Dame Margaret Guilfoyle, the trail-blazing senator and Liberal Party icon, has died aged 94. She was a senior and influential minister for the entirety of the Fraser government, the first woman in federal cabinet with portfolio, and the first female finance minister.
After the dismissal on November 11, 1975, Guilfoyle became caretaker Minister for Education. After winning the federal election on December 13, Fraser dropped Don Chipp from the ministry and appointed Guilfoyle as minister for social security. After attending Fairfield State School and Westgarth Central Business College, by 15 Guilfoyle was working as a secretary and studying at night at Taylors Institute of Advanced Studies. By 1947, when she was 21, Guilfoyle was head office accountant at Overseas Corporation Australia Ltd, which promoted Australian exports.
In the July 1976 reshuffle, when Guilfoyle maintained the social security portfolio and was promoted to cabinet, she became the first woman in federal cabinet with portfolio. Her influence continued to grow.
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