Maria Vamvakinou

Maria Vamvakinou (Template:Langx) (born 4 January 1959) is an Australian politician. She is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP) and served in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2025, representing the Division of Calwell in Victoria.<ref name="ParlInfo">Template:Cite Au Parliament</ref>

Early life

Vamvakinou was born in Lefkada, a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. She arrived in Australia with her family in 1963 at the age of four, settling in Melbourne.<ref name=maidenspeech>Template:Cite news</ref> She renounced her Greek citizenship in 2000 prior to standing for parliament.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Vamvakinou was educated at public schools in Carlton and Brunswick before going on to attend Princes Hill High School.<ref name=maidenspeech/>

Vamvakinou completed a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Greek and political science at the University of Melbourne.<ref name="Official_bio">Template:Cite web</ref> She went on to complete a diploma in education and worked as a high school teacher from 1982 to 1987,<ref name="ParlInfo"/> teaching Greek.<ref name=maidenspeech/>

Politics

Vamvakinou held office in the Victorian Labor Party and worked as a political staffer for a number of years before entering parliament herself. She worked as an electorate officer to Andrew Theophanous (1988, 1990), executive assistant to Joan Kirner (1989), personal secretary to Andrew McCutcheon (1991), and electorate officer to Senator Kim Carr (1993–2001). She also served on the Northcote City Council from 1990 to 1992.<ref name="ParlInfo"/>

Parliament

Vamvakinou was elected to parliament at the 2001 federal election, regaining the Division of Calwell in northern Melbourne for the ALP against the incumbent MP, Andrew Theophanous, who had resigned from the party in 2000 to sit as an independent, after he was charged with bribery offences in relation to visa and citizenship applications.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She was the first woman born in Greece to serve in the federal parliament,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> and was re-elected on seven further occasions up to the 2022 federal election.<ref name="ParlInfo"/>

Vamvakinou served on numerous House and joint committees during her time in parliament. She had a long association with the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, serving two terms as chair (2010–2013, 2022–2025) and one as deputy chair (2013–2016). She was also chair of the House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Innovation from 2008 to 2010, and served on the Speaker's panel from 2010 to 2013 and again from 2016 to 2025.<ref name="ParlInfo"/> She is a member of the ALP's Socialist Left faction.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> As of November 2023, she was co-chair of the Parliamentary Friends of Palestine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

On 9 June 2024, Vamvakinou announced that she would not re-contest her seat at the 2025 election.<ref name="Retirement2024">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Retire2">Template:Cite web</ref> She endorsed her former adviser, Basem Abdo, a fellow member of the ALP Socialist Left faction, to replace her.<ref name="Retirement2024"/><ref name="Retire2"/>

Personal life

Vamvakinou is married to Dr Michalis S. Michael, and has two children.<ref name="Official_bio" /> Template:As of she lived in Northcote, which lies outside her electorate.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• Personal website