Linda Lavarch
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Linda Denise Lavarch (born 27 November 1958) is an Australian Labor Party politician and solicitor. She represents the electorate of Kurwongbah, in Brisbane's northern suburbs, in the Queensland state parliament.
On 28 July 2005 Lavarch was appointed Queensland's Attorney-General and Minister for Justice. She is married to Michael Lavarch, also a solicitor and a former Attorney-General in the Paul Keating federal government. Prior to being appointed Attorney-General she held the position of Parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Energy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Policy, John Mickel.
Lavarch was first elected in a by-election on 24 May 1997.
On 18 October 2006 Lavarch announced she was resigning as Attorney General, Minister for Justice and Women because of a diagnosed case of depression, on the advice of her doctors. She also announced she was taking a leave from Parliament to undergo treatment for the condition. Lavarch had been under fire during the week prior to her resignation after it was revealed she refused an offer from Jayant Patel to return to Australia to face criminal charges.