Andrew Leigh
| The Honourable Dr Andrew Leigh FASSA, MP | |
|---|---|
 Leigh in 2010 | |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Fenner | |
|
Assumed office 2 July 2016 | |
| Preceded by | New seat |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Fraser | |
|
In office 21 August 2010 – 2 July 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Bob McMullan |
| Succeeded by | Division abolished |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Andrew Keith Leigh 3 August 1972 Sydney, Australia |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Gweneth |
| Children | 3 sons |
| Residence | Canberra, Australia |
| Alma mater |
University of Sydney Harvard Kennedy School |
| Occupation | Politician |
| Profession | Lawyer, academic, political adviser |
| Religion | Atheism |
| Website |
andrewleigh |
Andrew Keith Leigh (born 3 August 1972) is an Australian politician and former professor of economics[1] at the Australian National University. He has been a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2010, representing the seat of Fraser until 2016 and Fenner thereafter.
In 2011, Leigh was awarded the Economic Society of Australia's Young Economist Award. This award, presented once every two years, is given to "honour that Australian economist under the age of forty who is deemed to have made a significant contribution to economic thought and knowledge."[2]
Early life and education
Leigh's early years of education were in Sydney, Melbourne, Malaysia and Indonesia before completing secondary education at James Ruse Agricultural High School in Sydney, New South Wales.[3]
Leigh graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in 1994, and a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours in 1996. He then obtained a Master of Public Administration degree and a PhD in Public Policy from the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. At Harvard, Leigh was a Doctoral Fellow at the Malcolm Wiener Centre for Social Policy from 2002 to 2004, and a Frank Knox Fellow from 2000 to 2004.[4]
Academic career
Prior to entering politics, Leigh worked as a lawyer for Minter Ellison (Sydney) and Clifford Chance (London) from 1995 to 1997. He was then associate to Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia from 1997 to 1998, senior trade adviser to Senator Peter Cook from 1998 to 2000, and research fellow with the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, D.C. in 2001. He was Professor of Economics at the Australian National University from 2004 to 2010, and principal adviser to the Australian Treasury from 2008 to 2009. He also had several visiting appointments at the University of Melbourne, New York University, the Research Institute of Industrial Economics and the University of Michigan.[5]
Over his academic career, Leigh published over 50 journal articles in the disciplines of economics, public policy and law and over 100 opinion pieces. His research findings have been discussed in The Australian, The Australian Financial Review, Christian Science Monitor, The Economist, New York Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, Time, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post.
Political career
In the 1995 NSW election, Leigh stood as the Labor candidate for the New South Wales state seat of Northcott, receiving an 8% swing, but nonetheless losing by a large margin to Barry O'Farrell.[6]
On 24 April 2010, Leigh was selected as Labor's candidate for the Australian federal seat of Fraser[7] following the announced retirement of Bob McMullan. Fraser is a safe Labor seat.[8] Leigh was subsequently elected in the Australian federal election held on 21 August 2010.[9]
In 2013, Leigh was the spokesperson on Opposition costings and on 25 March 2013, was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister following a Cabinet reshuffle in the wake of a failed leadership challenge on Prime Minister Julia Gillard.[10] Leigh, a supporter of Gillard,[11] lost this position after the June 2013 Labor leadership spill.[12]
After the 2013 election, Leigh was appointed by Bill Shorten as Labor's Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Competition.
Books
- —; Burchell, David, eds. (2002). The Prince's New Clothes: Why do Australians Dislike Their Politicians. University of NSW Press. ISBN 978-0-86840-604-6.
- —; Duncan, Magregor; Madden, David; Tynan, Peter (2004). Imagining Australia: Ideas for Our Future. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74114-382-9.
- — (2010). Disconnected. University of NSW Press. ISBN 978-1-74223-153-2.
- — (2013). Battlers and Billionaires: The Story of Inequality in Australia. Black Inc. ISBN 978-1-86395-607-9.
- — (2014). The Economics of Just About Everything: The Hidden Reasons For Our Curious Choices And Surprising Successes. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 978-1-74331-471-5.
- — (2015). The Luck of Politics. Black Inc. ISBN 9781863957557.
Selected speeches
- The Naked Truth? Media and Politics in the Digital Age, University of Canberra, 1 August 2012
- What Do We Eat After the Low-Hanging Fruit? A Brief Economic History of Australia, With Some Lessons for the Future, McKell Institute, 18 May 2012
- Why Inequality Matters, and What We Should Do About It, Sydney Institute, 1 May 2012
- Five Science Breakthroughs That Could Change Politics, University of Sydney, 18 April 2012
- Clean Energy Bills, House of Representatives, 28 October 2011
- Book Launch of Herb Feith's Biography, Parliament House, 6 July 2011
- Fragile States and Agile Aid, Lowy Institute, 18 May 2011
- Better Together: Ten Ways to Revitalise Community, Belconnen Community Forum, 20 April 2011
- Revenge of the Nerds: Improving Australia’s Education System, Gungahlin Community Forum, 16 March 2011
- Canberra is the Best City in Australia, Festival of Dangerous Ideas, 3 October 2010
- First Speech, House of Representatives, 18 October 2010
Honours and awards
- Fellow, Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (2011)
- Young Economist Award, Economic Society of Australia (2011)[2]
- Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia Early Career Award (2006)[13]
- Best Discussant Award, Annual PhD Conference in Economics and Business (2006)
- Garran Oration, Institute of Public Administration Australia (2004).
References
- ↑ Aedy, Richard (23 March 2010). "Wryside economics: investing in shares". abc.net.au. Retrieved 9 December 2010.
- 1 2 "Young Economist Award". Awards. The Economic Society of Australia. 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ Armstrong, Amanda (10 August 2010). "Meet the candidate: Andrew Leigh". Life Matters. Australia: ABC Radio National. Archived from the original on 24 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ↑ West, Andrew (2 October 2010). "Trading in the lectern for a bully pulpit". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2 November 2010.
- ↑ "The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP". Senators and Members. Parliament of Australia. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
- ↑ "Northcott – 1995". parliament.nsw.gov.au. Archived from the original on 20 March 2011. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
- ↑ Maiden, Samantha (26 April 2010). "Blow to factions in Labor Canberra preselection". The Australian. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
- ↑ "Division Profile – Fraser". Virtual Tally Room. Australian Electoral Commission. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
- ↑ Irvine, Jessica (23 August 2010). "First-timers break the mould". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 25 August 2010. Retrieved 23 August 2010.
- ↑ Mosley, Lisa (25 March 2013). "Andrew Leigh takes on new political role". ABC News. Australia. Retrieved 25 March 2013.
- ↑ Peake, Ross (27 June 2013). "'Heavy heart' but I back Rudd as PM: Kelly". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
- ↑ "Second Rudd Ministry" (PDF). Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Commonwealth of Australia. 1 July 2013. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ↑ "Annual Report" (PDF). Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2010.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Andrew Leigh. |
- Search or browse Hansard for Andrew Leigh at OpenAustralia.org
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bob McMullan |
Member for Fraser 2010–2016 |
Abolished |
| New seat | Member for Fenner 2016–present |
Incumbent |