34 Facts About Margaret Guilfoyle

Margaret Guilfoyle was the first woman to hold a cabinet-level ministerial portfolio in Australia and served as a minister for the duration of the Fraser government.

Margaret Guilfoyle worked as an accountant before entering politics and in retirement held various positions in the public and non-profit sectors.

Margaret Guilfoyle was the second of three children born to Elizabeth Jane and William McCartney; her father worked as a civil servant and her mother was a schoolteacher before her marriage.

Margaret Guilfoyle's father died when she was 10, after which she and her siblings were raised by their mother; they had no other relatives in Australia.

Margaret Guilfoyle later recalled that her mother's experiences led her to realise "that, at any time, a woman must be capable of independence".

Margaret Guilfoyle began her education at the local state school in Fairfield, then attended a business college until the age of 15.

Margaret Guilfoyle later took night classes while working as a secretary, studying accountancy at Taylors Institute of Advanced Studies and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Margaret Guilfoyle later went into private practice in order to spend more time with her family.

Margaret Guilfoyle was mentored by Elizabeth Couchman and Senator Ivy Wedgwood, who encouraged her to seek leadership positions within the party's organisational wing.

In 1967, with their support, Margaret Guilfoyle was chosen as chairman of the state women's section and elected to the state executive.

Margaret Guilfoyle served as a delegate to the federal council.

Margaret Guilfoyle won Liberal preselection for the Senate against 20 male candidates, and was elected from second place on the Coalition's ticket in Victoria at the 1970 half-Senate election.

Margaret Guilfoyle was re-elected in 1974,1975,1980 and 1983, retiring on 5 June 1987.

Margaret Guilfoyle was Australia's seventh female senator and the third from Victoria, after Wedgwood and Marie Breen.

Margaret Guilfoyle was appointed to the Senate Select Committee on Foreign Ownership and Control of Australian Resources in 1972, and the following year joined the Joint Committee on Prices.

In June 1974, Margaret Guilfoyle was appointed to Billy Snedden's shadow ministry as the Coalition spokesperson for the media.

Margaret Guilfoyle supported Malcolm Fraser in the March 1975 leadership spill, and when he was successful, she was moved to the higher-profile education portfolio.

In December 1975, following the Coalition's victory at the 1975 election, Margaret Guilfoyle was appointed Minister for Social Security in the second Fraser Ministry.

Margaret Guilfoyle strongly resisted pressure to cut her department's budget, arguing that regular increases were needed simply to maintain existing programs.

Margaret Guilfoyle believed any cuts would be unpopular with both the general public and her party's backbenchers, and there was no guarantee that they would pass the Senate.

Margaret Guilfoyle had an often tense relationship with Treasurer Phillip Lynch, who complained to Fraser that she was the most uncooperative minister in identifying potential spending cuts.

Margaret Guilfoyle helped establish it as a permanent measure, renaming it the "family allowance", and resisted calls to introduce means-testing.

Margaret Guilfoyle viewed her position as that of "chief accountant for the country".

Margaret Guilfoyle was a key member of the Review of Commonwealth Functions Committee, a cabinet subcommittee nicknamed the "razor gang" that was tasked with cutting government expenditure.

Margaret Guilfoyle remained finance minister until the government's defeat at the 1983 election.

Margaret Guilfoyle was made spokesperson for finance and taxation in Andrew Peacock's shadow ministry, but resigned the position after the 1984 election, and spent her remaining years in the Senate as a backbencher.

Margaret Guilfoyle later served as chair of the Judicial Remuneration Tribunal from 1995 to 2001.

Margaret Guilfoyle was president of the board of management of the Royal Melbourne Hospital from 1993 to 1995.

Margaret Guilfoyle remained involved with the Liberal Party after leaving parliament.

Margaret Guilfoyle had the support of Jeff Kennett and Andrew Peacock, but withdrew from the race in favour of Malcolm Fraser; the successful candidate was Tony Staley, another of her cabinet colleagues.

Margaret Guilfoyle's husband was Stanley Margaret Guilfoyle, whom she married on 20 November 1952.

Margaret Guilfoyle's husband worked as an accountant and company director, as well as being involved with the organisational wing of the Victorian Liberals.

Margaret Guilfoyle was a director of 3XY, a radio station linked to the party, and was a founding director of the Cormack Foundation.

In 1976, Mungo MacCallum published an article in the Nation Review magazine alleging that Margaret Guilfoyle was having an extramarital affair with Jim Killen, one of her cabinet colleagues.