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Jennie George | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theAustralian Parliament forThrosby | |
| In office 10 November 2001 – 19 July 2010 | |
| Preceded by | Colin Hollis |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Jones |
| 8thPresident of the ACTU | |
| In office 1996–2000 | |
| Preceded by | Martin Ferguson |
| Succeeded by | Sharan Burrow |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Eugenie Sinicky (1947-08-28)28 August 1947 (age 77) Trani, Italy |
| Political party | Labor |
| Profession | Teacher, union official |
| Website | jenniegeorge.com.au |
Jennie GeorgeAO (bornEugenie Sinicky; 28 August 1947) is an Australian politician, and formerAustralian Labor Party member of theAustralian House of Representatives from November 2001 to July 2010, representing theDivision of Throsby,New South Wales.
George was born inTrani, Italy, where her parents Oleg and Natasha were displaced persons from theSoviet Union. Oleg and Natasha separated in 1955 and divorced in 1958. Oleg died in 1960, aged 39, after years of heavy drinking and smoking, during which he was frequently violent towards his wife and sometimes his daughter.[1] She was educated at theBurwood Girls High School (where she was first called Jennie, as Eugenie was deemed too hard to pronounce),[1]Sydney University and theSydney Teachers College.
In February 1968 she married Paddy George, a full-time activist for the Communist Party and NSW State Secretary of the Eureka Youth League, of which she was also a member.[1] Jennie George was a secondary school teacher and an active member of the teachers' union.
George was elected General Secretary of theNew South Wales Teachers Federation 1980–82.
George was Vice President of theAustralian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) in 1987, Assistant Secretary of the ACTU 1991–96 and President of the ACTU 1996–March 2000. She was the first woman to hold this position. She was Assistant National Director, Trade Union Training Authority 1989–91 and a board member of Delta Electricity from 2000 to 2001.
In November 1994 she was endorsed as the Left faction's candidate for aVictorian Senate seat. When Victorian SenatorOlive Zakharov, also a member of the Left, was killed in a road accident in March 1995, it was assumed that George would be nominated to fill the casual vacancy. However, factional negotiations resulted in the seat going to a member of the Right faction,Jacinta Collins. George then withdrew her candidacy and did not reconsider a political career until returning to Sydney after leaving the ACTU. She sought support for a seat in either of the houses of the NSW Parliament, but this came to nothing. She was then offered a chance to stand for the federal seat ofThrosby in New South Wales in 2001.[2] She was inducted onto theVictorian Honour Roll of Women in 2001.[3]
George served on the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Environment and Heritage from 20 March 2002, on the Standing Committee on Family and Community Services from 20 March 2002 to 31 August 2004 and on the Standing Committee on Family and Human Services from 2 December 2004. She was Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Environment and Heritage from 2004 to 2007.
She retired from Parliament at the2010 federal election.[4][5]
Unlike other ACTU Presidents (including most notably former Prime Minister Bob Hawke) who went on to be elected to Federal Parliament, George did not hold a ministerial position during her federal parliamentary career.
She was made an Officer (AO) in the General Division of theOrder of Australia on 10 June 2013.[6]
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member forThrosby 2001–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Trade union offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of theAustralian Council of Trade Unions 1996–2000 | Succeeded by |
