Joseph Karl Szakacs (; born 1982) is an Australian politician and trade unionist. He is a Labor Party member of the

South Australian Legislative Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

, representing the electoral district of

Cheltenham Cheltenham (), also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a spa town and borough on the edge of the Cotswolds in the county of Gloucestershire, England. Cheltenham became known as a health and holiday spa town resort, following the discovery of mineral s ...

since the 2019 Cheltenham by-election. Szakacs has served as the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services in the

Malinauskas ministry The Malinauskas ministry is the 74th and current ministry (cabinet) of the Government of South Australia, led by Peter Malinauskas of the South Australian Labor Party. It was formed after Labor's victory at the 2022 state election and succeede ...

since March 2022.

Early life

Szakacs was born in Adelaide to a Hungarian father and Australian mother. He attended St Michael's College, Adelaide. In his teens, Szakacs was a competitive swimmer, holding the state 50m freestyle title and representing Australia at the

2002–03 FINA Swimming World Cup The 2002–2003 FINA Swimming World Cup was a series of nine, international short course (25m) swimming meets organized by FINA. The meets were held in seven different cities, from November 2002 through January 2003.South Australian Institute of Sport Sport plays an important role in the business, community, social and cultural life in South Australia. Sport as entertainment plays an important role with South Australia having the second highest rate of event attendance of all states and terri ...

and the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Universit ...

, then returned to Australia to study law at

Flinders University Flinders University is a public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia, with a footprint extending across 11 locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Founded in 1966, it was named in honour of British navigator ...

. Introduced to the trade union movement by his father, a waterside worker in Port Adelaide, Szakacs worked as a volunteer lawyer at the Young Workers Legal Service, then as an industrial officer with the

Australian Manufacturing Workers Union The Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU), or more fully the Automotive, Food, Metals, Engineering, Printing and Kindred Industries Union, is an Australian trade union. The AMWU represents a broad range of workers in the manufacturing se ...

and later the United Firefighters Union South Australia. In October 2013, he was elected as state secretary of

SA Unions SA Unions (originally the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia) is the peak body for trade unions in South Australia. It coordinates political, social, economic, and industrial campaigns between its affiliate members and implements ...

Political career

Szakacs was elected to the

South Australian House of Assembly The House of Assembly, or lower house, is one of the two chambers of the Parliament of South Australia. The other is the Legislative Council. It sits in Parliament House in the state capital, Adelaide. Overview The House of Assembly was creat ...

in the

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...

for the seat of

on 9 February 2019, replacing former premier

Jay Weatherill Jay Wilson Weatherill (born 3 April 1964) is an Australian politician who was the 45th Premier of South Australia, serving from 21 October 2011 until 19 March 2018. Weatherill represented the House of Assembly seat of Cheltenham as a member of ...

. After Labor won the 2022 state election, Szakacs was appointed as the Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services in the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Szakacs, Joe 1982 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of South Australia Members of the South Australian House of Assembly Australian trade unionists Australian male freestyle swimmers Australian people of Hungarian descent Flinders University alumni University of Missouri alumni South Australian Sports Institute alumni 21st-century Australian politicians