Helen Sham-Ho Explained

Helen Sham-Ho
Native Name:何沈慧霞
Native Name Lang:zh
Office:Member of the New South Wales Legislative Council
Party:Independent (1998–present)
Otherparty:Liberal Party (1982–1998)
Birth Date:9 September 1943
Nationality:Australian

Helen Wai-Har Sham-Ho OAM (born 9 September 1943) is a former Hong Kong-born Australian politician.

Early life and education

Of Bao'an Hakka ancestry, Sham-Ho was born in Hong Kong. She migrated to Australia in 1961, married an Australian in 1964, and became a citizen in 1968. [1]

She earned a Bachelor of Arts and a Diploma of Social Work from the University of Sydney, graduating in 1967,[2] and earned an LL.B. at Macquarie University.[3]

Her first marriage produced two daughters; her second marriage was to Robert Ho on 15 December 1987. In 1982, she had joined the Epping Branch of the Liberal Party.[4]

Political career

In 1988, she was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Council for the Liberal Party. She was the first ethnic Chinese person to be elected to an Australian parliament. She continued as a Liberal MLC until 1998, when she resigned from the party to sit as an independent. She retired before the 2003 election.

Community service

Since her retirement she has been involved in various fund-raising activities in her local community.[5] Sham-Ho is a long-time advocate for Chinese unification, has advised the Australian chapter of the China Council for the Promotion of Peaceful National Reunification, and has been involved with various events linked to the Chinese Communist Party's United Front Work Department.[6]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Helen Sham-Ho NSW Migration Heritage Centre . 2024-02-21 . en-US . 27 March 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240327143346/https://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/belongings/sham-ho/index.html . live .
  2. Web site: 2012 Australia Day Honours. The University of Sydney. 29 June 2013. https://web.archive.org/web/20160304113224/https://secureau.imodules.com/s/965/index.aspx?sid=965&gid=1&pgid=1435. 4 March 2016. live.
  3. Web site: Chris Lilley and His Aussie Heroes - Macquarie University . 7 January 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120425030450/http://www.mq.edu.au/pubstatic/public/download.jsp?id=52696 . 25 April 2012 . live .
  4. The Hon. Helen Wai-Har Sham-Ho (1943–) . 2004 . Yes . 13 May 2019.
  5. http://www.migrationheritage.nsw.gov.au/exhibition/belongings/sham-ho/ Belongings: Post World War 2 migration memories & journeys
  6. Web site: Joske . Alex . Alex Joske . 2017-12-15 . Bennelong byelection: The influential network targeting the Turnbull government in Bennelong . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20191227033629/https://www.smh.com.au/politics/federal/bennelong-byelection-the-influential-network-targeting-the-turnbull-government-in-bennelong-20171215-h0581u.html . 27 December 2019 . 2019-06-15 . . en . Australia's first Chinese parliamentarian, Helen Sham-Ho, was once a member of the Liberal Party but has served as an advisor to the reunification council since its founding in 2000 and just last month was pictured in multiple meetings with United Front Work Department officials, according to Chinese media reports..