Keith Doyle

Who is Keith Doyle?

Keith Ralph Doyle is an Australian politician. He was a Liberal Party of Australia member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1965 to 1978, representing the electorate of Vaucluse.

Doyle was born in Sydney, and was educated at Sydney Church of England Grammar School and the University of Sydney. He served in the Royal Australian Air Force during World War II as a flying officer and navigator. An insurance broker by trade, he was managing director of Banks Brothers and Metcalf Insurance Brokers and the Cooma Development Company, and operated commercial laundries at Cooma, Bega and Ulladulla; He was also involved in charitable causes, serving as a director of the New South Wales Society for Crippled Children from 1952 to 1958. An active member of the Liberal Party, he served on its state executive and as president of his local branch during the 1950s.

Doyle entered state politics at the 1965 state election, filling a vacancy caused by the death of his predecessor, Geoffrey Cox, late in the previous term. Vaucluse was a safe seat for the Liberal Party, and he was re-elected with little difficulty at four subsequent elections. A backbencher throughout his political career, Doyle's most prominent moment occurred when he was one of three backbenchers who organised support for Eric Willis' 1976 ouster of Tom Lewis as Premier. He retired at the 1978 state election; his retirement paved the way for Rosemary Foot, later the first female leader of the Liberal Party, to enter politics.