Geoff Lee

Geoffrey Lee (born c. 1967[1]), an Australian politician, is the Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education in the second Berejiklian ministry since April 2019.[2][3][4] Lee is also a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly representing Parramatta for the Liberal Party since 2011.[5]

The Honourable Dr Geoff Lee MP
Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 April 2019
Preceded by	John Barilaro (as the Minister for Skills)
Member of the New South Wales Parliament for Parramatta
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 March 2011
Preceded by	Tanya Gadiel
Majority	12.9 points (2015)
Personal details
Born	Geoffrey Lee c. 1967 (age 53–54)[1]
Nationality	Australia
Political party	Liberal Party
Alma mater	Macquarie Graduate School of Management Macquarie University University of Western Sydney – Hawkesbury
Occupation	Politician, academic and former horticulturalist

Early years and background

Geoff Lee was born in 1967 and has an Australian and Chinese background. He attained a Bachelor of Applied Science degree in horticulture from the University of Western Sydney – Hawkesbury[5] and was managing director of Hambledon Garden Centre, a garden centre and landscaping business in Parramatta[6] from 1992 until 2001. He completed his Master of Business Administration from Macquarie University's School of Business Administration in 2001 and commenced teaching part-time at Liverpool TAFE. From 2004 to 2006, Lee was a lecturer in business at the University of Western Sydney (UWS)[6] and, during this time, completed a Doctor of Business Administration degree at the Macquarie Graduate School of Management.[5] In 2007, he was appointed Associate Dean (Engagement) at UWS.[5][7][8]

Political career

At the March 2011 elections, Lee was elected as member for Parramatta and received a swing of 25.8 points in the traditionally strong Labor seat. Going into the election, Labor held Parramatta with a majority of 13.1 points. As a measure of the size of the massive Coalition wave that swept New South Wales that year, Lee picked up a swing large enough to turn Parramatta from a very safe Labor seat into a very safe Liberal seat in one stroke. He later said that could not have won—and certainly not with as large a swing—without winning over dozens of people who had never voted for a Liberal before.[9] He was reelected in 2015 and 2019, becoming the first non-Labor member in 83 years to have held the seat for more than one term.

Following the 2019 state election, Lee was appointed as the Minister for Skills and Tertiary Education in the second Berejiklian ministry, with effect from 2 April 2019.[10]

References

1. Green, Antony (5 April 2011). "Parramatta". NSW Votes 2011. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
2. "Government Notices (30)" (PDF). Government Gazette of the State of New South Wales. 2 April 2019. p. 1088-1090. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
3. "Premier announces new Cabinet" (Press release). Premier of New South Wales. 31 March 2019. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
4. Han, Sophie (2 April 2019). "Berejiklian's new massive cabinet sworn in amid peals of laughter". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2019.
5. "Dr (Geoff) Geoffrey Lee, BAppSc(Hort), MBA, DBA MP". Members of the Parliament of New South Wales. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
6. "Geoff Lee". Liberal for Parramatta. Liberal Party of Australia (NSW). 2011. Archived from the original on 16 March 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
7. "Libs announce Parramatta candidate". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. AAP. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
8. Bartok, Di (12 November 2010). "Liberal candidate for Parramatta is Geoffrey Lee". Parramatta Advertiser. News Limited. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
9. Madden, James (28 March 2011). "Cynical heartland voices its disgust". The Australian. News Limited. Retrieved 9 April 2011.
10. Sas, Nick (31 March 2019). "Gladys Berejiklian says Liberal Party has no women problem as re-elected NSW Premier shuffles Cabinet". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 3 April 2019.

External links

• Lee's campaign webpage