13 Facts About Edmond Atalla

The child of Coptic Egyptian parents, Edmond Atalla is known for his advocacy for members of Australia's Coptic community.

Edmond Atalla was born in Port Sudan, Sudan on 17 July 1960 to Coptic Egyptian parents.

The family settled at Prospect, New South Wales in 1970, where Edmond Atalla attended the local public school.

Edmond Atalla went on to attend Grantham High School in Seven Hills.

In 1989, Edmond Atalla was hired as the NSW state project engineer for CSR Readymix, where he later gained a builder's licence.

In 1993, Edmond Atalla moved back to local government as an engineer for the Liverpool City Council, and was then promoted to building services manager for the citywide services in 1997, and again in 2000 to corporate manager of operations.

In 2005, Edmond Atalla became the national building systems manager, a senior position with AVJennings where he was responsible for organisations management.

Edmond Atalla was able to retrieve the dentures, however the man's inability to afford another set "struck a chord", and Edmond Atalla resolved to help ensure that all people would have better access to basic necessities.

Edmond Atalla joined the Labor Party two years later, in 1989, and states he was "attracted to the principals of Social Justice including access to health and education, employment opportunities, and greater equality in wealth and power".

In 2019, Edmond Atalla supported Chris Minns' campaign to be leader of NSW Labor, which reportedly put him into conflict with fellow Labor MLA Marjorie O'Neill.

In office Edmond Atalla publicly opposed plans to demolish the Coptic Church's historic church at Sydenham.

In 2017, Edmond Atalla attended a ceremony hosted by Pope Tawadros II to commemorate the construction of a new Coptic Church at Kellyville.

Edmond Atalla criticized fellow Sudanese-Australian Yassmin Abdel-Magied over her comments on Anzac Day in 2017.