Dan Cregan

Cregan grew up in South Australia and Western Australia, attending the University of Adelaide, where he was active in student politics, including as a director of the Adelaide University Union and as president of the Adelaide University Law Students' Society. He also rowed for the Adelaide University Boat Club First VIII.

Cregan received a Cambridge Commonwealth Trust bursary to study law at Peterhouse, Cambridge.

After graduating, Cregan was appointed judge's associate to John Doyle AC QC (Chief Justice of South Australia) and left that role to serve as an Australian Youth Ambassador for Development in Jakarta.

Later, Cregan joined the graduate program at Allens Linklaters where he became a senior associate in the firm's disputes and investigations team.

Cregan also held a number of board appointments with the Australian Property Institute and as a director of a family company.

Before his election Cregan worked at Mount Barker law firm Von Doussas.

Following the election of Steven Marshall's government in March 2018, Cregan was made Chair of the South Australian Public Works Committee.

On 8 October 2021, Cregan announced he had resigned from the Liberal Party and would move to the crossbench with immediate effect. He said that, in his view, the State government had failed to plan for the needs of rapidly growing towns in the Adelaide Hills.[1]

After Cregan moved to the cross bench, the House of Assembly voted to amend South Australia's Constitution to require an independent Speaker based on the Westminster tradition in the House of Commons.

In a late-night sitting of parliament on 13 October 2021 and following passage in the House of a Bill to change South Australia's Constitution Act to require an independent speaker,[4] Cregan won a secret ballot of members 23 votes to 21 to be elected as Speaker of the South Australian House of Assembly.[2]