Lucy Turnbull

Early life and education

Born Lucinda Mary Hughes, Turnbull is the daughter of Tom Hughes, a former Attorney-General of Australia. Her great-grandfather was Sir Thomas Hughes, the first Lord Mayor of Sydney. She was educated at Kincoppal-Rose Bay, Frensham School in Mittagong, Sydney Girls High School and the University of Sydney, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Laws in 1982. Turnbull also holds a Master of Business Administration from the Australian Graduate School of Management of the University of New South Wales. In September 2017, Turnbull received an honorary Doctorate of Letters for her substantial and sustained service and contribution to the University and to the Greater Western Sydney region.

Political career

Turnbull was elected to Council in 1999 on the Living Sydney independent platform and was immediately elevated to the position of Deputy Lord Mayor, serving under Lord Mayor Frank Sartor. When Sartor resigned as Lord Mayor to enter NSW politics, Turnbull was elected as his replacement. In early 2004, the Carr Labor government dismissed the City of Sydney and South Sydney Councils and forced their amalgamation. Turnbull was subsequently appointed as one of three Commissioners assigned with the responsibility of establishing a new governance structure for the merged council entity. Turnbull, feeling the pressure of the Carr Labor government, approached Clover Moore and encouraged her to run as Lord Mayor in the hope that Labor would not gain control of the City of Sydney.

As Lord Mayor, Turnbull awarded Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi the keys to the city of Sydney in 2003.

Business and community involvement

With a background in commercial law and investment banking, Turnbull is a Director and Secretary of Turnbull & Partners Pty Ltd, a private investment company. From October 2010 to November 17, 2017 she was Non-Executive Chairman of biotechnology company Prima BioMed. She was appointed on 25 February 2022 as a Non-Executive Director of Australian Securities Exchange listed Immutep (formerly Prima BioMed). From August 2013 until October 2015, she was a director of SeaLink.

Turnbull has a long-standing interest in cities and their planning, governance and management, as well as the importance of technological innovation to the national economy. In 1999, she published a book called Sydney: Biography of a City. She was an independent member of the Sydney Metropolitan Development Authority, which was charged with the urban renewal and revitalisation of several precincts in Sydney, including Redfern–Waterloo. She was an independent member of the Redfern–Waterloo Authority from its establishment in 2004 until its repeal in December 2011. She is a former board member of the Australian Technology Park, Redfern. From 2004 until 2011, Turnbull served as Deputy Chair of the Committee for Sydney, a think tank for Greater Sydney representing public, private and not-for-profit sectors and focused on the future of the metropolitan city, and chaired it from 2011 until 2015.

Turnbull is a former deputy chair of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) City Expert Advisory Panel (appointed July 2010), which reported to the COAG Reform Council. The expert panel was charged with preparing a report published on 1 March 2012, advising COAG Reform Council on whether metropolitan planning systems were consistent with agreed COAG criteria.

Turnbull has also been active in the not-for-profit sector. She serves on boards of the Biennale of Sydney, the Redfern Foundation Limited and the Turnbull Foundation. She is the Patron of DICE Kids, an organisation created at Policy Hack in 2015 and Patron of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney. She is also a board member of the Cancer Institute of New South Wales. She has previously chaired the Sydney Children's Hospital Foundation, the Sydney Cancer Centre and the Sydney Festival Limited. From 2006–2010, she was a board member of Melbourne IT and before that a board member of Webcentral.

On 26 January 2011, Turnbull was appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) for her distinguished service to the community, particularly through philanthropic contributions to, and fundraising support for, a range of medical, social welfare, educational, youth and cultural organisations, to local government, and to business.

In 2012, Turnbull was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Business by the University of New South Wales, and in 2016, she was appointed adjunct professor at the Faculty of Built Environment, University of NSW. In 2017, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Letters from Western Sydney University which she received for her substantial and sustained service and contribution to the University and the Greater Western Sydney region.

Turnbull chaired the Committee for Sydney from 2012 to 2015. In 2015 she was appointed Chief Commissioner of the Greater Sydney Commission, a role she fulfilled until March 2020 when she resigned to work with her husband in their family business.

Turnbull was appointed chair of the Sydney Opera House Trust, commencing 1 January 2021.

Personal life

Lucy Hughes was aged 19 when she met Malcolm Turnbull, who was aged 23. Their first date was a dinner with Bob Carr and his wife Helena. Hughes and Turnbull were married on 22 March 1980 in Cumnor, Oxfordshire, England, United Kingdom by a Church of England priest, despite Turnbull then being Presbyterian and Hughes Roman Catholic. After two miscarriages, Lucy and Malcolm Turnbull had two children, Alex (b. 1982) and Daisy (b. 1985). Malcolm Turnbull was a member of the House of Representatives for Wentworth between 2004 and 2018, representing the Liberal Party. He had two stints as the party's leader, and in that capacity, in his second term served as the 29th Prime Minister of Australia, in the Turnbull government.

During her husband's term as prime minister, the couple resided at The Lodge. They own properties in Point Piper, the Hunter Valley and an apartment in Canberra. They also own an apartment in New York City.

Published works

References

title=Lord Mayor of Sydney| before=Frank Sartor| after=Clover Moore| years=2003–2004|}}

References

1. Turnbull, Lucy. (6 April 2023). "Not financial. Think my membership formally lapses in June. My father, The Hon Tom Hughes AO QC was an MP in the federal Liberal Party in the 1960s–70s. It is not like it was back then, even the same as a few years ago. Liberalism seems to have died. I wish there had been a conscience vote for #TheVoice as there was for Marriage Equality and the Republican referendum.".
2. [http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/lucy-turnbull-malcolms-righthand-woman-20150207-138mfz.html Lucy Turnbull: Malcolm's right-hand woman] {{webarchive. link. (9 January 2016)
3. (10 December 2015). "There's something about Lucy Turnbull (and it's not Malcolm)".
4. Wade, Kirsten. "Lucy Turnbull shares her vision of Sydney at Graduate Connections Breakfast". University of Sydney.
5. "Western Sydney University recognises outstanding Australians with honorary awards in September". Western Sydney University.
6. "Lucy Turnbull". City of Sydney.
7. (27 January 2004). "Lord Mayor Launches Broadside Against Forced Council Merger Plan". [[City of Sydney]].
8. "Turnbull, Lucy". [[National Library of Australia]].
9. Davies, Anne. (29 September 2015). "Prime Minister's wife Lucy Turnbull assessing board roles to ensure no conflicts of interest". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
10. Turnbull, Lucy. (8 March 2010). "UN must step up for the women of Burma". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
11. "TURNBULL & PARTNERS PTY LIMITED Company Profile / SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, Australia / Competitors, Financials & Contacts".
12. (17 November 2017). "Prima BioMed Chairman's Address 2017 A.G.M.".
13. (25 February 2022). "Immutep Appoints Lucy Turnbull as Non-Executive Director".
14. [https://www.afr.com/markets/equity-markets/lucy-turnbull-resigns-from-sealink-board-20151023-gkgkr3 Lucy Turnbull resigns from SeaLink board] ''[[Australian Financial Review]]'' 23 October 2015
15. "The Committee for Sydney {{!}} Board".
16. (26 January 2011). "Turnbull, Lucy Hughes". [[Commonwealth of Australia]].
17. . (31 May 2012). ["Honorary Doctorate for Lucy Turnbull"](https://newsroom.unsw.edu.au/news/business/honorary-doctorate-lucy-turnbull). *[[University of New South Wales]]*.
18. (21 October 2016). "Lucy Turnbull appointed Adjunct Professor at UNSW". [[UNSW Faculty of Built Environment]].
19. (8 September 2017). "Western Sydney University recognises outstanding Australians with honorary awards in September". [[Western Sydney University]].
20. Saulwick, Jacob. (2015-12-03). "Lucy Turnbull to run Greater Sydney Commission". The Sydney Morning Herald.
21. "Commissioners - Chief Commissioner - Lucy Hughes Turnbull AO". Greater Sydney Commission.
22. Gorrey, Megan. (2020-03-24). "Lucy Turnbull steps down from the Greater Sydney Commission".
23. Morris, Linda. (2020-12-02). "Lucy Turnbull named chair of Sydney Opera House".
24. "First Speech". Malcolm Turnbull MP.
25. Hall, Eleanor. (30 November 2004). "Malcolm Turnbull's maiden parliamentary speech". ABC.
26. (16 September 2008). "The rise and rise of Malcolm Turnbull". Fairfax Media.
27. Hewett, Jennifer. (25 October 2008). "The opportunist". The Australian.
28. Hawkins, Belinda. (3 August 2009). "Malcolm Turnbull interview". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
29. (2010). "About Malcolm". Malcolm Turnbull – Federal Member for Wentworth.
30. Hawkins, Belinda. (3 August 2009). "Lucy Turnbull interview". [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]].
31. (14 September 2015). "Malcolm Turnbull topples Tony Abbott in Liberal leadership ballot". [[ABC News (Australia).
32. Ireland, Judith. (25 January 2016). "The Turnbulls take The Lodge". The Sydney Morning Herald.
33. (18 August 2015). "How Malcolm Turnbull invests". [[Australian Financial Review]].
34. (15 September 2015). "Inside Malcolm Turnbull's Point Piper mansion". [[Domain Group.