24 Facts About Amanda Vanstone

Amanda Eloise Vanstone is an Australian former politician and a former Ambassador to Italy.

Amanda Vanstone was a Liberal Senator for South Australia from 1984 to 2007, and held several ministerial portfolios in the Howard government.

Amanda Vanstone's mother remarried soon afterwards, but not long after this her stepfather died.

Amanda Vanstone was educated at the St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School.

At the University of Adelaide, Amanda Vanstone received both Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Law degrees.

Amanda Vanstone earned a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and a Marketing Studies Certificate from the South Australian Institute of Technology which is the University of South Australia.

In December 1984, at age 31, Amanda Vanstone was elected the youngest member of the Australian Senate as a representative for South Australia.

Amanda Vanstone was one of 27 senators for the Liberal Party of Australia elected that year.

Amanda Vanstone was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry from 1987 to 1988, from 1989 to 1990 and from 1993 to 1996, serving as Shadow Attorney-General and Shadow Minister for Justice from 1994 to 1996.

In May 1990, as an opposition backbencher, Amanda Vanstone was instrumental in the introduction of televised proceedings in parliament.

In March 1996, Amanda Vanstone became one of the two women in John Howard's cabinet when she was appointed Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs.

Amanda Vanstone made a comeback in January 2001 when she was re-appointed to Cabinet as Minister for Family and Community Services.

Amanda Vanstone frequently defended the Howard government's policies, and the then Shadow Minister for Family and Community Services, Wayne Swan, described her as "a political hyena who takes delight in attacking society's most vulnerable".

Amanda Vanstone had been criticised for overturning a deportation order and granting a visa in 2005 to Francesco Madafferi who had been implicated by Italian officials as a dangerous mafia figure.

Amanda Vanstone justified her decision to grant Madafferi a visa because of a mental illness he was said to be suffering.

Amanda Vanstone's title was changed to Minister for Immigration and Multicultural Affairs.

In July 2006, Amanda Vanstone was criticised for holding shares in the South Australian agribusiness Wasley's Piggery.

Amanda Vanstone responded stating that she is 'simply one shareholder in the business'.

On 26 April 2007, Amanda Vanstone announced her immediate resignation from politics, telling reporters, "It is always important to look to the future and with that in mind it is important for me to move on to the next phase of my life".

In October 2012, Amanda Vanstone joined the board of the Port Adelaide Football Club.

Amanda Vanstone is a former Liberal Party politician who, as host of the Counterpoint radio program since 2013, has become a political journalist at the ABC.

Amanda Vanstone supported the leadership ambitions of Malcolm Turnbull over those of Tony Abbott in the 2015 Liberal leadership spill that saw Turnbull take the Prime Ministership.

Amanda Vanstone describes herself as a "liberal" rather than a "conservative".

Amanda Vanstone was a leading member of the Liberal Party of Australia's moderate faction and a mentor to younger Liberal moderates, including fellow South Australian Christopher Pyne.