Helen Evelyn Kroger (née Madden; born 11 March 1959) is a former Australian politician. She was a

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 ...

member of the

Australian Senate The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...

representing the state of

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 ...

from 2008 to 2014. She was the president of the Victorian division of the Liberal Party from 2003 to 2006. Kroger was the Liberal candidate for the Melbourne seat of Bruce at the 2016 election, where she lost the

two-party-preferred vote In Australian politics, the two-party-preferred vote (TPP or 2PP) is the result of an election or opinion poll after preferences have been distributed to the highest two candidates, who in some cases can be independents. For the purposes of TPP, ...

by a margin of 9.48% to

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

candidate

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 ...

Early life

Kroger was born Helen Madden 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 ...

. She studied economics at

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university has a ...

in the 1970s, where she met her future husband

Michael Kroger Michael Norman Kroger (born 30 May 1957) is a former Australian lawyer. He was president of the Victorian Liberal Party from 1987 to 1992 and from 2015 to 2018, and is considered a member of the conservative faction. Early life Kroger was educ ...

. After graduating from Monash, she worked in human resources and recruitment at IBM and

KPMG KPMG International Limited (or simply KPMG) is a multinational professional services network, and one of the Big Four accounting organizations. Headquartered in Amstelveen, Netherlands, although incorporated in London, England, KPMG is a net ...

. She married Michael Kroger in the early 1980s, and they had two sons. The couple later divorced. Kroger left the corporate world and ran Blacamoor Delicatessen, a small delicatessen in

Malvern East Malvern East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 13 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Stonnington local government area. Malvern East recorded a population of 22,296 at the 2021 c ...

Political career

In the 1970s, Kroger played an active role in the Young Liberals. In 1999, she stood for

preselection Preselection is the process by which a candidate is selected, usually by a political party, to contest an election for political office. It is also referred to as candidate selection. It is a fundamental function of political parties. The presele ...

in the state seat of Burwood when it was vacated by

Jeff Kennett Jeffrey Gibb Kennett (born 2 March 1948) is a former Australian politician who was the 43rd Premier of Victoria between 1992 and 1999, and currently a media commentator. He was previously the president of the Hawthorn Football Club, serving ...

in 1999, but was beaten by Lana McLean. In 2003 she became President of the Victorian Division of the

Liberal Party of Australia The Liberal Party of Australia is a centre-right political party in Australia, one of the two major parties in Australian politics, along with the centre-left Australian Labor Party. It was founded in 1944 as the successor to the United Au ...

. Kroger was elected to the Australian Senate for Victoria at 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 ...

, after being preselected in the safe second position on the Liberal ticket, behind

Mitch Fifield Mitchell Peter Fifield (born 16 January 1967) is the Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations. He is a former Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 2004 to 2019, representing the Liberal Party. He wa ...

and ahead of number three candidate Scott Ryan. She commenced office on 1 July 2008. In July 2011, she became Chief Opposition

Whip A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally e ...

in the Senate. In May 2012, Kroger was preselected for the vulnerable third-place position on the Victorian Senate ticket at the 2013 election, adding some risk to her chances of re-election. Additionally, members of the Liberal Party moved to replace her as Senate Whip by arranging a party room spill for her position, until party leader

Tony Abbott Anthony John Abbott (; born 4 November 1957) is a former Australian politician who served as the 28th prime minister of Australia from 2013 to 2015. He held office as the leader of the Liberal Party of Australia. Abbott was born in Londo ...

intervened. Kroger was a member of a Liberal- and Labor-dominated committee that advocated the change to the method of voting in Senate elections that came into force at the 2016 federal election. She was defeated at the 2013 federal election for the sixth Senate place in Victoria, losing to

Ricky Muir Ricky Lee Muir (born 25 December 1980) is an Australian politician who served as a Senator for Victoria from 2014 to 2016. Muir was elected to the Senate at the 2013 federal election, standing for the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party (AM ...

from the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party. On 2 July 2016, Kroger was defeated as a Liberal candidate for the electorate of Bruce by

of the Labor Party.

References

External links

Australian Parliament House biography
* - doesn't seem to exist anymore {{DEFAULTSORT:Kroger, Helen 1959 births Living people Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian Senate for Victoria Members of the Australian Senate Women members of the Australian Senate Monash University alumni 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians Politicians from Melbourne