25 Facts About Isobel Redmond

Isobel Mary Redmond was born on 8 April 1953 and is a former Australian politician who was the member for the electoral district of Heysen in the House of Assembly from 2002 to 2018.

Isobel Redmond was the parliamentary leader of the South Australian Division of the Liberal Party of Australia and the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament of South Australia between 2009 and 2013, and was the first female leader of a South Australian state major party.

Isobel Redmond resigned as leader of the Liberal Party on 31 January 2013.

Isobel Redmond attended Heathcote High School on the outskirts of Sydney, graduating in 1971.

Isobel Redmond worked with Jay Weatherill and Patrick Conlon at Duncan Basheer in the early 90s.

Isobel Redmond was elected to Stirling Council in 1982, and in 1999 was elected as the first female president of the Stirling Rotary club.

Isobel Redmond won the electoral district of Heysen in the South Australian House of Assembly at the 2002 state election and from 2004 held various shadow ministries.

Isobel Redmond is linked to the conservative Evans family faction within the Liberal Party's South Australian division.

Isobel Redmond became deputy leader of the Liberal Party on 4 July 2009 after party leader Martin Hamilton-Smith called a leadership and deputy leadership spill.

Hamilton-Smith retained the leadership, with Isobel Redmond replacing Vickie Chapman as deputy leader.

Isobel Redmond stepped down from the deputy leadership after the 2010 election to be replaced by Hamilton-Smith.

The issue resurfaced with revelations that Isobel Redmond had been "a central figure in a strategy meeting in Mr Hamilton-Smith's office the day the documents were used against the government".

Isobel Redmond led the Liberals into the 2010 election, becoming the first woman to take a major party in the state into an election.

On behalf of the SA Liberals, Isobel Redmond backed premier Mike Rann's support for same-sex marriage in October 2011.

Isobel Redmond joined all state Labor leaders and, later on a personal basis only, the LNP's Campbell Newman, in support of marriage equality.

Isobel Redmond came under mounting internal party and media pressure her performance during the 2010 election and she suffered dwindling poll ratings during the period of the Weatherill government.

Controversially, Isobel Redmond confirmed that she had said in answer to a question that the best way to deal with workplace gender discrimination was to ignore it.

Isobel Redmond backed unsuccessful candidate and SA Liberal Party director Bev Barber to replace Mary Jo Fisher in the Senate, even considering replacing Fisher herself.

Isobel Redmond's announced intention to cut off a quarter of the public service if she won government, was said was not to be Liberal Party policy.

Isobel Redmond refused to confirm speculation that she had offered the state Liberal leadership to former federal Liberal leader Alexander Downer.

Isobel Redmond resigned as the leader of the Liberal Party on 31 January 2013, citing the need to end "ongoing leadership speculation and disunity" as the primary factor in her decision.

Isobel Redmond suffered a swing against her at the 2014 election in Heysen on the primary, two-party and two-candidate vote, and faced the SA Greens after preferences.

Isobel Redmond used parliamentary privilege on 20 May 2014 to claim that the Electoral Commission of South Australia's head commissioner Kay Mousley was "utterly corrupt" following the 2014 election result.

On 18 January 2017, Isobel Redmond announced that she would be retiring from parliament at the 2018 state election.

Isobel Redmond is married to American teacher Jim Isobel Redmond with whom she has had three children, all now adults.