

Early life

Politics

See also

References