Mathias Cormann
| Senator The Honorable Mathias Cormann | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 14th Minister for Finance | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 18 September 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Tony Abbott |
| Preceded by | Penny Wong |
| Senator for Western Australia | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 19 June 2007 | |
| Preceded by | Ian Campbell |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 20 September 1970 Eupen, Belgium |
| Nationality | Australian |
| Political party | Liberal Party of Australia |
| Spouse(s) | Hayley |
| Children | One daughter |
| Alma mater | Université de Namur Katholieke Universiteit Leuven University of East Anglia |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism[1] |
| Website | www.mathiascormann.com.au |
Mathias Hubert Paul Cormann[2] (/məˈtiːəs ˈkɔrmən/; German pronunciation: [maˈtiːas ˈkɔʁman]; born 20 September 1970) is an Australian politician of German-speaking Belgian descent. He is a Liberal Party senator for Western Australia, having been chosen by the Parliament of Western Australia on 19 June 2007 to fill the casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Senator Ian Campbell. Cormann has been the Minister for Finance since 18 September 2013.[3]
Early life
Born in the German-speaking town of Eupen in eastern Belgium, Cormann graduated with a Bachelor of Law degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Catholic University of Leuven). As part of his university studies Cormann participated in a one-year student exchange program at the University of East Anglia in Norwich in 1993–94, where he first learnt to speak English. At the age of 21, he became a councillor in his local area with the Christian Social Party. Following a visit to Perth in 1994, he migrated to Australia permanently.[4][5]
Personal life
Cormann is married to Hayley, a lawyer. They have one daughter.[5]
Political career
Belgium
Aged 21, Cormann joined the Christlich Soziale Partei (CSP) in Raeren, where he served as a municipal council member. From 1994 to 1996, Cormann served as an assistant to Member of the European Parliament Mathieu Grosch.[6]
Australia
He joined the Liberal Party in Western Australia and took on a job as ministerial chief-of-staff, then senior adviser to then-Premier of Western Australia, Richard Court. He then moved to federal politics, working for two years as a senior adviser to then Minister for Justice and Customs Chris Ellison. Between 2003 and 2008, Cormann was the state senior vice-president of the Liberal Party in Western Australia. He was also acting general manager of HBF, a WA-based health insurance company, until resigning in May 2007 to contest a Senate seat.
Cormann's preselection for the coveted third position on the Liberal Senate ticket for the 2007 election was all but assured, at the expense of controversial Senator Ross Lightfoot, who withdrew from the preselection race and resigned from politics when he realised the numbers were against him. On the ABC's Stateline program on 27 April 2007, Lightfoot stated that he considered Cormann (although he stopped short of naming him) an "inappropriate person" to replace him. Lightfoot's main complaint was that there were "more appropriate people" to succeed him "who have served the party longer" and "who have been in the country longer".[7]
When Senator Ian Campbell unexpectedly announced his planned resignation on 4 May 2007, Cormann was quickly preselected by the party to fill the resulting casual vacancy. Campbell formally resigned on 31 May 2007. Cormann was sworn in on 20 June 2007 and served the remaining four years of Ian Campbell's term until 2011.[8] On 21 August 2010 Cormann was re-elected for a further six-year term as Senator for Western Australia, which started on 1 July 2011.
In Opposition Cormann served as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health Administration (2008–09), Shadow Minister for Employment Participation, Apprenticeships and Training (2009–2010) and as Shadow Assistant Treasurer and Shadow Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation (2010–2013). In the Senate he chaired the Fuel and Energy Select Committee (2008–2010)[9] and the Scrutiny of New Taxes Committee (2010–2011).
References
- ↑ "Coalition celebrates a religious Easter: Eight of 19 cabinet members are Catholic". smh.com.au. AAP. 20 April 2014. Retrieved 31 October 2014.
- ↑ "Biography for CORMANN, the Hon. Mathias Hubert Paul". parlinfo.aph.gov.au. Retrieved 23 October 2014.
- ↑ "Tony Abbott's cabinet and outer ministry". smh.com.au. AAP. 16 September 2013. Retrieved 16 September 2013.
- ↑ http://www.abc.net.au/tv/qanda/txt/s3254840.htm
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 http://www.financeminister.gov.au/biography.html
- ↑ "Van de Hoge Venen naar de Australische top" in De Standaard, 18 September 2013
- ↑ Carmody, Rebecca (27 April 2007). "Controversial Liberal Senator Ross Lightfoot calls it a day". Stateline (TV program)-Western Australia. Retrieved 12 May 2014.
- ↑ O'Brien, Amanda (7 May 2007). "Ex-gardener lands Senate spot". The Australian. Retrieved 7 May 2007.
- ↑ Senate Select Committee on Fuel and Energy: Committee membership,
External links
- Australian Senate biography
- Mathias Cormann's Personal official website
- Cormann, Mathias (15 August 2007). "First speech". Hansard: Australian Senate. Parliament of Australia.
- Kitney, Geoff (2 May 2014). "Mathias Cormann: A tale of two lives". WA Today (originally published in the Australian Financial Review).
- Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Mathias Cormann on TheyVoteForYou.org.au
| Parliament of Australia | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ian Campbell |
Senator for Western Australia 2007–present |
Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Penny Wong as Minister for Finance and Deregulation |
Minister for Finance 2013–present |
Incumbent |
| ||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
