Janet Holmes a Court AC

Janet Holmes a Court was born in Perth on 29 November 1943. Her parents were socialists and as such were ostracised for their views during the Cold War. She won a scholarship to Perth Modern School and the University of Western Australia where she studied for her Bachelor of Science.

In 1966, she married lawyer Robert Holmes a Court. In 1970, he became a businessman and built up an impressive land, property and mining portfolio. They had three sons and one daughter together. As the wife of a very powerful man she was invited to participate in many organisations. She devoted her energies to humanitarian causes and the arts.

When her husband died in September 1990, Janet's life changed dramatically for she took over Heytesbury Holdings Ltd, making her the richest woman in Australia. However, there was also a mass of debts to deal with so she began selling off many assets in order to better manage the company. It was a steep learning curve for her to successfully run such a large company. Down-sizing and restructuring were the order of the day. Heytesbury took over the John Holland construction group in order to boost earnings.

In 1992, under the Keating government, she was appointed as a member of the Reserve Bank Board, a position she held till 1997. She was the first woman to be a member of that institution, one which influences the quality of life of millions of Australians through its control of interest rates. Janet is also chair of the Australian Children's Television Foundation. She is a strong supporter of the Arts, Australian Theatre, a republic and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.