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. For example, while the political systems ...

member of the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

from 1997 to 2021, representing South Metropolitan Region. He served as a minister in the government of

Colin Barnett Colin James Barnett (born 15 July 1950) is an Australian former 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 ...

from 2008 to 2013. O'Brien was born in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, 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 Saint Louis School, located in the neighborhood of St. Louis Heights in Honolulu, Hawaii, is a historic Catholic college preparatory school for boys. It was founded in 1846 to serve Catholics in the former Kingdom of Hawaii. Located within the ...

, John XXIII College and John Curtin Senior High School. After leaving school, he twice began officer training with the

Australian Army The Australian Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of Australia. It is 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 ...

, 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. These duties a ...

at Fremantle Hospital, 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 labour ...

's Bill Thomas). 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 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and 2013 elections. 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, Paul Omodei and

Troy Buswell Troy Raymond Buswell (born 19 March 1966) was an 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 the Bar ...

, 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 a ...

and Minister for Disability Services 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 Barnett ...

. 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