Alan Peter Griffin (born 23 February 1960) is a former Australian politician of the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also simply known as Labor, is the major centre-left political party in Australia, one of two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-right Liberal Party of Australia. The party forms the f ...

. He was a member of the

Australian House of Representatives The House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the upper house being the Senate. Its composition and powers are established in Chapter I of the Constitution of Australia. The term of members of the ...

, representing the Division of Corinella between 1993 and

March 1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 800, causing the plane to crash and killing everyone on ...

, and the

Division of Bruce The Division of Bruce is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. The division is located in the south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne. It covers an area of approximately including the suburbs of , , , , , , and ; and parts o ...

, from March 1996 until May 2016.

Background and early career

Griffin was born in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

, and was educated at the

Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...

. He was a public servant, union organiser and electorate secretary before entering politics. Griffin was ministerial adviser to the Victorian Minister for Community Services,

Kay Setches Kay Patricia Setches (born 28 November 1944) is an Australian politician. She was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1982 to 1992, representing the electorate of Ringwood. She was Minister for Conservation, Forest ...

, 1990–91 and to

Simon Crean Simon Findlay Crean (born 26 February 1949) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He was the Member of Parliament for Hotham from 1990 to 2013, representing the Labor Party, and served as a Cabinet Minister in the Hawke, Keating, R ...

, then a federal minister, 1991–93. He was also a member of the Springvale City Council, 1991–93.

Political career

Griffin was first elected to Parliament at the 1993 federal election, unseating the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

incumbent in Corinella,

Russell Broadbent Russell Evan Broadbent (born 25 December 1950) is an Australian politician who is a Liberal Party member of the House of Representatives, representing the Division of Monash (previously McMillan). He is one of the longest-serving current members ...

. He became a backbench supporter of

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Paul Keating Paul John Keating (born 18 January 1944) is an Australian former politician and unionist who served as the 24th prime minister of Australia from 1991 to 1996, holding office as the leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously serv ...

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...

. Corinella was abolished for the 1996 election, and Griffin followed most of his constituents into Bruce. That seat had been in Liberal hands since its creation in 1955. However, it had been significantly altered by the latest redistribution, which gave Labor a slim majority. Griffin defeated Liberal incumbent

Julian Beale Julian Howard Beale (10 October 1934 – 3 August 2021) was an Australian businessman and federal politician. He was the son of former cabinet minister and ambassador Sir Howard Beale. Julian Beale was a Liberal member of the Australian Parli ...

by only 1195 votes, making him one of the few bright spots in Labor's severe defeat that year. Griffin was elected to the Opposition Shadow Ministry in October 1998. He was Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs and Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Health from 2003 to 2005. In June 2005, he was appointed Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Shadow Special Minister of State. After Labor won government back in the

2007 federal election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto sovereign states and their dependent territories. Referendums are included, although they are not elections. By-elections are not i ...

, new Prime Minister

Kevin Rudd Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...

appointed Griffin

Minister for Veterans' Affairs The Minister for Veterans' Affairs is an Australian Government position. In the Government of Australia, the minister oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widower ...

in the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

. On 1 April 2010, he gained the portfolio of

Minister for Defence Personnel In the Government of Australia, the Minister for Defence Personnel is a position which is currently held by Matt Keogh, after the Albanese ministry was sworn in on 1 June 2022, following the 2022 Australian federal election. The ministerial p ...

. He retained these portfolios in

Julia Gillard Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...

's first ministry but chose not to continue in the Second Gillard Ministry, which was sworn in on 14 September 2010 following the 2010 election. On 10 February 2015, he announced he would not contest the next election, due in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

. In March 2015, former City of Port Phillip Mayor

Julian Hill Julian Christopher Hill (born 4 June 1973) is an Australian politician who is currently serving as the Member of Parliament for Bruce in the House of Representatives, and was previously the 4th Mayor of Port Phillip. A member of the Australia ...

was preselected unopposed to contest Bruce for the Labor Party.

References

Alan Griffin's website

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Griffin, Alan 1960 births Living people Politicians from Melbourne Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Bruce Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Corinella Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 20th-century Australian politicians Government ministers of Australia Australian National University alumni

Background and early career

Political career

See also

References

External links