Julie Bishop Biography | Who is Julie Bishop? | Julie Bishop
Julie Isabel Bishop is a former Australian politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018.
She was the Member of Parliament (MP) for Curtin from 1998 to 2019. She has recently been appointed to be the next Chancellor of the Australian National University.
Bishop was born in Lobethal, South Australia, and studied law at the University of Adelaide. Prior to entering politics, she worked as a commercial lawyer in Perth, Western Australia; she was the local managing partner of Clayton Utz.
She was a delegate to the 1998 constitutional convention, and also served as a director of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) and as a member of the Murdoch University Senate.
Bishop was elected to parliament at the 1998 federal election, representing the Division of Curtin in Perth’s western suburbs. In the Howard Government, she served as Minister for Ageing (2003–2006), Minister for Education and Science (2006–2007), and Minister for Women (2006–2007).
After the Coalition lost the 2007 election, Bishop was elected deputy leader of the Liberal Party. She was the first woman to hold the position and was re-elected to the post at multiple leadership spills following her initial election.
During her time as deputy, there were three different Liberal leaders—Brendan Nelson, Malcolm Turnbull, and Tony Abbott. When the Coalition returned to power at the 2013 election, Bishop was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs in the Abbott Government.
She was Australia’s first female foreign minister. Issues that arose during her tenure included changes to the Australian foreign aid program, the international military intervention against ISIL, the shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17, and the execution of Australian citizens by Indonesia.
In August 2018, Peter Dutton challenged Turnbull for the leadership of the Liberal Party, due to dissatisfaction from the party’s conservative wing. Turnbull defeated Dutton in a leadership ballot, but tensions continued to mount and the party voted in favor of holding a second spill; Bishop chose to be a candidate.
In the second vote, Bishop was eliminated in the first round by Peter Dutton and Scott Morrison, with Morrison elected as party leader (and thus prime minister) in the second round.
She declined to retain the foreign affairs portfolio in the Morrison Ministry, instead of moving to the backbench. Bishop retired from politics on 11 April 2019, before the impending federal election.
After graduating from law school, Bishop joined Wallmans, an Adelaide-based law firm, as its first female articled clerk. She left after less than a year, in part due to an incident where a senior partner asked her to perform waitressing duties.
In 1982, aged 26, she became a partner in the firm of Mangan, Ey & Bishop. The following year, she married West Australian property developer Neil Gillon and moved to Perth.
On arriving in WA, Bishop joined Robinson Cox as a solicitor specializing in commercial litigation and was made a full partner in 1985. According to Kerry Stokes, “in the legal profession, she was a very determined, reasoned person… there’s not been much written about what a good executive Julie was—responsible for administering and running a partnership, not just a lawyer”.
In the late 1980s, Robinson Cox was hired by CSR Limited to defend against compensation claims brought by asbestos mining workers, who had contracted mesothelioma while working for Midalco, a subsidiary of CSR. Bishop was part of the team assigned to the case, which developed an argument that a company was not legally responsible for the actions of its subsidiaries.
The Supreme Court of Western Australia eventually decided to pierce the corporate veil and hold CSR liable for Midalco’s actions; the lead litigant died before the conclusion of the case, which lasted eight months. After becoming a public figure, Bishop was accused by opponents of acting immorally by involving herself in the case.
She has said she conducted herself ethically and professionally, and in accordance with procedural advice given by barristers Robert French and David Malcolm (both future judges).
As a legal advisor to the Western Australian Development Corporation, Bishop assisted in the incorporation of several new government enterprises, including Gold Corporation (the operator of the Perth Mint), LandCorp, and Eventscorp (a division of Tourism Western Australia).
Robinson Cox merged into the larger firm of Clayton Utz in 1992, and she was made managing partner of the firm’s Perth office in 1994. In the same year, she took up an appointment as chair of the state government’s Town Planning Appeal Tribunal, serving a three-year term.
In 1996, Bishop attended Harvard Business School for eight weeks to complete the Advanced Management Program for senior managers. She has credited one of her lecturers there, George C. Lodge, with inspiring her to enter public life. In 1997, she was elected to the Senate of Murdoch University and appointed as a director of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).
Julie Bishop Age | How old is Julie Bishop? | Parents
Julie Isabel Bishop is a former Australian politician who served as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2018 and deputy leader of the Liberal Party from 2007 to 2018. She was the Member of Parliament for Curtin from 1998 to 2019. He was born on July 17, 1956 (age 63 years old as of 2019), Lobethal, Australia
Bishop is the third of four children born to Isabel Mary (née Wilson) and Douglas Alan Bishop; she has two older sisters and a younger brother. Bishop has described her parents as “classic Menzies Liberals”. Her father was a returned soldier and orchardist, while her mother’s family were sheep and wheat farmers.
Both her mother and grandfather William Bishop were active in local government, serving terms as mayor of the East Torrens District Council.
Bishop grew up on an apple and cherry orchard in Basket Range. The year before she was born, it was burned to the ground in the Black Sunday bushfires. Bishop began her education at Basket Range Primary School and later attended St Peter’s Collegiate Girls’ School in Adelaide.
She was the head prefect in her final year. Bishop went on to study law at the University of Adelaide. She worked two part-time jobs as a barmaid while at university—one at Football Park and one at a pub in Uraidla. She graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1978.
Net Worth
Years of serving in government, combined with a very successful private career that saw her become a partner in her law firm, she has been able to build a sizeable net worth of over $5 million as of 2019. As a foreign minister and a leader in her political party, she reportedly earns a yearly salary of $343,000 per year.
Professional career
After graduating from law school, Bishop joined Wallmans, an Adelaide-based law firm, as its first female articled clerk. She left after less than a year, in part due to an incident where a senior partner asked her to perform waitressing duties.
In 1982, aged 26, she became a partner in the firm of Mangan, Ey & Bishop. The following year, she married West Australian property developer Neil Gillon and moved to Perth.
On arriving in WA, Bishop joined Robinson Cox as a solicitor specializing in commercial litigation and was made a full partner in 1985.
According to Kerry Stokes, “in the legal profession she was a very determined, reasoned person […] there’s not been much written about what a good executive Julie was—responsible for administering and running a partnership, not just a lawyer”.
In the late 1980s, Robinson Cox was hired by CSR Limited to defend against compensation claims brought by asbestos mining workers, who had contracted mesothelioma while working for Midalco, a subsidiary of CSR.
Bishop was part of the team assigned to the case, which developed an argument that a company was not legally responsible for the actions of its subsidiaries.
The Supreme Court of Western Australia eventually decided to pierce the corporate veil and hold CSR liable for Midalco’s actions; the lead litigant died before the conclusion of the case, which lasted eight months. After becoming a public figure, Bishop was accused by opponents of acting immorally by involving herself in the case.
She has said she conducted herself ethically and professionally, and in accordance with procedural advice given by barristers Robert French and David Malcolm (both future judges).
As a legal advisor to the Western Australian Development Corporation, Bishop assisted in the incorporation of several new government enterprises, including Gold Corporation (the operator of the Perth Mint), LandCorp, and Eventscorp (a division of Tourism Western Australia).
Robinson Cox merged into the larger firm of Clayton Utz in 1992, and she was made managing partner of the firm’s Perth office in 1994. In the same year, she took up an appointment as chair of the state government’s Town Planning Appeal Tribunal, serving a three-year term.
In 1996, Bishop attended Harvard Business School for eight weeks to complete the Advanced Management Program for senior managers. She has credited one of her lecturers there, George C. Lodge, with inspiring her to enter public life.
In 1997, she was elected to the Senate of Murdoch University and appointed as a director of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS).
Julie Bishop Political positions
Bishop is regarded as a being a moderate within the Liberal Party and has been described as holding similar views to Malcolm Turnbull. She has stated that she regards herself as a “very liberal-minded person”, an “economic dry and a social liberal”, and a “Menzian Liberal”.
Bishop is in favor of an Australian republic, having served as a delegate at the Constitutional Convention of 1998. When a conscience vote has been allowed by the Liberal Party, Bishop has always voted in a “progressive” manner, voting in favor of allowing stem cell research and for removing ministerial oversight of the abortion pill RU486.
Same-sex marriage
During the internal debate on same-sex marriage which divided the Liberal Party in August 2015, Bishop refused to publicly declare her personal views on the matter.
However, her statement that she was “very liberally minded” on the topic was taken by many to be an allusion towards the support of same-sex marriage. In a television interview in November 2015, Bishop confirmed that she supported same-sex marriage.
In August 2015, Bishop spoke in favor of holding a plebiscite on the matter, believing that the issue should be put to a democratic vote so that it could no longer distract from the government’s policy agenda.
This ultimately became the policy adopted by the government. Following the postal plebiscite in 2017, which resulted in a “Yes” vote, Bishop stated that she had voted in support of same-sex marriage.
Julie Bishop Photo
Julie Bishop Husband, Married| Who is Julie Bishop Married to?
Bishop’s partner is a pharmacist and winemaker David Panton. She was married to property developer Neil Gillon from 1983 to 1988, taking his surname for the duration of the marriage.
She later had relationships with Senator Ross Lightfoot and former Lord Mayor of Perth Peter Nattrass.
Bishop does not have children. In response to repeated media inquiries about the subject, she has stated that “I’m not having kids, there’s no point lamenting what was or what could have been”, and that she feels “incredibly lucky that I’ve had the kind of career that is so consuming that I don’t feel I have a void in my life”.