1. Maria Vamvakinou was born on 4 January 1959 and is an Australian politician.
18 Facts About Maria Vamvakinou
1. 2.
Maria Vamvakinou is a member of the Australian Labor Party and served in the House of Representatives from 2001 to 2025, representing the Division of Calwell in Victoria.
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Maria Vamvakinou arrived in Australia with her family in 1963 at the age of four, settling in Melbourne.
4.
Maria Vamvakinou renounced her Greek citizenship in 2000 prior to standing for parliament.
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Maria Vamvakinou was educated at public schools in Carlton and Brunswick before going on to attend Princes Hill High School.
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Maria Vamvakinou completed a Bachelor of Arts in Modern Greek and political science at the University of Melbourne.
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Maria Vamvakinou went on to complete a diploma in education and worked as a high school teacher from 1982 to 1987, teaching Greek.
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Maria Vamvakinou held office in the Victorian Labor Party and worked as a political staffer for a number of years before entering parliament herself.
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Maria Vamvakinou worked as an electorate officer to Andrew Theophanous, executive assistant to Joan Kirner, personal secretary to Andrew McCutcheon, and electorate officer to Senator Kim Carr.
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Maria Vamvakinou served on the Northcote City Council from 1990 to 1992.
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Maria Vamvakinou was elected to parliament at the 2001 federal election, regaining the Division of Calwell in northern Melbourne for the ALP against the incumbent MP Andrew Theophanous, who had resigned from the party in 2000 to sit as an independent, when he became involved in a criminal conspiracy.
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Maria Vamvakinou is the first woman born in Greece to serve in federal parliament.
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Maria Vamvakinou was re-elected on seven further occasions up to the 2022 federal election.
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Maria Vamvakinou has served on numerous House and joint committees during her time in parliament.
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Maria Vamvakinou has had a long association with the Joint Standing Committee on Migration, serving two terms as chair and one as deputy chair.
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Maria Vamvakinou was chair of the House Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Innovation from 2008 to 201 and has served on the Speaker's panel from 2010 to 2013 and again from 2016.
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Maria Vamvakinou is a member of the ALP's Socialist Left faction.
18.
On 9 June 2024, Maria Vamvakinou announced that she would retire at the 2025 Australian federal election.