David Miles Connolly (born 20 July 1939) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and represented the

Division of Bradfield The Division of Bradfield is an Australian electoral division in the state of New South Wales. History Bradfield was created in the 1949 expansion of Parliament, and was named in honour of Dr John Bradfield, the designer of the Sydney Harbo ...

in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

from 1974 to 1996. He had been a member of the diplomatic service before entering politics and later served as High Commissioner of Australia to South Africa from 1998 to 2002.

Early life

Connolly was born in

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and spent his early years with his parents in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He was educated at

Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview Saint Ignatius' College Riverview is an Australian independent single-sex primary and secondary day and boarding school for boys, conducted in the Jesuit tradition, located in Riverview, a small suburb located on the Lane Cove River on the ...

and at the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. Connolly served on the Students' Representative Council (SRC) as the evening student's representative. He was a research officer with the NSW Liberal Party before becoming private secretary to Senator Sir Alister McMullin, the

President of the Australian Senate The President of the Senate is the presiding officer of the Australian Senate, the upper house of the Parliament of Australia. The position is provided for by Section 17 of the Constitution of Australia. The Senate elects one of its members ...

, between 1963 and 1965 when he joined the Australian Diplomatic Service, and served in Sri Lanka, UN New York and Israel.

Politics

In 1974, Connolly was selected 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 ...

candidate for the very safe seat of

on the retirement of the former member, Harry Turner. He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives, and held the seat until 1996, when he was defeated for preselection by future Liberal leader Brendan Nelson. In Government He was chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee between 1975 and 1983 and in Opposition a shadow minister continuously up to his retirement. It has been speculated that without his pre-selection defeat he would have become a minister.

Later life

Connolly served as Australia's High Commissioner to South Africa between 1998 and 2002 with accreditation to Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. During this time in South Africa, Connolly was working closely with Nelson Mandela who sadly died in 2013. Also during his Australian politics life, Connolly was honoured to meet Queen Elizabeth II. Later he was a board member of ARIA the Commonwealth's superannuation fund, Chairman of Rice Warner Actuaries and a part-time member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal from 2006 to 2011, and of the Migration and Refugee Review Tribunals from 2002 to 2010. In retirement he was a member of the Braidwood Pasture Protection Board and served as General Secretary of the Canberra Liberals. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia), Connolly was made 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 ...

for "service to the Parliament of Australia, to the development of superannuation policy reform, to international relations, and to the community".

Recent Works

After the 2019-2020 Australian bushfires, Connolly joined the Rural Fire Service (RFS). He is currently writing an autobiography.

References

1939 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bradfield Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Order of Australia High Commissioners of Australia to South Africa 20th-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub