Michael Harry Armitage (born 3 May 1949) is an Australian former politician. He was a

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 ...

member of the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the South Australian Legislative Council, Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House, Adelaide, Parliament House in the st ...

between 1989 and 2002, representing the electorate of

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

Education

Armitage was educated at St. Ignatius College and the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...

, where he studied medicine. He worked as a doctor before entering politics.

Political career

Armitage won the seat of Adelaide the 1989 state election, becoming the first non-Labor member to win it in its single-member incarnation. Armitage was comfortably reelected in the 1993 election as the Liberals swept to power in a landslide. Over the next nine years he held portfolios including Minister for Health, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Minister for Disability Services, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister for Administrative and Information Services, Minister for Government Enterprises, Minister Assisting the Premier for Information Economy, Minister for Government Enterprises and Minister for Information Economy. In 1994, Armitage was criticized for a racial slur he used in parliament. On 22 November Armitage used the metaphor " n**ger in the woodpile" during question time, in response to a question about the

Modbury Hospital Modbury Hospital is a hospital that provides inpatient, outpatient and emergency services to a population of over 400,000 people living primarily in Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and ...

by then-opposition leader

Mike Rann Michael David Rann, , (born 5 January 1953) is an Australian former politician who was the 44th premier of South Australia from 2002 to 2011. He was later Australian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 2013 to 2014, and Australian am ...

. Rann immediately criticized Armitage for his use of the word, and a number of aboriginal groups demanded his removal from the ministry. Armitage was narrowly reelected in

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

. After a redistribution ahead of the 2002 election made Adelaide even more marginal, Armitage tried to transfer to

Bragg Bragg may refer to: Places * Bragg City, Missouri, United States * Bragg, Texas, a ghost town, United States * Bragg, West Virginia, an unincorporated community, United States *Electoral district of Bragg, a state electoral district in South Austra ...

, the safest Liberal seat in Adelaide. He was soundly defeated for Liberal preselection by

Vickie Chapman Vickie Ann Chapman is a former Australian politician, representing the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Bragg for the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia between the 2002 election and May 2022. Chapman served ...

. Meanwhile, his replacement as Liberal candidate in Adelaide, Deputy Mayor

Michael Harbison Michael John Henry Harbison was the Lord Mayor of Adelaide, South Australia from 2003 to 2010. He was succeeded by Stephen Yarwood in 2010. He is also Adelaide's longest serving mayor. Before becoming Lord Mayor, he was a successful businessm ...

, lost the seat to former Mayor

Jane Lomax-Smith Jane Diane Lomax-Smith, AM (born 19 June 1950, in the United Kingdom) is an Australian politician and histopathologist who has been the Lord Mayor of the City of Adelaide since 14 November 2022. She was previously in local government for nine ...

Post-politics

In 2005 he was appointed as CEO of Private Healthcare Australia (formerly the Australian Health Insurance Association) and remained in that role until October 2015.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armitage, Michael Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of South Australia 1949 births Living people 21st-century Australian politicians