David Leyonhjelm

David Ean Leyonhjelm (1 April 1952 —) is a former Australian politician and company director. 

Leyonhjelm was born the eldest of four children to Bryan and Jean Leyonhjelm, dairy farmers in Heywood, Victoria (Snow, 2014). After his parents divorced, he and his mother moved to Melbourne, where he was awarded a Bachelor of  Veterinary Science from the University of Melbourne in 1974; after graduating he went into practice, both in Australia and overseas.

In 1989, Leyonhjelm established Baron Strategic Services, providing business intelligence services to the agricultural and veterinary supply industry; an affiliated recruitment company, Baron Senior Placements, followed in 1992 (Leyonhjelm, [n.d.]). 

Leyonhjelm was a member of Young Labor as a student; the following decades saw affiliations with the Australian Liberal Party, the Shooters and Fishers Party, the Smokers' Rights Party and the Outdoor Recreation Party. He became involved with the Liberal Democratic Party in 2005, and as secretary legitimised the organisation through elections in  2007, 2010, and 2013. He successfully ran for the Senate in 2013.

In 2015, Leyonhjelm introduced a private member's bill, the Restoring Territory Rights (Assisted Suicide Legislation) Bill, in an attempt to restore the ability of the ACT and Northern Territory to self-legislate on euthanasia. It was ultimately unsuccessful, negatived in August 2018 (Restoring Territory Rights, 2015). 

Leyonhjelm, D. [n.d.] David Leyonhjelm [LinkedIn profile]. https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-leyonhjelm-6755939/?originalSubdomain=au

Restoring Territory Rights Australia Bill 2015. (Aust.) https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Bills_Legislation/Bills_Search_Results/Result?bId=s1030

Snow, D. (2014, June 28). David Leyonhjelm: Trouble shooter. The Sydney Morning Herald. https://www.smh.com.au/national/david-leyonhjelm-trouble-shooter-20140623-3an2u.html