Andrew Keith Leigh was born on 3 August 1972 and is an Australian politician, author, lawyer and former professor of economics at the Australian National University.
31 Facts About Andrew Leigh
2.
Andrew Leigh currently serves as the Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities and Treasury as well as the Assistant Minister for Employment.
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Andrew Leigh briefly served as the Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Julia Gillard in 2013 and then served as Shadow Assistant Treasurer from 2013 to 2019.
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Andrew Leigh has been a Labor member of the Australian House of Representatives since 2010 representing the seat of Fraser until 2016 and Fenner thereafter.
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Andrew Leigh graduated from the University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts with First Class Honours in 1994, and a Bachelor of Laws with First Class Honours in 1996.
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Andrew Leigh then obtained a Master of Public Administration degree and a PhD in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, where his thesis was "Essays in poverty and inequality".
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At Harvard, Andrew Leigh was a Doctoral Fellow at the Malcolm Wiener Centre for Social Policy from 2002 to 2004, and a Frank Knox Fellow from 2000 to 2004.
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Andrew Leigh was then associate to Justice Michael Kirby of the High Court of Australia from 1997 to 1998, senior trade adviser to Shadow Minister for Trade Senator Peter Cook from 1998 to 2000, and research fellow with the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington, DC in 2001.
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Andrew Leigh served as a principal adviser to the Australian Treasury from 2008 to 2009.
10.
Andrew Leigh was Professor of Economics at the Australian National University from 2004 to 2010.
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Andrew Leigh had several visiting appointments at the University of Melbourne, New York University, the Research Institute of Industrial Economics and the University of Michigan.
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Over his academic career, Andrew Leigh has published over 100 journal articles in the disciplines of economics, public policy and law and over 200 opinion pieces.
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On 24 April 2010, Andrew Leigh was selected as Labor's candidate for the Australian federal seat of Fraser following the announced retirement of Bob McMullan.
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Andrew Leigh was elected in the Australian federal election held on 21 August 2010.
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In 2013, Andrew Leigh served as the Government Spokesperson on Opposition costings.
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Andrew Leigh was then promoted into the Ministry of Julia Gillard on the 25 March 2013 as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister following a Cabinet reshuffle in the wake of a failed leadership challenge on Prime Minister Julia Gillard.
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Andrew Leigh however was appointed to the parliamentary secretary-level positions of Shadow Assistant Minister for Treasury and Shadow Assistant Minister for Charities.
18.
In May 2023, Andrew Leigh was appointed Assistant Minister for Employment.
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Andrew Leigh identifies as a social democrat, but within the Australian Labor Party he is aligned to no faction He has argued that Labor MPs should have more autonomy to dissent from caucus decisions.
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Andrew Leigh believes the "passion for raising living standards" is part of the Australian identity.
21.
In 2019, Andrew Leigh claimed the beliefs of the contemporary Australian Labor Party was that of social liberalism.
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Andrew Leigh is concerned that online communities have actually created more alienation for Australians, but this can be ameliorated when the state encourages volunteering and community groups.
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Andrew Leigh particularly wants to see university made more affordable than it is for most young people now.
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Andrew Leigh delivered the 2004 Garran Oration of the Institute of Public Administration Australia.
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Also in 2011 Andrew Leigh was appointed a Fellow of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia.
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In 2011, Andrew Leigh was awarded the Economic Society of Australia's Young Economist Award.
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Andrew Leigh is married to Gweneth Andrew Leigh, and they have three sons: Sebastian, Theodore and Zachary.
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Andrew Leigh is an endurance athlete, and has run all six World Marathon Majors in under three hours.
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Andrew Leigh completed the Sri Chinmoy Canberra 100 kilometre trail race in 2022.
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Andrew Leigh has undertaken several triathlons, including the 2021 Cairns Ironman, which he completed in a time of 10:48:11.
31.
Andrew Leigh discusses the role of sport in his life in his book Fair Game: Lessons from Sport for a Fairer Society and a Stronger Economy.