Chris Ellison (politician)

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Background

Ellison was born on 15 June 1954 in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia (present-day Zimbabwe).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> His father was of English descent and his mother of Irish descent.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was educated at Trinity College, Perth and the University of Western Australia, where he gained a B.Juris (1977) and LLB (1978). He spent two years as a lawyer with the Legal Aid Commission of Western Australia, where he completed his articled clerkship. He was a barrister and solicitor as partner in his own law firm, Williams Ellison, for 13 years 1980–93.Template:Citation needed

He is known for his conservative and Catholic views, and is a strong constitutional monarchist and a member of the Australians for Constitutional Monarchy.<ref>Senate debates Wednesday, 3 December 2008</ref> He has voted against abortion and euthanasia.Template:Citation needed

In 2001, he was awarded a Centenary Medal for Service to Society.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2017, he was named as the Chancellor of The University of Notre Dame Australia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

He is married with three children.

Political career

Ellison was elected as Senator for Western Australia in 1993, replacing Peter Durack,<ref name=aph>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and immediately became involved in parliamentary committees and inquiries across a range of portfolios. He chaired the Senate Legal and Constitutional References Committee from 1993 to 1996, including chairing an inquiry which led to changes in Australia's treaty making process.Template:Citation needed

He entered the Howard ministry as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Health and Family Services and to the Attorney-General in 1997. He was promoted to Minister for Customs and Consumer Affairs and Minister Assisting the Attorney-General 1997, Minister for Schools, Vocational Education and Training 1997-98 and Special Minister of State 1998–2001. He was Minister for Justice and Customs between January 2001 and March 2007.Template:Citation needed

From March 2007 until the defeat of the Howard government in the 2007 election, Ellison was a member of cabinet as Minister for Human Services, overseeing the service delivery of Government agencies including Centrelink, Medicare and the Child Support Agency.<ref name=aph/> He held the offices of Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, along with Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate from December 2007 to September 2008.Template:Citation needed

Following the change of Government in November 2007, Senator Ellison was appointed as Shadow Minister for Immigration and Citizenship and Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate. In addition, Senator Ellison was the Chair of the Scrutiny of Bills Committee.

Senator Ellison is the longest serving Minister for Justice, with the portfolio abolished in 2017.

Later career

On 17 September 2008, Ellison announced he would be resigning, stating that he would like to spend more time with his family.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> However, he did not formally resign until 30 January 2009.<ref>Senate Hansard: Ellison's resignation, 3 February 2009 Template:Webarchive</ref> The casual vacancy caused by his resignation was filled by Chris Back.

Ellison was announced as chancellor of the University of Notre Dame Australia in 2017, with effect from 1 January 2018.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He had previously served as a governor and director. He has additionally served as a director of construction firm Doric (2011–2015), chairman of the North West Tourism Board (2011–2015), and director of the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (2014–present).<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>