Michael Baume

Michael Ehrenfried Baume (born 6 July 1930) is a former Australian politician. A member of the Liberal Party, he served in the House of Representatives from 1975 to 1983 and as a Senator for New South Wales from 1985 to 1996. He was a parliamentary secretary in the Fraser government and was later a shadow minister. He was a business journalist and stockbroker before entering politics and later served as the Australian consul-general in New York City from 1996 to 2001.

Early life and education Baume was born in Sydney on 6 July 1930. He is the son of Elizabeth Constance (née Gibbons) and Alan Charles Baume. His paternal grandfather Frederick Baume was a member of parliament in New Zealand, while his grandmother Rosetta Baume was one of the first women to stand for parliament in New Zealand.

Baume spent his early years in Dubbo, New South Wales, where his father was the editor of a weekly newspaper. The family later returned to Sydney and settled in Lindfield.

House of Representatives At the 1975 federal election, Baume won the seat of Macarthur for the Liberal Party from the incumbent Australian Labor Party MP John Kerin. He was re-elected at the 1977 and 1980 elections, but lost his seat to Labor candidate Colin Hollis at the 1983 election.

Later life In New York, Baume was elected President of the Society of Foreign Consuls (1999–2001) and was awarded the medal of the Foreign Policy Association (New York) for services to US-Australian relations. On 9 June 1999, Baume was made an Officer of the Order of Australia, "for service to the arts and the development of cultural life in Australia and internationally, to the Australian parliament and to the financial services industry."

On his return to Australia, Baume was appointed a member of the Superannuation Complaints Tribunal for two years and was a foundation member of the Board of the United States Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.