Brendan Smyth (politician)

Smyth was born in Sydney and moved to Canberra in May 1969. He worked at the National Library of Australia until 1995 when, representing the Liberal Party, he contested the 1995 by-election for the House of Representatives seat of Canberra. Normally a safe Labor seat, its previous member Ros Kelly had left under a cloud, having been forced to resign her ministry a year earlier over the sports rorts affair,{{citation needed|date=September 2014}} and Smyth received a 16.1% swing to claim the seat.{{cite web|url=http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/1993/1993repsby.txt|title=By-elections 1993–1996|work= Australian Federal By-elections|publisher=Psephos|author=Carr, Adam|date=25 March 1995|accessdate=11 November 2014}}

At the Australian federal election on 2 March 1996, Smyth contested the new federal House of Representatives seat of Namadgi, essentially the southern portion of his old seat, even though it had been drawn with a notional Labor majority of 10.9 percent. He was defeated by Labor's Annette Ellis.{{cite web|url=http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/a/australia/1996/1996repsact.txt |title=Divisions of Canberra, Fraser and Namadgi|work=1996 Australian Federal Election|publisher=Psephos|author=Carr, Adam|date= |accessdate=14 September 2014}}{{cite web|last=Green|first=Antony|authorlink=Antony Green|year=2007|url=http://www.abc.net.au/elections/federal/2007/guide/canb.htm|title=Canberra (electorate)|work=Australia Votes 2007: Electorate profiles|publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation|accessdate=14 November 2007}} {{As of|2022|05|alt=As of the election in May 2022}}, he is the last non-Labor member to represent an ACT-based seat.

He subsequently shifted to territory politics, winning election to the Legislative Assembly in the 1998 election representing the Tuggeranong-based multimember electorate of Brindabella.{{cite web|last=Newman|first=Gerard|year=1998|url=http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/rn/1997-98/98rn37.htm|title=Research Note 37 1997–98: Against The Odds: The 1998 ACT Election|publisher=Parliament of Australia: Parliamentary Library|accessdate=14 November 2007|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070713093419/http://www.aph.gov.au/Library/pubs/RN/1997-98/98rn37.htm|archivedate=13 July 2007|df=dmy-all}} He was the Opposition Leader for the ACT Liberal Party in the 2004 ACT elections, but lost the election.

Smyth resigned from the ACT Legislative Assembly on 15 July 2016, to take up a newly created government position as Commissioner for International Engagement for the ACT. The ensuing casual vacancy was filled by conducting a countback of votes at the 2012 ACT election.{{cite news|title=MLA Brendan Smyth retires after 18 years|url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-15/mla-brendan-smyth-announces-retirement/7632054|accessdate=15 July 2016|work=ABC News|date=15 July 2016}}{{cite web|title=Mr Brendan Smyth MLA resigns - ACT Legislative Assembly casual vacancy announced|date=15 July 2016|url=http://www.elections.act.gov.au/news/2016/mr-brendan-smyth-mla-resigns-act-legislative-assembly-casual-vacancy-announced|publisher=Elections ACT|accessdate=15 July 2016}}

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• [https://web.archive.org/web/20050617060825/http://www.canberraliberals.org.au/default.cfm?action=people_details&id=2 Canberra Liberals People: Brendan Smyth]

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Category:1959 births

Category:Living people

Category:Deputy chief ministers of the Australian Capital Territory

Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly

Category:Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia

Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives

Category:Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Canberra

Category:Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly

Category:Leaders of the opposition in the Australian Capital Territory

Category:Politicians from Canberra

Category:21st-century Australian politicians

Category:Australian MPs 1993–1996

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