Representative Monique Ryan Contact information

Monique Marie Ryan is a renowned Australian paediatric neurologist and politician, born in Melbourne on January 20, 1967. Her father was a telecommunications executive, and her mother was a charity worker who founded Women for Women in Africa. Ryan attended Loreto Mandeville Hall, Toorak, and graduated as dux in 1984. She graduated in medicine from the University of Melbourne in 1991. After completing her paediatric training in Sydney, she pursued a neurology residency at the Children’s Hospital Boston, followed by a neurophysiology fellowship at the Lahey Clinic in Boston, Massachusetts. Ryan became the Director of the Neurology at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne before becoming a Member of Parliament. She has more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and has served as a principal investigator on several clinical trials. Ryan is a joint editor of Neuromuscular Disorders of Infancy, Childhood, and Adolescence, now in its second edition.

Ryan made her foray into politics by contesting the 2022 federal election in the seat of Kooyong as an independent candidate. She responded to an advertisement in The Age calling for an independent to unseat Josh Frydenberg, after he had previously received an 8% swing against him in the previous election. Ryan was one of the centrist “teal independents” who campaigned to unseat “moderate” Liberal Party MPs on the basis of a lack of action on climate change, among other policies. Her campaign was backed by Voices of Kooyong and had 1500 volunteers and more than 2000 donors as of April 2022.

Ryan emerged victorious in the 2022 election, securing 52.9% of the two-candidate vote, defeating federal treasurer Josh Frydenberg. Ryan acknowledged that the idea of becoming a federal member of parliament was still settling in and attributed her win to the momentum for change in the Australian political system. Climate change is Ryan’s top priority as a member of parliament.

Ryan’s political career, however, has not been free of controversies. She hired Sally Rugg as chief of staff after winning the seat of Kooyong. However, disagreements about work hours and responsibilities arose between the two. Later, Rugg alleged that she had experienced hostile conduct in the workplace and resigned in January 2023.