Judyth Watson (8 March 1940 - 9 July 2023) was an Australian former politician.

Early life

Watson was born in

Burton-on-Trent Burton upon Trent, also known as Burton-on-Trent or simply Burton, is a market town in the borough of East Staffordshire in the county of Staffordshire, England, close to the border with Derbyshire. In 2011, it had a population of 72,299. The d ...

, England to Cecil and Hylda Watson in 1940. She emigrated to Australia in 1949 and went to school at

Perth Modern School , motto_translation = Knowledge is Power , location = Subiaco, Perth, Western Australia , country = Australia , coordinates = , mapframe-stroke-colour = #C60C30 , mapframe-marker-co ...

. After working as a nurse, Watson completed a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree in 1977. In 1981 she completed a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

studying workers compensation.

Political career

In 1986 Watson 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 ...

for the electorate of Canning. On election she and

Carmen Lawrence Carmen Mary Lawrence (born 2 March 1948) is an Australian academic and former politician who was the Premier of Western Australia from 1990 to 1993, the first woman to become the premier of an Australian state. A member of the Labor Party, sh ...

were the first female members of the WA Parliament to hold a PhD. Watson was appointed Minister for Aboriginal Affairs; Multicultural and Ethnic Affairs; and Seniors in February 1991 under Premier Carmen Lawrence. She was appointed Minister for Women's Interests in September 1992. She served in Cabinet until February 1993. When the electorate was dissolved in 1989 she was elected to the electorate of Kenwick. After serving two terms, the seat was abolished and she unsuccessfully stood for the new electorate of Southern River. Watson was awarded the

Medal 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 ...

(OAM) in the 2019 Queen's Birthday Honours for "service to the community of Western Australia, and to social justice".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Judyth 1940 births Australian nurses Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Naturalised citizens of Australia People educated at Perth Modern School English emigrants to Australia People from Burton upon Trent Living people Australian women nurses Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia