Kerry Anne Chikarovski (born 4 April 1956) was leader of the New South Wales

New South Wales

New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...

 Liberal Party

Liberal Party of Australia

The Liberal Party of Australia is an Australian political party.Founded a year after the 1943 federal election to replace the United Australia Party, the centre-right Liberal Party typically competes with the centre-left Australian Labor Party for political office...

 in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly

New South Wales Legislative Assembly

The Legislative Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The other chamber is the Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House in the state capital, Sydney...

. She served as Leader of the Opposition

Leader of the Opposition (New South Wales)

The role of the Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in New South Wales is a title held by the leader of the largest minority party in the state lower house, the New South Wales Legislative Assembly...

 between 1998 and 2002.

Chikarovski was educated at the Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College

Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College

Monte Sant' Angelo Mercy College is a Roman Catholic, secondary, day school for girls, located in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

, in North Sydney. She is a lawyer by training, having studied at the University of Sydney

University of Sydney

The University of Sydney is a public university located in Sydney, New South Wales. The main campus spreads across the suburbs of Camperdown and Darlington on the southwestern outskirts of the Sydney CBD. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and Oceania...

 and after a brief career in private practice, went on to lecture part-time at the College of Law before entering parliament.

Following the resignation of incumbent John Dowd

John Dowd (politician)

John Robert Arthur Dowd AO QC , a former Australian politician and jurist, is the Chancellor of Southern Cross University and the President of ActionAid Australia, an international aid organisation.-Early years and background:...

, Chikarovski won pre-selection for the safe Liberal seat of Lane Cove

Electoral district of Lane Cove

Lane Cove is an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of New South Wales. It is represented by Anthony Roberts of the Liberal Party of Australia...

 in 1991, her primary competition for which was then MLC John Hannaford. In 1992, she was appointed Minister for Consumer Affairs and Assistant Minister for Education (3 July 1992-26 May 1993). In 1993, she became Minister for Industrial Relations and Employment and Minister for The Status of Women (29 May 1993 – 4 April 1995). She replaced Bruce Baird

Bruce Baird

Bruce George Baird, AM , is a former Australian politician.-Early life:Baird was born in Sydney, and was educated at the University of Sydney and the University of Melbourne, holding a master's degree in business administration from the latter...

 as Deputy Leader of the Liberal Party in December 1994 and held that post until the Liberal Party was defeated in 1995.

On 8 December 1998 she replaced Peter Collins

Peter Collins (Australian politician)

Peter Edward James Collins, AM, RFD, QC was the Leader of the Opposition in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 4 April 1995 to 8 December 1998.-Early years and background:...

 as leader, but in 1999 she lost the state election

New South Wales state election, 1999

Elections to the 52nd Parliament of New South Wales were held on Saturday, 27 March 1999. All seats in the Legislative Assembly and half the seats in the Legislative Council were up for election...

 to Labor Premier's Bob Carr

Bob Carr

Robert John "Bob" Carr , Australian statesman, was Premier of New South Wales from 4 April 1995 to 3 August 2005. He holds the record for the longest continuous service as premier of NSW...

 in a landslide. John Brogden, a member of her shadow cabinet

Shadow Cabinet

The Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government's, whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the government...

, successfully challenged her and replaced her as leader on 28 March 2002. At the March 2003 election she retired from parliament.

Kerry Chikarovski is also an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.