Pamela Anne Beggs (née Austin; born 23 May 1947) is a former Australian politician who was a Labor Party member of the Legislative Assembly of

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

from 1983 to 1993, representing the seat of Whitford. Beggs was born in Inverell, a country town in northern

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 ...

, and raised in country

, attending primary school in

Greenbushes Greenbushes is a timber and mining town located in the South West region of Western Australia. The 2021 population was 365. History Greenbushes was founded as a mining town in 1888 following a surveyor's discovery of tin in 1886. Greenbushes wa ...

and high school in

Bridgetown Bridgetown (UN/LOCODE: BB BGI) is the capital and largest city of Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Island ...

and Bunbury. After leaving school, she served in the

Women's Royal Australian Air Force The Women's Royal Australian Air Force (WRAAF) was formed in 1950, after the success of women serving in the Air Forces had been demonstrated by the Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Australian Air Force (WAAAF) was ...

(WRAAF) for a period, and subsequently worked as a dietician and as a laboratory assistant. After her marriage in 1972, she and her husband operated a roadhouse near Geraldton for a period, later moving to the northern suburbs of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

. Beggs joined the Labor Party in 1977, and at the 1983 state election was preselected for the seat of Whitford.Pamela Anne Beggs
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 8 May 2016. She won the contest with 57.7 percent of the vote, as Labor (led by Brian Burke) won in a landslide. Following the 1986 election, where she increased her majority, Beggs was appointed to the Burke ministry as

Minister for Tourism The Minister of Tourism is the head of the governmental department that specializes in tourism, recreation and/or culture. The position exists in many different countries under several names: *Ministry of Tourism and Environment (Albania) *Ministry ...

and Minister for Racing and Gaming. She and

Kay Hallahan Elsie Kay Hallahan (born 4 November 1941) is a former deputy leader of the Western Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party. As a member of the Labor Party, she also served as a minister in the Burke, Dowding and Lawrence ministries i ...

became the first women to serve as ministers in a Labor government. When Burke retired in 1988, Beggs retained her portfolios in the new ministry led by Peter Dowding, and was additionally made Minister for Housing. In a reshuffle in February 1989, she was kept on as Minister for Housing and also made Minister for Planning, but lost her other portfolios. When

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 ...

became premier in February 1990, Beggs was made

Minister for Transport A ministry of transport or transportation is a ministry responsible for transportation within a country. It usually is administered by the ''minister for transport''. The term is also sometimes applied to the departments or other government agen ...

in the

Lawrence ministry The Lawrence Ministry was the 31st Ministry of the Government of Western Australia, and was led by Labor Premier Dr Carmen Lawrence and her deputy Ian Taylor. It succeeded the Dowding Ministry on 18 February 1990, following the resignation of ...

, and also regained two of her previous titles (becoming Minister for Tourism and Minister for Racing and Gaming for a second time). However, at the 1993 state election, she was defeated in Whitford by 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, Rob Johnson, bringing her career in politics to an end. The Lawrence government was also defeated.

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Beggs, Pam 1947 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly People from New South Wales Royal Australian Air Force personnel Women members of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly