Scott Ryan (Australian politician)


Scott Michael Ryan is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Victoria since 2008, representing the Liberal Party. He has been the President of the Senate since 2017, having previously been a minister in the Turnbull Government from 2016 to 2017. In March 2020 he announced he would not seek re-election to the Senate at the next federal election.

Early life

Ryan was born on 12 May 1973 in Brisbane, Queensland, and grew up in, Victoria. He was educated at St Kevin's College, Melbourne and graduated from the University of Melbourne, with a Bachelor of Arts. While at university, he served as President of the Melbourne University Liberal Club and was a member of the Australian Liberal Students' Federation, where he is a life member.
He started his career as a tutor of political science at St Mary's College, a constituent college of the University of Melbourne. He then worked in corporate affairs for pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. He also worked as a speechwriter and political advisor. In 2008, he was a Research Fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs in Melbourne.

Politics

Ryan was a member of the executive of the Victorian Division of the Liberal Party, holding the office of vice president. He was elected to a six-year Senate term at the 2007 federal election, commencing on 1 July 2008. He was preselected in the third position on the Coalition ticket in Victoria. He was re-elected to a second six-year term at the 2013 election, which was cut short by a double dissolution.
Ryan was re-elected at the 2016 Australian federal election. The first sitting of the new Senate allocated which senators were elected for only three years and which received a full six-year term. Ryan was one of two senators who received a six-year term as a consequence of which method was chosen to allocate the seats.

Government minister

Following the 2013 federal election that resulted in the formation of the Abbott Ministry, Ryan was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education; later expanded as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education and Training. Ryan served as the Minister for Vocational Education and Skills following a rearrangement in the First Turnbull Ministry, between February and July 2016. Ryan was appointed the Special Minister for State in the first arrangement of the Second Turnbull ministry and gained additional responsibilities as the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for Cabinet in a subsequent rearrangement.

President of the Senate

On 13 November 2017, Ryan was elected President of the Senate, winning by 53 votes to 11 for Senator Peter Whish-Wilson of the Greens. He resigned his ministerial posts in order to take up the position. His predecessor Stephen Parry resigned from the Senate during the parliamentary eligibility crisis, after discovering he was a dual citizen of the United Kingdom. Ryan is the first former government minister to become President of the Senate since Doug McClelland, and the first person to resign from the ministry to take up the position. He took office at the age of 44, surpassing Kerry Sibraa as the youngest person to assume the presidency.
Following the 2019 election, Ryan was re-elected to the presidency on 2 July 2019. In March 2020 he announced he would retire from federal parliament at the next federal election, citing his unwillingness to serve another six-year term and that "constant renewal is essential for every political party". He committed to remaining as president until the end of his Senate term in 2022.

Personal life

Ryan has two sons with his wife Helen and lives in Melbourne.