Angie Bell

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Angie Bell
Member of the Australian Parliament for Moncrieff
Assumed office
18 May 2019
Preceded bySteven Ciobo
Personal details
Born (1968-07-11) 11 July 1968 (age 55)
Adelaide, South Australia
Political partyLiberal (LNP)
OccupationMusician and retail manager

Angie Marion Bell[1] (born 11 July 1968)[2] is an Australian politician who has been a member of the House of Representatives since the 2019 federal election, representing the Division of Moncrieff in Queensland. She is a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland and sits with the Liberal Party in federal parliament.

Early life[edit]

Bell was born in Adelaide.[2] She attended Gawler High School, where she learned the tenor saxophone and came to the attention of jazz musician Don Burrows. She subsequently won a scholarship from Rotary International to study music in Denmark. When she returned to Australia she enrolled in the Elder Conservatorium of Music, studying jazz, saxophone, and voice.[3]

Prior to entering politics, Bell worked as a professional musician for 35 years.[3] She also worked as a sales agent across several Australian states before settling in Queensland in 2002, where she worked with the National Retail Association as a consultant and workplace trainer.[2] From 2010 she worked for Paint Place as visual merchandising manager (2010–2015) and national business development manager (2015–2018). Bell attended Griffith University as a mature-age student, completing a graduate certificate in marketing. In 2014 she wrote a book on rebranding and marketing for small businesses.[2][3]

Politics[edit]

Bell joined the Liberal National Party of Queensland (LNP) at the age of 45.[3] She served as president of LNP Women Queensland from 2017 to 2019.[2]

In April 2019, Bell won LNP preselection for the Division of Moncrieff, replacing the retiring MP Steven Ciobo. According to The Australian, she defeated eight other candidates in an "upset victory".[4] She retained Moncrieff for the Liberals at the 2019 federal election, with a small positive swing to the party.[5]

Bell is a member of the Moderate/Modern Liberal faction of the Liberal Party.[6][7]

Personal life[edit]

Bell is in a long-term relationship with her partner Ros, who has four adult children.[3] She is the first openly gay woman to represent a major party in the House of Representatives, the second overall after independent Kerryn Phelps, and the fifth gay woman in federal parliament.[8]

Bell supports the Gold Coast Suns in the Australian Football League (AFL).[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Qualification checklist" (PDF). Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 29 May 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Ms Angie Bell MP". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 17 October 2019.
  3. ^ a b c d e "First speech: Angie Bell". Parliament of Australia. Archived from the original on 22 May 2022. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  4. ^ "LNP's Angie Bell preselected for Moncrieff". 6 April 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  5. ^ "Moncrieff". ABC News. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  6. ^ Massola, James (20 March 2021). "Who's who in the Liberals' left, right and centre factions?". The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 1 February 2022.
  7. ^ Massola, James (8 April 2023). "How Morrison's shattering defeat gave Dutton a seismic shift in factional power". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 December 2023.
  8. ^ "Gay LNP federal election 2019 candidate Angie Bell hopes to make history in blue ribbon seat". ABC News. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  9. ^ "Each AFL Teams Biggest Political Fan". www.govconnex.com. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
Parliament of Australia
Preceded by Member for Moncrieff
2019–present
Incumbent