Andrew Murray (politician)

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Andrew James Marshall Murray (born 29 January 1947), Australian politician, has been an Australian Democrats member of the Australian Senate since July 1996, representing Western Australia.

Murray was born in Hove, in the United Kingdom. In 1951 he was sent as a child migrant to the British colony of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where was educated before going to University in South Africa. He continued his education at Oxford University (Rhodes Scholar 1971), where he gained a Master of Arts degree.

Returning to Africa, Murray worked as an executive in large corporations, then ran his own businesses. He also worked as a consultant, lecturer and industry journalist and served in the Rhodesian Air Force. He deported from South Africa in 1968 for opposing the apartheid policies of the white minority regime. The deportation order was withdrawn in 1977. Murray migrated to Australia in 1989.

In the Senate, Murray has gained a reputation as an intelligent and thoughtful debater. Although still officially a Democrats Senator, he has sat as a virtual independent since the resignation of Meg Lees as Democrats leader in April 2001. He has announced that he will not be contesting his Senate seat at the 2007 election.