Michael John Clyde Ronaldson (born 13 February 1954) is a former Australian politician. He was a Senator for the state of

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

representing the

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 ...

from July 2005 until February 2016, and previously served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

for Ballarat from 1990 to 2001. Ronaldson served as the Minister for Veterans' Affairs, the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC, and the

Special Minister of State The Special Minister of State (SMOS) in the Government of Australia is a position currently held by Don Farrell since 1 June 2022, following the Australian federal election in 2022. The minister is responsible for various parliamentary, electo ...

in the Abbott Government from 2013 to 2015.

Background and early career

Ronaldson was born in Ballarat, Victoria and attended Ballarat College before studying law at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb no ...

. Admitted to the Bar, Ronaldson practised as a barrister and solicitor in Ballarat before entering politics. In 1981, Ronaldson was elected to the Ballarat City Council, where he served two terms as a councillor.

Political career

A member of the

since 1980, Ronaldson was elected to the

for the seat of Ballarat in 1990. His election, along with several other Victorian MHRs first elected in March 1990, was largely a result of a protest vote swing against the Labor (John Cain) state government of the time. At his election, he held the seat with a margin of 1.9%. His grandfather, Archibald Fisken, was the member for Ballarat from 1934 until 1937. During his time in the House of Representatives, Ronaldson served as the Shadow Minister for Youth, Sport and Recreation, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training. Following the election of the Howard government at the 1996 federal election, Ronaldson was appointed as a Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Regional Development. After the 1998 election he was appointed Chief Government Whip. Following his retirement from the House of Representatives at the 2001 election, Ronaldson was a consultant and member of a number of boards including

Snowy Hydro Limited Snowy Hydro Limited is an electricity generation and retailing company in Australia that owns, manages, and maintains the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme which consists of nine hydro-electric power stations and sixteen large dams connecte ...

. He was co-chair of the

Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial The Australian Ex-Prisoners of War Memorial was dedicated on Friday, 6 February 2004. It is located on the southern approaches to the Ballarat Botanical Gardens, on Wendouree Parade and adjacent to Lake Wendouree. Purpose Now recognised nationa ...

project in Ballarat where he assisted with fundraising. He served on the Administrative Committee of the Liberal Party of Australia (Victorian Division) from 2001 to 2004. Ronaldson has been a member of the Liberal Party for more than 30 years.

Senator for Victoria

At the 2004 federal election Ronaldson was elected to the Senate representing the state of Victoria, and his term began on 1 July 2005. Following the 2007 election, Ronaldson was appointed as Shadow Special Minister of State under

Brendan Nelson Brendan John Nelson (born 19 August 1958) is a business leader and former Australian politician. He served as the federal Leader of the Opposition from 2007 to 2008, going on to serve as Australia's senior diplomat to the European Union and NA ...

. He served as Shadow Cabinet Secretary in September 2008 until December 2009. After the 2010 federal election Ronaldson was appointed Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Shadow Minister Assisting the Leader of the Opposition on the Centenary of ANZAC. He assumed the portfolios as Minister for Veterans' Affairs, Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Centenary of ANZAC and Special Minister of State on 18 September 2013, but was replaced in the

First Turnbull Ministry The first Turnbull ministry (Liberal– National Coalition) was the 69th ministry of the Government of Australia, led by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull. It succeeded the Abbott ministry after a leadership spill that took place on 14 Septembe ...

when

Malcolm Turnbull Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Turnbull grad ...

replaced

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

as prime minister. He announced on 18 December 2015 his intention to leave parliament before the next election, after moving from the outer ministry in the Abbott Government to the backbench in the Turnbull Government. He said he would formally resign from parliament once his Liberal replacement was selected. His resignation became effective on 28 February 2016, creating a

casual vacancy In politics, a casual vacancy (''casual'' in the sense of "by chance") is a situation in which a seat in a deliberative assembly becomes vacant during that assembly's term. Casual vacancies may arise through the death, resignation or disqualifi ...

which was filled on 9 March 2016 when James Paterson was appointed by a joint sitting of the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly an ...

Personal life

Ronaldson has been married to Cate Ronaldson since 1983, and has three children.''Who's Who in Australia'', 2015. He survived a bout with

kidney cancer Kidney cancer, also known as renal cancer, is a group of cancers that starts in the kidney. Symptoms may include blood in the urine, lump in the abdomen, or back pain. Fever, weight loss, and tiredness may also occur. Complications can include sp ...

in 1996.

References

External links

Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Michael Ronaldson on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ronaldson, Michael 1954 births Living people Abbott Government Turnbull Government Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Ballarat Members of the Australian Senate Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Melbourne Law School alumni Government ministers of Australia Australian barristers Victoria (Australia) local councillors People from Ballarat 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians