Kerryn Phelps

Kerryn Phelps
AM
Phelps in 2012
Member of the Australian Parliament
for Wentworth
In office
20 October 2018 – 18 May 2019
Preceded byMalcolm Turnbull
Succeeded byDave Sharma
Councillor of the City of Sydney
In office
10 September 2016 – 4 December 2021
Deputy Lord Mayor of Sydney
In office
23 September 2016 – 18 September 2017
Lord MayorClover Moore
Preceded byIrene Doutney
Succeeded byJess Miller
Personal details
Born
Kerryn Lyndel Phelps

(1957-12-14) 14 December 1957 (age 66)
Sydney, Australia
Political partyClover Moore Independents (2016–2017)
Independent (2017–present)
Kerryn Phelps Independents (2018–2021)
Spouse(s)Michael Fronzek (Divorced 1993)
Jackie Stricker (1998–present)
Children3
RelativesPeter Phelps (brother)
EducationUniversity of Sydney
Websitedrkerrynphelps.com.au

Kerryn Lyndel Phelps AM (born 14 December 1957) is an Australian medical practitioner, public health and civil rights advocate, medical educator and former politician.

She was the first woman and first openly LGBT person[1] to be elected president of the Australian Medical Association (AMA).[2] In 2001, she was awarded the Centenary Medal for services to health and medicine.[3] In 2011, she was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for her service to medicine, particularly through leadership roles with the AMA, education and community health, and as a general practitioner.[4] She is Conjoint Professor in the National Institute of Complementary Medicine at the Western Sydney University.

Phelps was elected to the Council of the City of Sydney on 10 September 2016 as a member of the Clover Moore Independents Team, and was then appointed as Deputy Lord Mayor of the council.[5] She resigned as Deputy on 26 June 2017[6] and is now an independent politician.

On 16 September 2018, Phelps announced she would run as an independent candidate in the 2018 Wentworth by-election, occasioned by the resignation from Parliament of Malcolm Turnbull following his removal as Prime Minister.[7] She was elected with a majority of 1,851 votes (1.2 points in two-party-preferred terms), constituting a 19-point swing in what had been a safe Liberal seat,[8] and was the first independent candidate to win the federal seat of Wentworth. However, on 20 May 2019, she was defeated in the 2019 federal election by the Liberal candidate Dave Sharma.[9]

Phelps is also a keen sportswoman, and in 2014, was appointed to the board of Hockey Australia.[10]

She is also an ambassador for Barnardos Australia.[11]

  1. ^ 'About Prof Kerryn Phelps AM'. Cooper Street Clinic.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference ClosetCase was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference AM was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Colman, Elizabeth; McNab, Heather (12 October 2016). "Kerryn Phelps says she'll call out BS when she sees it as Sydney's new deputy lord mayor". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  6. ^ Mathie, Clare; Hawke, Sarah (27 June 2017). "Sydney's Mayor accuses deputy of being driven by ambition not work, as Kerryn Phelps quits team". ABC News (Australia). Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Wentworth by-election, Kerryn Phelps to run as Independent". ABC. 16 September 2018. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  8. ^ Karp, Paul (5 November 2018). "Kerryn Phelps seeks urgent briefing on Peter Dutton's eligibility". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 November 2018.
  9. ^ "Election 2019: Kerryn Phelps concedes defeat in Wentworth to Dave Sharma". ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation). 20 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  10. ^ "Councillor details – Councillor Professor Kerryn Phelps AM". meetings.cityofsydney.nsw.gov.au. 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  11. ^ balancebydeborahhutton (25 January 2013). "Kerryn Phelps is Barnardos Australia's Mother of the Year Ambassador". Balance by Deborah Hutton. Archived from the original on 28 February 2020. Retrieved 28 February 2020.