Ellnor Judith Grassby, ''née'' Louez (born 14 January 1937), a former

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

, was a member of the multi-member single constituency

unicameral Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one. Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multic ...

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory (known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly) is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Sq ...

, representing the Labor Party between 1989 and 1995. Grassby served as Minister for Housing and Urban Services in the

First Follett Ministry The First Follett Ministry was the first ministry of the Government of the Australian Capital Territory, and was led by Labor Chief Minister Rosemary Follett and her deputy, Paul Whalan. It was sworn in on 16 May 1989, after the 1989 election wh ...

Biography

Born in ,

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, in 1962 Ellnor Louez married

Al Grassby Albert Jaime Grassby, AM (12 July 192623 April 2005) was an Australian politician who served as Minister for Immigration in the Labor Whitlam Government. He completed reforms in immigration and human rights, and is often known as the father o ...

, who was elected as the Labor Member for Murrumbidgee in the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament Ho ...

in 1965, before being elected as the federal Labor Member for

Riverina The Riverina is an agricultural region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The Riverina is distinguished from other Australian regions by the combination of flat plains, warm to hot climate and an ample supply of water for irrigation ...

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 ...

in 1969. Prior to entering politics, Ellnor Grassby was employed in the accreditation of nurses, owned and managed

hotels A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

, and was a volunteer fundraiser and board member for a number of non-profit organisations. Ellnor Grassby was elected to the inaugural ACT Legislative Assembly at the 1989 general election, and re-elected to the second Assembly at the 1992 general election. Grassby contested the multi-member electorate of

Ginninderra Ginninderra is the name of the former agricultural lands surrendered to urban development on the western and north-western fringes of Canberra, the capital of Australia. Ginninderra corresponds with the watershed of Ginninderra Creek, which is ...

at the 1995 general election, but was unsuccessful. She served as the Minister for Housing and Urban Services in the First Follett Ministry, during 1989; however was not appointed to subsequent Labor ministries. During 2003–2005, Grassby served on the Chief Minister's Ministerial Advisory Council on Multicultural Affairs. She was a board member of Naming Australia Incorporated, a community organisation comprising representatives from the Spanish community, the Embassy of Spain in Australia, the business community and the ACT government who organisated celebrations for the 400th anniversary, in 2006, of Spanish contribution to the history and naming of Australia. Following the 2005 death of Al Grassby, media reports revealed that Ellnor Grassby was aware that her husband had lovers. However, she rejected allegations that the couple had separated thirty years earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grassby, Ellnor Australian Labor Party members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Spouses of Australian politicians 1937 births Living people Women members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly

Biography

See also

References