Kristina KENEALLY
Also known as: nee Kerscher
Born: 19/12/1968
Special Achievements:2009 - First female Premier of New South Wales.
Active in student, religious and union affairs since 1990, Kristina Keneally was the first American born member of the New South Wales Parliament (her mother is Australian-born and she married Australian Ben Keneally in 1996. Kristina became a naturalised Australian in 2000). In 2003, she was an Australian Labor Party candidate to the NSW Legislative Assembly seat of Heffron.
After being re-elected in 2007, she became the Minister for Ageing and Disability Services and was subsequently appointed Minister for Planning by incoming Premier Nathan Rees in September 2008. On 2 December 2009, the ALP caucus elected Keneally to replace Nathan Rees as leader of the parliamentary party. She was sworn in as Premier on 4 December, 2010. She led the Labor Government to defeat at the 2011 election and was replaced as Leader of the ALP by John Robertson in March 2011. She resigned from Parliament on 29 June, 2012.
Resources
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Link - Keneally, Kristina Kerscher
The Encyclopedia of Women and Leadership in Twentieth Century Australia