Mike Rann

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Mike Rann

44th Premier of South Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 2002
Preceded by	Rob Kerin

Born	1953 Sidcup, Kent, United Kingdom
Constituency	Ramsay
Political party	Australian Labor Party
Spouse	Sasha Carruozzo
Profession	Journalist

Michael David Rann (born 1953), Australian politician, is the 44th Premier of South Australia. He is the parliamentary leader of the South Australian State Labor Party, and the member for the seat of Ramsay.

Rann was born in Sidcup, Kent, United Kingdom, to working-class parents who emigrated to New Zealand in 1962, aged 9. He completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts (Political Studies) at the University of Auckland. While in New Zealand he was prominent in the campaign against French nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean.

Rann was a political journalist for the now defunct New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation until 1977 when he moved to Adelaide and became press secretary and speech writer for the then Premier, Don Dunstan. He later was press secretary to Premier John Bannon before his election to Parliament as the Member for Briggs in 1985. In December 1989, he entered the ministry, becoming Minister for Employment and Further Education, Minister of Youth Affairs, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Minister assisting in Ethnic Affairs. After a cabinet reshuffle, Rann became Minister for Business and Regional Development, Minister of Tourism and Minister of State Services in September 1992.

Mike Rann was a Minster in the John Bannon Cabinet during the South Australian State Bank disaster which culimated in losses that nearly exceeded $3.5 billion dollars.

When Labor lost government in the landslide 1993 election, Rann was elected Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and subsequently became leader in September 1994 with the support of Labor powerbroker Don Farrell, who promised Rann two terms in the position. Rann surprisingly achieved a 9.4% swing to Labor in the 1997 election, narrowly failing to win government.

He remained Leader of the Opposition until the 2002 election, at which he won enough seats to form a government with the support of an independent MP, Peter Lewis. Lewis' decision was controversial and Lewis was later to resign from the Speakership of the South Australian Parliament.

Rann led Labor to a 7.7% state-wide swing in the March 2006 state election as Premier.

Rann was married to Jenny Russell until the late 1990s and had two children with her, David and Eleanor. On July 15, 2006, he married his second wife, actress and Greens member Sasha Carruozzo.

On July 21, 2006, Rann was appointed Chairman of a new Australian Federation Council, a council which aims to improve state-federal ties. [1]

On August 16, 2006, Rann confirmed he would be running for national ALP presidency [2], however it appears he has only made senior-vice presidency on 27% of the vote [3].