Fiona Simson

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Fiona Simson
EducationUniversity of Canberra
OccupationVice-president World Farmers' Organisation
Board member ofAustralian Centre for International Agricultural Research, Future Food Systems.

Fiona Simson is the vice-president of the World Farmers' Organisation. She was the first woman president of the National Farmers' Federation. [1]

Contents

Education and early life

Simson grew up on a farm near Armidale, in NSW, Australia. She was a rotary exchange student, in 1982 in Denmark. [2]

Simson followed a career in corporate life, followed by a role in local government. She graduated from Bachelor of Arts, at the University of Canberra and is a graduate of the Australian Company Directors. In 2006, she successfully campaigned to stop mining companies from extracting coal seam gas, in central NSW, Caroona. [2]

Career

Simson ran a family farming business, including a broad acre farming and commercial breeding business, and she was elected as a Councillor in the Liverpool Plains Shire Council.[ citation needed ]

In 2016, Simson was elected President of the National Farmers' Federation. [3] She is an advisor for Australia's Foreign Affairs Minister, on the topic of agricultural research and development. [4] She is also a board member on the Australian Made Campaign, AgStewardship Australia, and the Board of NRMA (NSW). She is also on the board of the Australian Farmers Fighting Fund.[ citation needed ]

Simson was appointed to the statutory Nature Repair Committee in 2024. [5] She was also a Director of the Biodiversity Conservation Trust of NSW, and One Basin CRC. Simson is Patron of the National Rural Press Clue, and of the Program for NFF Diversity in Leadership. [6]

Also in 2024, Simson became an honorary Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering, in 2024. [7] [1]

Simson was elected as the first Australian vice president of the World Farmers' Organisation in 2024. [8] [9]

Awards and honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 Murphy, Brigette (21 June 2024). "'Bit of a big deal' as Australian woman first to be elected deputy of world farming body". ABC News. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  2. 1 2 Riminton, Hugh (8 December 2018). "The Year That Made Me: Fiona Simson, 1982". ABC listen. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  3. ↑ Osky. "Fiona Simson". The Crawford Fund. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  4. ↑ "Fiona Simson". The Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  5. ↑ Davidson, Stacey (28 August 2024). "NFF celebrates Fiona Simson's role on new Nature Repair Committee". National Farmers' Federation. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  6. ↑ "Leadership". National Roads and Motorists' Association Limited. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  7. ↑ "New Fellows 2024". Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Fiona Simson named keynote speaker for 2025 National Landcare Conference". The Land. 8 August 2025. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  9. ↑ Davidson, Stacey (20 June 2024). "Historic win for farmers: Fiona Simson elected WFO Vice President". National Farmers' Federation. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  10. ↑ Marzo, Valeria Di (9 June 2023). "The World Farmers' Organisation Welcomes New Vice President and Board Member". World Farmers' Organisation. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "NFF president Fiona Simson receives 2023 Rabobank Leadership Award". Rabobank. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  12. ↑ "Fiona Simson". Australian Academy of Technological Sciences & Engineering. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
  13. ↑ "Farmers applaud appointment of Fiona Simson to Climate Change Authority". Farmers for Climate Action. 15 March 2024. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
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