Sir Llew Edwards AC MBBS was a Queensland state politician and state Liberal Party leader who served as deputy premier to Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen. He was appointed chairman and chief executive for Brisbane's World Expo '88. He later served as chancellor of the University of Queensland and sat on the boards of a number of publicly listed companies.
Llewellyn Roy Edwards was born on 2nd August 1935 in Ipswich, Queensland, Australia. Llew started his working life in his family's electrical goods business, R T Edwards. He graduated from the University of Queensland with the dual medical degrees of Bachelor of Medicine (MB) and Bachelor of Surgery (BS) in 1965. Opening a general practice at Raceview, Ipswich, he also worked as a doctor at Ipswich Hospital.
Llew entered the Queensland Parliament as the Liberal Party member for Ipswich in 1972. He was the Minister for Health between 1974-78 and then held the position of Liberal Party leader, Deputy Premier and Treasurer until 1983 when he retired from State Parliament to take on the role of Chairman and Chief Executive of World Expo '88, held in Brisbane.
On 7th January 1984, he was created Knight Bachelor for his 'services to the Parliament of Queensland'. [1] On Australia Day 1989, he was appointed Companion of the Order of Australia (AC) for his 'service to the community, particularly as chairman of World Expo '88'. [2]
In 1993, Sir Llew was elected the twelfth Chancellor of the University of Queensland, holding the office until 9th February 2009. He had earlier received an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the university in 1988. The Sir Llew Edwards Building at the University of Queensland's St Lucia campus is named in his honour.
Llew married Leone Burley in Queensland. Following Leone's death in 1988, he married a second time, to Jane Brumfield in 1989.
Llew was an evangelical Christian, active in the Congregational Church.
Aged 85 years, he passed away of dementia-related issues on 26th May 2021 in Brisbane and was honoured with a State Funeral on 3rd June. [3] He is survived by his wife, Lady Jane Edwards, his sons Mark and David (daughter, Louise, had previously succumbed to cancer), and grandchildren.
In 2010 the then premier, Anna Bligh, named Sir Llew as one of six Queensland Greats, the citation stating that he was 'an outstanding Queenslander who has made exceptional contributions to many fields'. [4]
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