Gladys Berejiklian Becomes First Elected Female Premier of Australia’s New South Wales

SYDNEY—The Armenian National Committee of Australia (ANC-AU) congratulated Armenian-Australian Gladys Berejiklian on becoming the first elected female Premier of Australia’s largest state of New South Wales. While it is yet unclear whether she will win with a majority or minority government, the Leader of the Opposition Michael Daley has conceded defeat, and Berejiklian has accepted victory.

A gracious Berejiklian thanked many in her speech, reserving special praise for the people of New South Wales: “No matter your background or where you live, you can be the Premier of New South Wales – a state where someone with a long surname and a woman can be the Premier.”

In January 2017, Berejiklian asceneded to the position of Premier of tNew South Wales  following the resignation of her predecessor Mike Baird.

Berejiklian’s victory has ensured she also makes history as the first leader of the Liberal (LIB) and National (NAT) Coalition to lead her political party to a third consecutive term in office.

“This is a historic day for Armenian-Australians and for the global Armenian community, as Ms Berejiklian continues to be the most powerful Armenian woman in world politics; this time being elected in her own right to lead the executive branch of a government that runs a state of 7 million people – the largest state of a G20 nation,” said ANC-AU Executive Director, Haig Kayserian.

“The Armenian community of New South Wales is filled with joy, as support for Ms Berejiklian extends beyond party politics – the opportunity for an Armenian-Australian, for ‘Our Gladys’ to be elected was too big not to get completely behind,” Kayserian added.

ANC-AU has also congratulated the close friends of the Armenian-Australian community, who were re-elected to their seats in the NSW Parliament, including Berejiklian (who has also retained her seat from Willoughby.

“We congratulate all our friends and victors during the NSW State Election, which includes a series of Members in the Legislative Council that will become clearer in coming days,” Kayserian said. “We also extend our condolences to all losing candidates, many of whom we met and won support from on key issues to our community, including but not limited to justice for the Armenian Genocide and the rights to self-determination of the Armenians of the Republic of Artsakh.”

“We also wish to thank all our community volunteers, who helped the Armenian National Committee of Australia understand community needs and numbers during this NSW State Election campaign,” added Kayserian.