Maria Vamvakinou ( el, Μαρία Βαμβακινού) (born 4 January 1959) is an Australian politician. She is a member 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 ...

(ALP) and has served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

since the 2001 federal election, representing the

Division of Calwell The Division of Calwell is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of Victoria. Calwell contains the extreme northwestern fringe of Melbourne. It includes the suburbs of Broadmeadows, Dallas, Coolaroo, Greenvale, Meadow Heights, Roxb ...

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 ...

Early life

Vamvakinou was born in

Lefkada Lefkada ( el, Λευκάδα, ''Lefkáda'', ), also known as Lefkas or Leukas (Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: Λευκάς, ''Leukás'', modern pronunciation ''Lefkás'') and Leucadia, is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Gr ...

, Greece, an island in the

Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( el, Ιόνιο Πέλαγος, ''Iónio Pélagos'' ; it, Mar Ionio ; al, Deti Jon ) is an elongated bay of the Mediterranean Sea. It is connected to the Adriatic Sea to the north, and is bounded by Southern Italy, including C ...

. She arrived in Australia with her family in 1963 at the age of four, settling 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 renounced her Greek citizenship in 2000 prior to standing for parliament. Vamvakinou was educated at public schools in

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

and Brunswick before going on to attend Princes Hill High School. Vamvakinou completed a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in Modern Greek and political science at the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb nor ...

. She went on to complete a diploma in education and worked as a high school teacher from 1982 to 1987, teaching Greek.

Politics

Vamvakinou held office in the

Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch) The Australian Labor Party (Victorian Branch), commonly known as Victorian Labor, is the semi-autonomous Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). The Victorian branch comprises two major wings: the parliamentary wing and the organis ...

and worked as a political staffer for a number of years before entering parliament herself. She worked as an electorate officer to

Andrew Theophanous Andrew Charles Theophanous (born 24 March 1946) is a Cypriot-born Australian former politician. He was an Australian Labor Party member of the House of Representatives from 1980 to 2000, and an independent member from 2000 to 2001. He is the au ...

(1988, 1990), executive assistant to

Joan Kirner Joan Elizabeth Kirner (née Hood; 20 June 1938 – 1 June 2015) was an Australian politician who was the 42nd Premier of Victoria, serving from 1990 to 1992. A Labor Party member of the Parliament of Victoria from 1982 to 1994, she was a mem ...

(1989), personal secretary to

Andrew McCutcheon Arthur Andrew McCutcheon (29 September 1931 – 16 December 2017) was an Australian politician who served as Attorney-General of Victoria from 1987 to 1990. Biography McCutcheon was born in Melbourne to Sir Osborn McCutcheon, an architect, ...

(1991), and electorate officer to Senator

Kim Carr Kim John Carr (born 2 July 1955) is an Australian former politician who served as a Senator for Victoria between 1993 and 2022. Representing the Labor Party, he was a minister in the Rudd and Gillard Governments. Carr is a graduate of the Un ...

(1993–2001). She also served on the Northcote City Council from 1990 to 1992.

Parliament

Vamvakinou was elected to parliament at the 2001 federal election, regaining the

for the ALP against the incumbent MP Andrew Theophanous, who had resigned from the party in 2000 to sit as an independent. She is the first woman born in Greece to serve in federal parliament. She has been re-elected on seven further occasions, most recently at the 2022 federal election. Vamvakinou has served on numerous House and joint committees during her time in parliament, including as chair of the House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Innovation from 2008 to 2010. She has also served on the

Speaker's panel The Speaker of the House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the lower house of the Parliament of Australia. The counterpart in the upper house is the President of the Senate. The office of Speaker was ...

from 2010 to 2013 and again from 2016. She is a member of the ALP's Socialist Left faction.

Personal life

Vamvakinou is married to Dr Michalis S. Michael, and has two children. she lived in Northcote, which lies outside her electorate.

References

External links

Personal website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vamvakinou, Maria 1959 births Living people Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Members of the Australian House of Representatives Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Calwell Greek emigrants to Australia People who lost Greek citizenship Naturalised citizens of Australia Women members of the Australian House of Representatives People from Lefkada Labor Left politicians 21st-century Australian politicians 21st-century Australian women politicians People from Northcote, Victoria Politicians from Melbourne University of Melbourne alumni