Gail Elizabeth Gago (; born 4 July 1957) is a retired Australian

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 ...

, and a member of the Labor Party in the

South Australian Legislative Council The Legislative Council, or upper house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. Its central purpose is to act as a house of review for legislation passed through the lower house, the South Australian House of Assembly, ...

from the 2002 election until her retirement in 2018.

Background

Gago was born in

Mooroopna Mooroopna is a rural town located north of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is on the banks of the Goulburn River opposite the larger town of Shepparton. The Midland Highway crosses the river between the two towns. At the 2016 census, Moor ...

, Victoria, and completed her secondary education at

Shepparton High School Shepparton High School (SHS) was a public high school in Shepparton, Victoria, Australia. It opened in 1909 as Shepparton Agricultural High School – the first high school in Shepparton and one of the first public high schools in Victoria. It c ...

. After high school, Gago studied at

Phillip Institute of Technology Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...

and the Austin Hospital where she graduated as a registered nurse, later completing a Bachelor of Science (Honours) at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

, majoring in psychology. In 1987, Gago and her husband Peter moved to South Australia, where she worked as a nurse at Salisbury Private Hospital for two years. In 1988 Gago started working with the

Australian Nursing Federation The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation (ANMF) is the largest union in Australia, with 274,956 members in 2018. The union is run by nurses, midwives and assistants in nursing to advance the industrial, political and professional intere ...

(ANF) for 12 years, first as an organiser, later becoming assistant secretary and branch secretary. As a member of the ANF, Gago was part of many campaigns to improve patient care, access to health services, wages and conditions for workers. She has participated in and contributed to a range of state and federal health and industrial relations forums. Gago has held membership of the South Australian Branch of the Australian Labor Party since 1991, contributing to policy committees and serving as state convention delegate (proxy), state executive member and national conference attendee. Gago is from the

Labor Left The Labor Left, also known as the Progressive Left or Socialist Left, is political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It competes with the more economically liberal Labor Right faction. The Labor Left operates autonomously in each s ...

faction.

Parliament

Gago was elected to the Legislative Council from first position on the Labor ticket at the 2002 election and from second position on the Labor ticket at the 2010 election. After the resignation from Cabinet of Bernard Finnigan, Gago became acting Leader of the Government in the Legislative Council. She was also the only Minister in the Upper House. On 17 May 2011, the Labor Caucus elected Gago the state's first woman leader of the Legislative Council. Gago was also the state's first female Acting

Premier of South Australia The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...

. Following the second term election of the Labor government in March 2006, Gago was appointed Minister for Environment and Conservation, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse and Minister Assisting the Minister for Health. On 24 July 2008, Gago was appointed Minister for State/Local Government Relations, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Minister for Government Enterprises and Minister Assisting the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Energy. On 8 February 2011, Gago was appointed Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Public Sector Management, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Consumer Affairs and Minister for Government Enterprises. On 21 April 2011, Gago was appointed Minister for Gambling. On 21 October 2011, Gago was appointed Minister for Agriculture Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism and Minister for the Status of Women. On 21 January 2013, Gago was appointed Minister for Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women and Minister for State/Local Government Relations. Following the 2014 election, Gago was appointed Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, and Minister for Business Services and Consumers in the Weatherill Labor cabinet. Gago announced her resignation from cabinet on 15 January 2016, citing cabinet renewal. Gago also announced that she would be retiring from parliament as of the 2018 election.

Personal life

Gago is married to

Penfolds Penfolds is an Australian wine producer that was founded in Adelaide in 1844 by Christopher Rawson Penfold, an English physician who emigrated to Australia, and his wife Mary Penfold. It is one of Australia's oldest wineries, and is currently p ...

chief winemaker

Peter Gago Peter Gago (born 25 April 1957) is a British-Australian winemaker and author. Gago has been chief winemaker at Penfolds and custodian of Penfolds Grange since 2002, the most iconic Australian wine. Early life Gago was born in Newcastle, Englan ...

. She is also the sister of former Victorian state Labor member Kaye Darveniza.Parliament of Victoria Hansar

11 November 1999, p137. An advocate for healthy living, Gago's interests include bushwalking and running.

References

External links

*
Parliamentary Profile: SA Labor website
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