FROM a life on the land to a cabinet minister in Federal Parliament, diverse doesn’t even begin to describe the ascent of Member for Farrer Sussan Ley to the Abbott ministry.
Born in Nigeria to British parents, Ms Ley spent her early childhood in the United Arab Emirates, before migrating to Australia at the age of 13 with her parents and older brother.
‘Accomplished’ is certainly one word that suitably defines the representative for New South Wales’ second-largest electorate.
Becoming a qualified commercial pilot at age 20, it was years later — when her first child had turned one — that Ms Ley decided to enrol in university.
The next decade saw her study part-time to finish three finance degrees — a Bachelor of Economics, Master of Taxation Law and a Master of Accounting — while raising a young family that had, by the end of her study, grown to three children.
All the while, she also worked full-time on a livestock and dairy farm near Tallangatta in north-east Victoria.
For more on this story, grab a copy of Wednesday’s Guardian (February 25).
