Anna Burke
Anna Elizabeth Burke AO (born 1 January 1966) is an Australian former politician and Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives. Burke began her career working as a trade union official and human-resources manager for several organisations before being selected by the Australian Labor Party (ALP) for the Division of Chisholm, Victoria, in 1997. Burke was elected at the 1998 federal election to the House of Representatives, where until 2016, she represented Chisholm for the ALP.
The Honourable Anna Burke AO | |
|---|---|
| 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives | |
| In office 9 October 2012 – 5 August 2013 | |
| Deputy | Bruce Scott |
| Preceded by | Peter Slipper |
| Succeeded by | Bronwyn Bishop |
| Deputy Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives | |
| In office 24 November 2011 – 9 October 2012 | |
| Preceded by | Peter Slipper |
| Succeeded by | Bruce Scott |
| In office 12 February 2008 – 28 September 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Harry Jenkins |
| Succeeded by | Peter Slipper |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Chisholm | |
| In office 3 October 1998 – 9 May 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Wooldridge |
| Succeeded by | Julia Banks |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Anna Elizabeth Burke 1 January 1966 Melbourne, Victoria, Australia |
| Political party | Labor Party |
| Spouse |
Stephen Burgess (m. 1994) |
| Children | Two |
| Residence | Box Hill South |
| Education | Presentation College, Windsor |
| Alma mater | University of Melbourne Monash University |
| Occupation | Union representative, Politician |
Burke became Speaker in 2012 after the resignation of Peter Slipper due to allegations of fraud and sexual harassment. She was the second woman to become Speaker and held the office until the 2013 federal election, in which the Rudd government was defeated.
While in parliament, both as a member of the government and the opposition, Burke campaigned against offshore processing and mandatory detention of refugees, policies all of the major parties supported at the time.
Burke retired from politics at the 2016 federal election. She is a current member of the Administrative Appeals Tribunal (AAT) and an Officer of the Order of Australia. Since leaving politics, Burke has served has also served on the boards of several foundations and companies.