Martin Peter Foley (born 17 May 1962) is a former Australian politician. He was a
Labor Party member of the
Victorian Legislative Assembly
The Victorian Legislative Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of Victoria in Australia; the upper house being the Victorian Legislative Council. Both houses sit at Parliament House in Spring Street, Melbourne.
The presiding ...
between 2007 and 2022, representing
Albert Park. He was the Minister for Equality in the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and
Second Andrews Ministry between December 2014 and June 2022 and the Minister for Health and
Minister for Ambulance Services between September 2020 and June 2022. He was previously the Minister for Mental Health and Minister for Creative Industries prior to September 2020.
Early life
Foley was born in
Mornington. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts (history and politics) in 1987 from
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 ...
and received a
Master of Commerce
Master of Commerce (MCom or M Comm; sometimes '' Magister Commercii'' as MagComm or Mag. comm.) is a postgraduate master's degree focusing on commerce-, accounting-, management- and economics-related subjects. Like the undergraduate Bachelor of Co ...
in 2000 from 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 ...
. From 1988–2003, he worked with the
Australian Services Union
The Australian Services Union (registered as the Australian Municipal, Administrative, Clerical and Services Union) is a trade union representing workers in a variety of industries.
The ASU is affiliated with the Australian Council of Trade ...
before becoming chief of staff to the state Minister for Agriculture. In 2006, he became Chief of Staff to the Minister for Police.
Political career
In 2007, Foley was elected to the Legislative Assembly following his preselection as the Labor candidate for the seat of
Albert Park 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 ...
which resulted from Deputy Premier
John Thwaites's resignation.
[ With the defeat of the Brumby Government in December 2010 and the appointment of ]Daniel Andrews
Daniel Michael Andrews (born 6 July 1972) is an Australian politician serving as the 48th and current premier of Victoria since December 2014. He has been the leader of the Victorian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since December ...
as the new leader of the Labor Party, Foley became a Parliamentary Secretary to various Opposition Shadow Ministers until in late 2013, Foley was appointed as Shadow Minister for Water, Arts & Youth Affairs and Shadow Minister assisting the Leader of the Opposition on Equality.
Following the election of the Andrews Labor Government at the November 2014 election, Foley was appointed to Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
as Minister for Housing, Disability and Ageing, Minister for Mental Health, Minister for Equality and Minister for Creative Industries. He lost his housing and disability portfolios following the 2018 state election.
On 26 September 2020, following the resignation of Victorian health minister Jenny Mikakos
Jenny Mikakos (born 25 January 1969) is a former Australian politician for the Labor Party who was a Member of the Legislative Council of Victoria from 1999 to 2020. She served as the Minister for Health, Minister for Ambulance Services and Mi ...
that morning, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews announced that Foley would be her replacement as health minister. Foley was sworn in as the Minister for Health and Minister for Ambulance Services later that day. His portfolios of creative industries and mental health were taken over by Danny Pearson and James Merlino
James Anthony Merlino (born 19 August 1972) is an Australian retired politician who served as the member for Monbulk in the Victorian Legislative Assembly, as a member of the Labor Party. He served as Deputy Premier of Victoria and Minister ...
three days later on 29 September 2020.
In June 2022, Foley announced he would retire at the November state election, wanting to spend more time with his family. He stepped down from his ministerial roles on 27 June 2022.
References
External links
Parliamentary voting record of Martin Foley on Victorian Parliament Tracker