Cheryl Lynn Edwardes (; born 1 March 1950) is a former Australian politician. She was born at

Mount Hawthorn Mount is often used as part of the name of specific mountains, e.g. Mount Everest. Mount or Mounts may also refer to: Places * Mount, Cornwall, a village in Warleggan parish, England * Mount, Perranzabuloe, a hamlet in Perranzabuloe parish, C ...

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 is ...

, Western Australia and was a barrister and solicitor before entering politics. In 1989 she was elected to the

Western Australian Legislative Assembly The Western Australian Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of Western Australia, an Australian state. The Parliament sits in Parliament House in the Western Australian capital, Perth. The Legisla ...

as the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member for

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 ...

. She was immediately promoted to the front bench as Shadow Minister for Education, and remained a senior frontbencher for the rest of her career, including serving as

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

from 1993 to 1995, Family and Services Minister from 1995 to 1997, and Environment Minister from 1997 to 2001. She remained on the front bench in Opposition as Shadow Minister for Planning, Labour Relations and Employment, Public Sector Management and Censorship, and was Manager of Opposition Business from 2004 until her retirement from politics in 2005. During her time as Attorney-General she was embroiled in a corruption scandal involving Wayne Bradshaw, the mayor of Wanneroo Council and brother of her Liberal parliamentary colleague John Bradshaw. A Royal Commission however subsequently cleared her of any wrongdoing. Edwardes was appointed as a Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours.

References

1950 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Attorneys-General of Western Australia Members of the Order of Australia 21st-century Australian politicians Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly 21st-century Australian women politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub