Susan Ryan

Susan Maree Ryan (10 October 1942 – 27 September 2020) was an Australian public servant and politician. She was the Age Discrimination Commissioner from 2011 to 2016, within the Australian Human Rights Commission. She was a member of the Labor Party. She served as a Senator for the Australian Capital Territory between 1975 and 1987.
Ryan also served as a minister in the Hawke Government. In 1983, she became the first female Labor minister when she became the Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women and Minister for Education and Youth Affairs. She was involved in the creation of the and the . She was also Special Minister of State from 1987 to 1988.
Ryan was born in Sydney, New South Wales. She was married to government official Richard Butler from 1963 to 1972. The couple had two children.
On 25 September 2020, Ryan was hospitalized in intensive care at a hospital near Sydney after swimming. She died two days later on 27 September, aged 77.