Jane Lomax-Smith

Jane Diane Lomax-Smith, AM (born 19 June 1950, in the United Kingdom) is an Australian politician and histopathologist serving as Lord Mayor of Adelaide since 14 November 2022. Lomax-Smith previously held the position of Lord Mayor between 1997 and 2000, after serving as a City of Adelaide councillor from 1991 to 1997.

She was elected to the South Australian House of Assembly seat of Adelaide representing the Labor Party from 2002 to 2010, serving as a Minister of Education and Tourism. Following the 2010 South Australian state election, Lomax-Smith served as the chair of South Australian Museum.

Early life and education

Lomax-Smith was born in Walthamstow in the East End of London, in the United Kingdom. She attended the Woodford County High School Grammar School from 1961 to 1968 and received a grant to attend the London Hospital Medical College, in Whitechapel, where she obtained her medical degree in 1974.

Lomax-Smith migrated to Australia in November 1977, becoming a lecturer in the University of Adelaide Medical School's Department of Pathology. She later moved to the United States in 1984 to take up a position as Research Fellow at Harvard University's Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. After two years, she returned to the UK, this time working at St James Hospital managing the surgical pathology department. She was made Fellow of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia in 1984 and received a Ph.D. from the University of Adelaide in 1985 on "IgA Nephropathy and Liver Disease".

In 1987, she returned to Australia to once again lecture at the University of Adelaide's Medical School, while also working as a Senior Specialist Consultant at the Royal Adelaide Hospital. Lomax-Smith worked across the private sector in the early 1990s as clinical pathologist and medical researcher before opening her clinic, Adelaide Pathology Partners, in 1998; a practice she operated until 2002.

In 2017, she was awarded an honorary DSc by the University of Adelaide.

Political career

Lomax-Smith first entered public office in 1991 as a Grey Ward Councillor with the City of Adelaide. This particular election created a "heritage faction" on the City Council which favoured heritage conservation ahead of overdevelopment. Lomax-Smith joined other councillors Jane Rann, Rosemary Boucaut, Bob Angove, Ian Caller, Francene Connor, Jacqueline Gillen, Michael Gibb on the pro-heritage faction.

She served in this role until 1997, when she was elected Lord Mayor of Adelaide.

At the 2002 state election, Lomax-Smith was elected a member of the South Australian House of Assembly for the seat of Adelaide, defeating the Liberal Party candidate Michael Harbison, who had been preselected after the retirement of Liberal Party incumbent Michael Armitage. She retained the seat at the 2006 election with a 60 percent two-party vote but was defeated at the 2010 election by Liberal candidate Rachel Sanderson, with a two-party preferred swing of 14.5 percent, the second-largest swing at that election.

Lomax-Smith served as South Australian State Minister for Education, Minister for Mental Health & Substance Abuse, Minister for Tourism, and Minister for the City of Adelaide between 2002 and 2010 in Premier Rann's Labor Government.

Later career

In October 2010, the Federal Minister for Tertiary Education, Chris Evans, announced a Higher Education Base Funding Review, to be chaired by Lomax-Smith. The review was released in December 2011.

On 28 November 2010, the Royal Institution of Australia (RiAus) announced that Lomax-Smith was to act in the role of Director until a permanent appointment was made, but that she would not be an applicant for the permanent role.

On 18 August 2011, Premier Mike Rann announced that Lomax-Smith had been appointed as the new chair of the South Australian Museum board. She is on the Board of the Jam Factory, and TechInSA and in 2017 was made the Presiding Member of The South Australian Teachers Registration Board.

In the 2013 Australia Day Honours List, Lomax-Smith was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for significant service to the Parliament and the community of South Australia.

In 2015, Lomax-Smith was commissioned by Premier Jay Weatherill to examine options for the post coal-mining future of Leigh Creek, a purpose-built mining town in the Northern Flinders Ranges, and wrote a report entitled Leigh Creek Futures. From 2016–2017, Lomax-Smith had a position on the Advisory Board of UCL Australia. On 3 June 2020, Lomax-Smith was announced as new chair of the Don Dunstan Foundation, taking over from Lynn Arnold.

Lomax-Smith defeated incumbent Lord Mayor Sandy Verschoor and former senator Rex Patrick in the 2022 Adelaide City Council election to become Lord Mayor again after 22 years.

Personal life

Lomax-Smith is married with two children, and lives in Adelaide.