Martin Philip Pakula (born 7 January 1969) is a former Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the

Parliament of Victoria The Parliament of Victoria is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of Victoria that follows a Westminster-derived parliamentary system. It consists of the King, represented by the Governor of Victoria, the Legislative Assembly and ...

since 2006: in the Legislative Council for

Western Metropolitan Region Western Metropolitan Region is one of the eight electoral regions of Victoria, Australia, which elects five members to the Victorian Legislative Council (also referred to as the upper house) by proportional representation. The region was created ...

from 2006 to 2010, and then in the Legislative Assembly for Lyndhurst (2013–2014) and

Keysborough Keysborough is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 27 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the City of Greater Dandenong local government area. Keysborough recorded a population of 30,018 at the . ...

(2014–2022). Pakula has served as a minister in the First Andrews Ministry and Second Andrews Ministry. Most recently until June 2022, Pakula was the Minister for Industry Support and Recovery, Minister for Trade, Minister for Business Precincts from June 2020, the Minister for Tourism, Sport & Major Events from November 2018, and the Minister for Racing from December 2014. He previously served as the Minister for Jobs, Innovation & Trade (2018–2020),

Attorney-General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

(2014–2018). He also served as Minister for Industrial Relations (2008–2010), Minister for Industry and Trade (2008–2010) and Minister for Public Transport (2010) in the

Brumby Ministry The Brumby Ministry was the 66th ministry of the Government of Victoria. It was led by the Premier of Victoria, John Brumby, and Deputy Premier, Rob Hulls. It succeeded the Bracks Ministry on 3 August 2007, following the retirement of former P ...

Early life

Pakula was born in Melbourne in 1969, the son of

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

who were deported during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Uzbekistan Uzbekistan (, ; uz, Ozbekiston, italic=yes / , ; russian: Узбекистан), officially the Republic of Uzbekistan ( uz, Ozbekiston Respublikasi, italic=yes / ; russian: Республика Узбекистан), is a doubly landlocked cou ...

. Pakula's mother, a school teacher, arrived in Australia as a 6 year old with no knowledge of English, while his father, a lawyer, spoke no English at home. He attended Ormond Primary School and then Haileybury. Following this, he was accepted to study economics and law 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 ...

. During his time at Monash he became a leading member of Victorian Young Labor, joining the Labor Party in 1987. He completed his

Bachelor of Economics The Bachelor of Economics (BEc or BEcon), or the "Bachelor of Applied Economics", is a bachelor's degree awarded by many universities and colleges for completion of an undergraduate program in economics, econometrics, or applied economics; the ...

in 1989 and an Honours Degree in Law in 1991. In his final year, he won the Industrial Relations Law prize.

Professional career

After graduating from university, Pakula began work at Macpherson and Kelley Solicitors. In 1993, he became an Industrial Officer at the

National Union of Workers The National Union of Workers was an Australian trade union formed in 1989. History The National Union of Workers of Australia was formed by a progressive amalgamation of unions from 1989 onwards in a time when all Australian unions were merging ...

. He went on to become State Secretary and National Vice President. In 2005, Pakula unsuccessfully challenged

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 ...

in the ALP preselection for the seat of Hotham. Pakula was then preselected for ALP's third spot for the

and was elected at the 2006 Victorian state election. Following the election, he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Roads and Ports under

Tim Pallas Timothy Hugh Pallas (born 7 January 1960) is an Australian politician. He has been a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly since 2006, representing the electorate of Tarneit until 2014 and Werribee thereafter. He has served ...

. After the resignation of Minister

Theo Theophanous Theo Charles Theophanous (born 16 June 1948) is a former Australian politician. He entered politics in 1988 as a member of the Victorian Legislative Council. Theophanous served from 1988 to 2006 as one of the two members for Jika Jika Province, ...

in December 2008, Pakula was appointed Minister for Industry and Trade and Minister for Industrial Relations. In January 2010, he replaced

Lynne Kosky Lynne Janice Kosky (2 September 1958 – 4 December 2014) was an Australian politician and senior minister in the Government of Victoria. She represented the electoral district of Altona in the Victorian Legislative Assembly for the Labor Part ...

as Minister for Public Transport following her resignation. On 18 March 2013 he was endorsed as the Labor candidate for the Lyndhurst by-election held on 27 April, caused by the February 2013 resignation of shadow treasurer

Tim Holding Timothy James Holding (born 21 August 1972) is a former Australian politician. He was a Labor Party member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2013. He served as minister for water; minister for finance, WorkCover and the Transp ...

. Pakula resigned from the Legislative Council on 26 March 2013 to contest Lyndhurst and was successful in retaining the seat for Labor. On 4 December 2014 he was sworn in as the Victorian Attorney-General, and was replaced by

Jill Hennessy Jillian Noel Hennessy (born November 25, 1968) is a Canadian actress and singer. She is most known for her roles on the American television series '' Law & Order'', on which she played prosecutor Claire Kincaid for three seasons, and ''Crossin ...

following the

2018 Victorian state election Eighteen or 18 may refer to: * 18 (number), the natural number following 17 and preceding 19 * one of the years 18 BC, AD 18, 1918, 2018 Film, television and entertainment * ''18'' (film), a 1993 Taiwanese experimental film based on the short ...

. He continued to be a minister in a number of portfolios, with the racing portfolio being held the longest since 2014. In June 2022, Pakula announced he would retire at the November state election. He stepped down from his ministerial roles on 27 June 2022.

Personal life

Pakula is married with two children and is a supporter of the

Carlton Football Club The Carlton Football Club, nicknamed the Blues, is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's top professional competition. Founded in 1864 in Carlton, an inner suburb of Mel ...

. He lives in Black Rock. Pakula is Jewish.

References

External links

Parliamentary profile

Martin Pakula in Victorian Hansard

Parliamentary voting record of Martin Pakula at Victorian Parliament Tracker
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pakula, Martin 1969 births Living people People educated at Haileybury (Melbourne) Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Victoria Labor Right politicians Politicians from Melbourne Australian people of Uzbekistani descent Australian people of Polish descent Members of the Victorian Legislative Assembly Members of the Victorian Legislative Council Monash Law School alumni Australian Jews 21st-century Australian politicians