Sallyanne Atkinson was elected Lord Mayor in 1985, after defeating the Labor incumbent Roy Harvey. She became the first female Lord Mayor of Brisbane, as well as the first from the Liberal Party. She was eventually defeated in 1991 in a narrow upset election win by the virtually unknown Jim Soorley, who received preferences from the Greens candidate Drew Hutton.
Subsequent career
After leaving the position as Lord Mayor of Brisbane, she became the first woman on the boards of several major companies, including Caltex, She unsuccessfully ran as the Liberal candidate for the federal seat of Rankin at the 1993 election. Atkinson was then Australia's Senior Trade Commissioner to France from 1994–1997. Her role was to promote Australian exports and encourage investment in Australia. She was also Australia's representative to the International Chamber of Commerce. While a representative of the Australian Olympic Committee, she supported the Olympic bids of many cities around Australia, including the Brisbane bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics and the successful Sydney 2000 Olympics Bid. In France she was the European Representative for the Sydney Olympic Committee. She was subsequently made the Deputy Mayor of the athletes' village. Atkinson was awarded Australian Catholic University's highest honour, Doctor of the University, at the Brisbane Campus graduation ceremony held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 2 April 2004. ACU National Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Sheehan AO, said the award recognises Ms Atkinson's extraordinary contribution to Australia's international reputation as a location for sporting events, and her contribution to government and the community. "Through her many years of generous service, in particular her work on the Olympic bids for Brisbane and Sydney and as Deputy Mayor of the Olympic Village at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, Ms Atkinson has contributed to Australia's eminent status in world sport. In 1993 Ms Atkinson was created an Officer of the Order of Australia for service to local government and the community, and in 2003 she was awarded a Centenary Medal for service to local government and to business. Professor Peter Sheehan AO stated during an ACU Graduation Address in 2004, "Sallyanne Atkinson is a most distinguished Australian, an eminent Queenslander, and has brought great credit to the city of Brisbane." She was also awarded Honorary Doctorates from Griffith University and the University of Queensland. Sallyanne Atkinson was chairman in Queensland for Barton Deakin Government Relations, providing strategic advice to businesses and not-for-profits on working with government from 2012 to 2015.
