Simon McDonnell O'Brien (born 16 May 1960) is an Australian politician who 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 Legislative Council 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 1997 to 2021, representing

South Metropolitan Region The South Metropolitan Region is a multi-member electoral region of the Western Australian Legislative Council, located in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. It was created by the ''Acts Amendment (Electoral Reform) Act 1987'', an ...

. He served as a minister in the government of

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is a former Australian politician who was the 29th Premier of Western Australia. He concurrently served as the state's Treasurer at several points during his tenure and had previously held various other po ...

from 2008 to 2013. O'Brien was born in

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 i ...

, to Dulcie Niola (née Shooter) and Everard McDonnell O'Brien. His father, who died when his son was eleven, was a Labor Party member of parliament in the 1950s.Everard McDonnell O'Brien
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 June 2016. O'Brien attended St. Louis School, John XXIII College and

John Curtin Senior High School John Curtin College of the Arts, originally John Curtin High School, is an independent, public co-educational, partially selective high school, located in East Street, , a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. The school provides a general and ...

. After leaving school, he twice began officer training with the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal land warfare force of Australia, a part of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) along with the Royal Australian Navy and the Royal Australian Air Force. The Army is commanded by the Chief of Army (CA), wh ...

, but had to withdraw because of injury. He worked for a period as an

orderly In healthcare, an orderly (also known as a ward assistant, nurse assistant or healthcare assistant) is a hospital attendant whose job consists of assisting medical and nursing staff with various nursing and medical interventions. The highest ro ...

Fremantle Hospital Fremantle Hospital is an Australian public hospital situated on South Terrace in central Fremantle, southwest of Perth, Western Australia. It was formerly the major hospital in its region; however, with the opening of Fiona Stanley Hospi ...

, and then as a customs officer.Simon McDonnell O'Brien
– Biographical Register of Members of the Parliament of Western Australia. Retrieved 3 June 2016. O'Brien first attempted to enter parliament at the 1989 state election, when he unsuccessfully contested the Legislative Assembly seat of Cockburn (losing to

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the la ...

Bill Thomas William Marshall Thomas (born December 6, 1941) is an American politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 2007, finishing his tenure representing California's 22nd congressional district an ...

). At the 1996 state election, O'Brien was elected to the Legislative Council, having replaced the retiring Clive Griffiths on the Liberal ticket. His term commenced in May 1997, and he has since been re-elected at the 2001, 2005,

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2013 elections The following elections were occurred in the year 2013. Asia * 2013 Armenian local elections 26 May, 17 November, and 8 December 2013 * 2013 Armenian presidential election 18 February 2013 * 2013 Bangladeshi presidential election 22 April 2013 ...

. O'Brien was promoted to the Liberal shadow ministry following the party's defeat at the 2001 election, after which Colin Barnett succeeded

Richard Court Richard Fairfax Court (born 27 September 1947) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He served as Premier of Western Australia from 1993 to 2001 and as Australian Ambassador to Japan from 2017 to 2020. A member of the Liberal Party, ...

as party leader. He remained in the shadow ministry under three more leaders,

Matt Birney Matthew John Birney (born 10 June 1969) was an Australian politician. He was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2001 to 2008, serving as Leader of the Opposition from 2005 to 2006. Birney was born in Sydney but ...

Paul Omodei Paul Domenic Omodei (born 26 May 1950), Australian politician, was the leader of the Liberal Party and Leader of the Opposition in Western Australia from 24 March 2006 until 17 January 2008. Background Omodei was born in Manjimup, a town in ...

and

Troy Buswell Troy Raymond Buswell (born 19 March 1966) is a former Australian politician who was a Liberal member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly from 2005 to 2014, representing the seat of Vasse. He was Treasurer of Western Australia in th ...

, and when Barnett returned as leader in 2008. After the Liberals' victory at the 2008 election, he became

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 ag ...

and

Minister for Disability Services Minister for Disability Services is a position in the government of Western Australia, currently held by Stephen Dawson of the Labor Party. The position was first created in 1991, for the government of Carmen Lawrence, and has existed in every g ...

in the new

Barnett ministry The Barnett Ministry was the 35th Ministry of the Government of Western Australia. It included 13 members of the Liberal Party, three members of the National Party and an independent. It was led by the Premier of Western Australia, Colin Barne ...

. The ministry was reshuffled in 2010, after which O'Brien was instead appointed Minister for Finance, Minister for Commerce and Minister for Small Business. He was not retained in the ministry after the 2013 election, but was instead made deputy chairman of committees in the Legislative Council (a position which he had earlier held from 2001 to 2008).

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:OBrien, Simon 1960 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Western Australia Members of the Western Australian Legislative Council People educated at John Curtin College of the Arts People educated at John XXIII College, Perth Politicians from Perth, Western Australia 21st-century Australian politicians