Penelope Ying-Yen Wong (born 5 November 1968) is an Australian politician who has been
Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
and
Leader of the Government in the Senate in the
Albanese Government since 2022. 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), she has been a
Senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
for
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
since 2002. Wong previously served as
Minister for Climate Change
A list of ministers of climate change or officials in charge of cabinet positions with portfolios dealing primarily with climate change and issues related to mitigation of global warming.
A Australia
Austria
B Belgium
C Canada
D Denm ...
and
Minister for Finance and Deregulation during the governments of
Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
and
Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
from 2007 until 2013.
Born in
Malaysia
Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...
to a
Chinese Malaysian
Malaysian Chinese (; Malay: ''Orang Cina Malaysia''), alternatively Chinese Malaysians, are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese descent. They form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority constituting 22.4% of the Malaysian p ...
father and a
British Australian
Anglo-Celtic Australians is an ancestral grouping of Australians whose ancestors originate wholly or partially in the British Isles - predominantly in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
While Anglo-Celtic Australians do not form an off ...
mother, Wong was educated at
Scotch College in
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
, before attending the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
, graduating with Bachelor of Arts and
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
degrees. Prior to beginning her political career, she worked as a lawyer and political advisor. Wong entered politics by winning a Senate seat in the
2001 election.
Following Labor's victory in the
2007 election, she was appointed Minister for Climate Change, going on to lead for Australia at the landmark 2009
UN Climate Change Conference in
Copenhagen
Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
. Following the
2010 election, Wong was moved to become
Minister for Finance and Deregulation, and in June 2013, she was elected by her colleagues to become Leader of the Government in the Senate. Following Labor's defeat in the
2013 election, Wong held several roles in the
Shadow Cabinets
A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an Opacity (optics), opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section (geometry), cross section of ...
of both
Bill Shorten
William Richard Shorten (born 12 May 1967) is an Australian politician currently serving as Minister for Government Services and Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme since 2022. He previously served as leader of the opposition a ...
and
Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
, serving as
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate throughout. Upon Labor's victory at the
2022 election, Wong was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, and resumed her role as Leader of the Government in the Senate.
Wong has been described by her biographer as "principled, intellectual, private, restrained and sane".
In 2008, she became the
first Asian-born member of an Australian Cabinet. She was also the first female
openly-LGBTI Australian federal parliamentarian, and was an instrumental figure in the legalisation of
same-sex marriage in Australia
Same-sex marriage in Australia has been legal since 9 December 2017. Legislation to allow same-sex marriage, the ''Marriage Amendment (Definition and Religious Freedoms) Act 2017'', passed the Australian Parliament on 7 December 2017 and receiv ...
in 2017, reversing her previous endorsement of Labor Party policy that had opposed it.
Early life
Wong was born on 5 November 1968 in
Kota Kinabalu
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = From top, left to right, bottom:Kota Kinabalu skyline, Wawasan intersection, Tun Mustapha Tower, Kota Kinabalu Coastal Highway, the Kota Kinabalu City Mosque, the Wism ...
, the capital of
Sabah
Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...
, which had
become part of the Federation of Malaysia five years earlier. Her parents were Jane (née Chapman), an
English Australian
English Australians, also known as Anglo-Australians, are Australians whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England. In the 2021 census, 8,385,928 people, or 33% of the Australian population, stated that they had English ancestry (wheth ...
whose forebears first reached South Australia on ''
Cygnet
A cygnet is a young swan.
Cygnet may also refer to:
Places
*Cygnet Island, a small islet in south-eastern Australia
*Cygnet, Ohio, a village in the United States
*Cygnet River, South Australia, a locality on Kangaroo Island
*Cygnet, Tasmania, a ...
'' in 1836, and Francis Wong, a
Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese (; Malay: ''Orang Cina Malaysia''), alternatively Chinese Malaysians, are Malaysian citizens of Han Chinese descent. They form the second largest ethnic group after the Malay majority constituting 22.4% of the Malaysian po ...
man of
Hakka
The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...
origin who lived in
Sandakan
Sandakan (, Jawi: , ) formerly known at various times as Elopura, is the capital of the Sandakan District in Sabah, Malaysia. It is the second largest city in Sabah after Kota Kinabalu. It is located on the Sandakan Peninsula and east coast of ...
during the
Japanese occupation of British Borneo
Before the outbreak of World War II in the Pacific, the island of Borneo was divided into five territories. Four of the territories were in the north and under British control – Sarawak, Brunei, Labuan, an island, and British North Borneo; w ...
. Penny Wong's parents had met in the early 1960s, when Francis Wong was studying architecture at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
under the
Colombo Plan
The Colombo Plan is a regional intergovernmental organization that began operations on 1 July 1951. The organization was conceived at an international conference, The Commonwealth Conference on Foreign Affairs held in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri L ...
. Wong grew up speaking dialects of Malay (
Bahasa Melayu
Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines and ...
), Chinese (likely
Hakka Chinese
Hakka (, , ) forms a language group of varieties of Chinese, spoken natively by the Hakka people throughout Southern China and Taiwan and throughout the diaspora areas of East Asia, Southeast Asia and in overseas Chinese communities around th ...
), and English. At five years old, she began attending Kinabalu
International School
An international school is an institution that promotes education in an international environment or framework. Although there is no uniform definition or criteria, international schools are usually characterized by a multinational student body a ...
. After her parents separated, she moved to
Adelaide
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...
,
South Australia
South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
, at the age of eight with her mother and younger brother.
Education and student politics
After starting at
Coromandel Valley Primary School, Wong gained a scholarship to
Scotch College, Adelaide
Scotch College is an independent, Uniting Church, co-educational, day and boarding school, located on two adjacent campuses in Torrens Park and Mitcham, inner-southern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia.
Founded in 1919 out of the earlie ...
, where she studied chemistry, physics and mathematics. During her time at Scotch College, Wong toured
New Caledonia
)
, anthem = ""
, image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg
, map_alt = Location of New Caledonia
, map_caption = Location of New Caledonia
, mapsize = 290px
, subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...
as part of her French language studies, performed in school productions of plays such as ''
Six Characters in Search of an Author
''Six Characters in Search of an Author'' ( it, Sei personaggi in cerca d'autore, link=no ) is an Italian play by Luigi Pirandello, written and first performed in 1921. An absurdist fiction, absurdist metatheatrical, metatheatric play about th ...
'', and co-captained the
hockey
Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...
team. She was accepted into the
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery
Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery ( la, Medicinae Baccalaureus, Baccalaureus Chirurgiae; abbreviated most commonly MBBS), is the primary medical degree awarded by medical schools in countries that follow the tradition of the United King ...
at the
University of Adelaide
The University of Adelaide (informally Adelaide University) is a public research university located in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. The university's main campus is located on N ...
,
but after spending a year on exchange in
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
,
found she had an aversion to blood. She then studied and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in
Jurisprudence
Jurisprudence, or legal theory, is the theoretical study of the propriety of law. Scholars of jurisprudence seek to explain the nature of law in its most general form and they also seek to achieve a deeper understanding of legal reasoning a ...
and a
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Chi ...
with
Honours
Honour (British English) or honor (American English; see spelling differences) is the idea of a bond between an individual and a society as a quality of a person that is both of social teaching and of personal ethos, that manifests itself as a ...
at the University of Adelaide, and completed a Graduate Diploma of Legal Practice at the
University of South Australia
The University of South Australia (UniSA) is a public research university in the Australian state of South Australia. It is a founding member of the Australian Technology Network of universities, and is the largest university in South Australi ...
.
Through her friendship with
David Penberthy
David Penberthy (born 1969, Adelaide, South Australia) is the former editor-in-chief of News Limited news site news.com.au and the former opinion website, ''The Punch''. He was editor of ''The Daily Telegraph'' in Sydney, Australia, from April 200 ...
, who had also been on exchange in Latin America, Wong joined the
Socialist Workers Party-sponsored Committee in Solidarity with Central America and the Caribbean (CISCAC) while at university in 1987, but was not an active member. Wong's connections with CISCAC brought her in contact with a broader group of left-wing activists who opposed the
Hawke Labor government's
planned changes to university fees. In a July 1988 election, Wong won a position on the board of the
Adelaide University Union
YouX (Formerly AUU) is a student union at the University of Adelaide, South Australia. It provides academic advocacy, welfare, and counselling services to students free of charge, funds the student newspaper '' On Dit,'' and owns a number of co ...
as part of the newly-formed Progressive Education Team. One month later, while protesting outside a state Labor Party convention at the
Adelaide Trades Hall
The Adelaide Trades Hall is the Trades Hall building in the South Australian city of Adelaide established in 1896.
It is the location of the United Trades and Labour Council of South Australia, also known as SA Unions. It is located at 11-16 S ...
, Wong had a conversation with
Young Labor Australian Young Labor, also known as the Young Labor Movement or simply Young Labor, is the youth wing of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) representing all ALP members aged between 15 to 26. The organisation operates as a federation with independen ...
member Lois Boswell, who told her that "if you wanted to really make a difference, you had to be inside the room having that battle." Wong joined the Labor Party that day; she credits her decision to her conversation with Boswell, and the
Liberal-National Coalition
The Liberal–National Coalition, commonly known simply as "the Coalition" or informally as the LNP, is an alliance of centre-right political parties that forms one of the two major groupings in Australian federal politics. The two partners in ...
's new "
One Australia" policy opposing multiculturalism and Asian immigration.
Wong became involved with the leadership of the Adelaide University Labor Club,
and has been a delegate to the South Australian Labor Party State Convention every year since 1989 (with the exception of 1995). She also worked part-time for the
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union
The Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMMEU, though most commonly still referred to as CFMEU) is Australia's main trade union in construction, forestry, maritime, mining, energy, textile, clothing and footwear producti ...
(CFMEU), and won a position on the National Executive of the
National Union of Students. A number of her contemporaries at university went on to become Australian politicians; former senator for South Australia,
Natasha Stott Despoja
Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian politician, diplomat, advocate and author. She is the founding Chair of the Board of Our Watch, the national foundation to prevent violence against women and their childr ...
, former
Premier of South Australia
The premier of South Australia is the head of government in the state of South Australia, Australia. The Government of South Australia follows the Westminster system, with a Parliament of South Australia acting as the legislature. The premier is ...
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 ...
and
Mark Butler
Mark Christopher Butler (born 8 July 1970) is an Australian politician. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and has served in the House of Representatives since 2007. He was a minister in the Gillard and Rudd Governments and al ...
, Labor MP for Port Adelaide, were contemporaries.
[
]
Professional career
Wong graduated from the University of South Australia in 1992, and continued her association with the CFMEU as an industrial officer. She was admitted to the South Australian Bar in 1993. During 1995 and 1996, Wong acted as an advisor to the CFMEU and to the newly elected New South Wales state government, specializing in the area of forest policy in the middle of the fierce 1990s environmental battles over logging in NSW.
On returning to Adelaide, Wong began practising law, working as a solicitor at the firm Duncan and Hannon (1996–1999). From 1999 to 2002, she worked as a legal officer with the Liquor, Hospitality and Miscellaneous Union
United Voice was a large Australian trade union, with over 130,000 members. United Voice members worked in a wide range of occupations including hospitality, childcare, teachers' aides, aged care, property services (cleaning, security, maintenan ...
. During this time she also won a position on the ALP's state executive.
During her legal career (1996–2002), Wong appeared as counsel in 11 published decisions of the Australian Industrial Relations Commission
The Australian Industrial Relations Commission (AIRC), known from 1956 to 1973 as the Commonwealth Conciliation and Arbitration Commission and from 1973 to 1988 as the Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Commission, was a tribunal with powers ...
, 15 published decisions of the South Australian Industrial Relations Court, 8 published decisions of the South Australian Industrial Relations Commission, 3 published decisions of the South Australian Workers Compensation Appeal Tribunal and 10 published decisions of the South Australian Workers Compensation Tribunal.
Political career
Election to the Senate
Wong ran for pre-selection for the Senate in 2001, and was selected for the top position on the Labor Party's South Australian ticket. She was elected at the 2001 election, her term commencing on 1 July 2002. Wong is a member of Labor Left
The Labor Left, also known as the Progressive Left or Socialist Left, is political faction of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It competes with the more economically liberal Labor Right faction.
The Labor Left operates autonomously in each s ...
, and is a member of EMILY's List Australia
EMILY's List Australia is a political network in Australia that supports progressive Labor Party (ALP) women candidates seeking election to political office. Founded in 1996, EMILY's List Australia was inspired by EMILY's List, a political ac ...
, the support network for Labor women, and sat on a number of Senate committees, primarily those related to economics.
In June 2005, Wong was appointed Shadow Minister for Employment and Workforce Participation, and Shadow Minister for Corporate Governance and Responsibility. Following the reshuffle in December 2006, she became responsible for the portfolios of Public Administration and Accountability, Corporate Governance and Responsibility, and Workforce Participation.
First Rudd Government (2007–2013)
In December 2007, in the wake of the Labor Party victory in the 2007 election, Wong was appointed to the Cabinet of Australia
The Cabinet of Australia (or Federal Cabinet) is the chief decision-making organ of the executive branch of the government of Australia. It is a council of senior government ministers, ultimately responsible to the Federal Parliament.
Minister ...
in the first Rudd government
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 ...
as the Minister for Climate Change
A list of ministers of climate change or officials in charge of cabinet positions with portfolios dealing primarily with climate change and issues related to mitigation of global warming.
A Australia
Austria
B Belgium
C Canada
D Denm ...
, the first person to hold this role in an Australian Cabinet. She accompanied then Prime Minister Kevin Rudd
Kevin Michael Rudd (born 21 September 1957) is an Australian former politician and diplomat who served as the 26th prime minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010 and again from June 2013 to September 2013, holding office as the leader of the ...
to Bali for the international climate change talks. Wong led final negotiations as Chair of the United Nations Working Group in the closing days of the United Nations Climate Change Conference
The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties (Conference of the Parties, ...
in December 2007, shortly after her appointment as minister.
Gillard and Second Rudd Governments (2010–2013)
Shortly after the commencement of the Gillard government in June 2010, Julia Gillard
Julia Eileen Gillard (born 29 September 1961) is an Australian former politician who served as the 27th prime minister of Australia from 2010 to 2013, holding office as leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). She is the first and only ...
promoted Wong to succeed Lindsay Tanner
Lindsay James Tanner (born 24 April 1956) is a former Australian politician. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), he represented the seat of Melbourne in the House of Representatives from 1993 to 2010 and served as Minister for Finance ...
as Minister for Finance and Deregulation. At this time, Wong said she agreed with the Labor Party policy on marriage because there was a, "cultural, religious and historical view of marriage being between a man and a woman".
In February 2013, Wong was elected as the ALP's deputy Senate leader following the resignation of Chris Evans, thus becoming Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate. Wong retained the position of Minister for Finance after Kevin Rudd's successful leadership spill in June 2013. Following Stephen Conroy
Stephen Michael Conroy (born 18 January 1963) is an Australian former politician who was an Australian Labor Party member of the Senate from 1996 to 2016, representing the state of Victoria. He served as a minister in the Rudd and Gillard gov ...
's resignation and the beginning of the second Rudd government, she also became the Leader of the Government in the Senate. She was the first woman to be elected as ALP Senate leader, and the first woman to serve as Leader of the Government in the Senate. Wong held these roles until Labor's defeat at the 2013 federal election.
Opposition (2013–2022)
Following Labor's defeat at the 2013 Australian federal election
The 2013 Australian federal election to elect the members of the 44th Parliament of Australia took place on 7 September 2013. The centre-right Liberal/National Coalition opposition led by Opposition leader Tony Abbott of the Liberal Party of Aus ...
, Wong was elected Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, becoming the first woman to hold the position. She was also appointed Labor's foreign affairs spokesperson. In this role, she helped negotiate Australia's interests in the Trans-Pacific Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), or Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, was a highly contested proposed trade agreement between 12 Pacific Rim economies, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singa ...
which was ratified in late 2018. In March 2019, Wong was named the 2018 McKinnon Political Leader of the Year.
Following the 2019 Labor leadership contest, Wong retained her positions as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs in the new cabinet of Anthony Albanese. At this point she was named part of Albanese's four-person ALP leadership team, along with Richard Marles
Richard Donald Marles (born 13 July 1967) is an Australian politician serving as the 19th deputy prime minister of Australia and the Minister for Defence. He has been the deputy leader of the Labor Party since 2019 and previously served as D ...
and Kristina Keneally
Kristina Marie Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an American-born Australian politician who was a Labor Senator for New South Wales from February 2018 until April 2022, when she resigned to unsuccessfully contest the House of Repres ...
.
In March 2022, Wong was named Australia's most trusted politician in a study by Roy Morgan Research
Roy Morgan, formerly known as Roy Morgan Research, is an independent Australian social and political market research and public opinion statistics company headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria. It operates nationally as Roy Morgan and internation ...
.
Albanese Government (2022–present)
With Labor winning government in the 2022 Australian federal election
The 2022 Australian federal election was held on Saturday 21 May 2022 to elect members of the 47th Parliament of Australia. The incumbent Liberal/National Coalition government, led by Prime Minister Scott Morrison, sought to win a fourth conse ...
, Wong became Minister for Foreign Affairs
A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...
. She was sworn in on 23 May 2022, only two days after the election and before final results were known, in order to attend a pre-scheduled meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue
The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD), commonly known as the Quad, is a strategic security dialogue between Australia, India, Japan and the United States that is maintained by talks between member countries. The dialogue was initiated in ...
with newly elected Prime Minister Anthony Albanese
Anthony Norman Albanese ( or ; born 2 March 1963) is an Australian politician serving as the 31st and current prime minister of Australia since 2022. He has been leader of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) since 2019 and the member of parlia ...
. Wong is the first Asian Australian and the first openly LGBTI person to hold the office of Australian Foreign Minister. Within a few days of being sworn into office, Wong visited several Pacific countries to emphasise the new government's approach to climate change and relations with nations in the region, including Fiji
Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...
(where she addressed the Pacific Islands Forum
The Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between countries and territories of Oceania, including formation of a trade bloc and regional peacekeeping operations. It was founded in 197 ...
), Samoa
Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...
, and Tonga
Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...
.
On 16 June, Wong visited New Zealand Foreign Minister
The Minister of Foreign Affairs is a senior member of the New Zealand Government heading the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade and responsible for relations with foreign countries.
The current Minister of Foreign Affairs is Nanaia Mahuta ...
Nanaia Mahuta
Nanaia Cybele Mahuta (born 21 August 1970) is a New Zealand politician who is the Member of Parliament (MP) for Hauraki-Waikato and serving as the Minister of Foreign Affairs (New Zealand), Minister of Foreign Affairs in the Sixth Labour Governm ...
to reaffirm bilateral relations
Bilateralism is the conduct of political, economic, or cultural relations between two sovereign states. It is in contrast to unilateralism or multilateralism, which is activity by a single state or jointly by multiple states, respectively. When ...
and cooperation in the areas of climate change, indigenous, and Indo-Pacific
The Indo-Pacific is a vast biogeographic region of Earth.
In a narrow sense, sometimes known as the Indo-West Pacific or Indo-Pacific Asia, it comprises the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean, the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the ...
issues. Wong also stated that her government would consider New Zealand's concerns about Australia's Section 501 deportation policy, which had strained relations between the two countries.
Personal life
Wong is a practising Christian, attending Pilgrim Uniting Church
The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...
in Adelaide. She has said that, "I do not ever remember having the sense that I denied the existence of God." Others in her wider family from Sabah are Buddhist. She held Malaysian citizenship before renouncing it in 2001.
Wong is a lesbian and came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
publicly a month after she assumed her Senate seat in 2002. In 2010, Wong was selected by readers of Samesame website as one of the 25 most influential lesbian Australians.
Wong's domestic
partner, Sophie Allouache, is a public servant and former University of Adelaide Students' Association president. In December 2011, Allouache gave birth to their first child, after announcing the IVF
In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is a process of fertilisation where an egg is combined with sperm in vitro ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating an individual's ovulatory process, removing an ovum or ova (egg or eggs) f ...
-assisted pregnancy using donor sperm in August 2011. Allouache gave birth to their second daughter in 2015, at the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital
The Women's and Children's Hospital is located on King William Road in North Adelaide, Australia.
It is one of the major hospitals in Adelaide and is a teaching hospital of the University of Adelaide, the University of South Australia and Fli ...
.
See also
* First Rudd ministry
* First Gillard ministry
* Second Gillard ministry
* Second Rudd ministry
* Albanese ministry
References
External links
Parliamentary Profile: Labor website
*
Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Penny Wong on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wong, Penny
1968 births
Living people
20th-century Australian lawyers
20th-century Australian women
21st-century Australian lawyers
21st-century Australian politicians
21st-century Australian women politicians
Adelaide Law School alumni
Australian barristers
Australian Christians
Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia
Australian ministers for Foreign Affairs
Australian politicians of Chinese descent
Citizens of Australia through descent
Female finance ministers
Female foreign ministers
Government ministers of Australia
Gillard Government
Labor Left politicians
Lawyers from Adelaide
Lesbian politicians
LGBT Christians
LGBT Protestants
LGBT people from Malaysia
LGBT legislators in Australia
LGBT rights activists from Australia
Malaysian emigrants to Australia
Members of the Australian Senate
Members of the Australian Senate for South Australia
Members of the Cabinet of Australia
People educated at Scotch College, Adelaide
People from Sabah
People who lost Malaysian citizenship
Rudd Government
Uniting Church in Australia people
Women members of the Australian Senate
Women government ministers of Australia
Albanese Government
University of South Australia alumni