David Connolly (politician)
David Miles Connolly (born 20 July 1939) is a former Australian politician and diplomat. He was a member of the Liberal Party and represented the Division of Bradfield in the House of Representatives from 1974 to 1996. He had been a member of the diplomatic service before entering politics and later served as High Commissioner of Australia to South Africa from 1998 to 2002. Early life. Born in Sydney,and spent his early years with his parents in Sri Lanka. Connolly was educated at Saint Ignatius' College, Riverview and at the University of Sydney, serving on the  Students' Representative Council (SRC) as the evening student's representative. He was a research officer with the NSW Liberal Party before becoming private secretary to Senator Sir Alister McMullin, the President of the Australian Senate, between 1963 and 1965 when he joined the Australian Diplomatic Service, and served in Sri Lanka, UN New York and Israel. Politics. In 1974, Connolly was selected as the Liberal candidate for the very safe seat of Division of Bradfield on the retirement of the former member, Harry Turner. He was elected to the Australian House of Representatives, and held the seat until 1996, when  he was defeated for preselection by future Liberal leader Brendan Nelson. In Government He was chairman of the Parliamentary Public Accounts Committee between 1975 and 1983 and in Opposition a shadow minister continuously up to his retirement. It has been speculated that without his pre-selection defeat he would have become a minister. Later life. Connolly served as Australia's High Commissioner to South Africa between 1998 and 2002 with accreditation to Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland. During this time in South Africa, Connolly was working closely with Nelson Mandela who sadly passed in 2013. Also during his Australian politics life , Connolly was honoured to meet Queen Elizabeth II. In the 2002 Queen's Birthday Honours (Australia), Connolly was made a Member of the Order of Australia for "service to the Parliament of Australia, to the development of superannuation policy reform, to international relations, and to the community". Recent Works. David is currently in the process of publishing his auto biography. After the devastating 2019-2020 Australian bushfires, David decided to provide his services for the Australian community by becoming a member of the Rural Fire Service (RFS).