Andrew Wilkie
Andrew Damien Wilkie (born 8 November 1961) is an Australian politician and independent federal member for Clark. Before entering politics Wilkie was an infantry officer in the Australian Army.
Andrew Wilkie | |
|---|---|
Wilkie speaking at an anti-pulp mill rally in 2007 | |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Clark | |
| Assumed office 18 May 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Electorate established |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Denison | |
| In office 21 August 2010 – 18 May 2019 | |
| Preceded by | Duncan Kerr |
| Succeeded by | Electorate abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Andrew Damien Wilkie 8 November 1961 Tamworth, New South Wales, Australia |
| Political party | Independent (since 2008) |
| Other political affiliations | Greens (2003–2008) Liberal (1980–1986) |
| Spouses | Simone Burt
(m. 1991; div. 2003)Charlie Burton
(m. 2004; div. 2013)Clare Ballingall
(m. 2020) |
| Children | 2 |
| Residence(s) | Hobart, Tasmania, Australia |
| Alma mater | Royal Military College, Duntroon University of New South Wales |
| Occupation |
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| Signature | |
| Website | www |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Australia |
| Branch/service | Australian Army |
| Years of service | 1980–2004 |
| Rank | Lieutenant Colonel |
| Unit | Royal Australian Infantry Corps |
| Commands | 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment |
Wilkie served with the Australian Army from 1980 to 2004. An officer with the Royal Australian Infantry Corps who had earlier commanded a company of the 6th Battalion, Royal Australian Regiment, at the time of his entry to public life Wilkie was posted to Australia's Office of National Assessments as an intelligence analyst. In 2003, in the lead-up to the Iraq War, he resigned from his position at ONA because he feared the humanitarian consequences of invasion, such as Saddam Hussein using his weapons of mass destruction or assisting terrorists.
Following his resignation he said: Iraq's "weapons of mass destruction program is very disjointed and contained by the regime that's been in place since the last Gulf War. And there is no hard intelligence linking the Iraqi regime to al-Qaeda in any substantial or worrisome way." He opposed Australia's contribution to the 2003 invasion of Iraq under the Howard government. Wilkie later argued the Iraq War was based on a "lie".
Wilkie has been active in politics since 2003. He was a Greens candidate for the federal Division of Bennelong in the 2004 federal election and for the Senate in Tasmania at the 2007 federal election. In 2010 he stood as an independent candidate for the state seat of Denison at the Tasmanian state election, narrowly missing out on the final vacancy. Later in the year, again as an independent candidate, he ran for the federal seat of Denison at the 2010 federal election and won, finishing third on the primary vote but winning the seat after the distribution of preferences. Wilkie finished first on the primary vote at both the 2013 federal election and 2016 federal election, increasing his margin each time. In 2019, the Division of Denison was replaced by the Division of Clark, to which Wilkie was transferred. He retained the seat at the 2022 Australian federal election by a margin of 20.82%.