31 Facts About Mark Arbib

Mark Victor Arbib was born on 9 November 1971 and is an Australian sports administrator and executive, a former Labor Party politician and trade unionist.

In 2016, Arbib was elected as an executive board member to the Australian Olympic Committee.

Mark Arbib was Minister for Sport from 2010 until 2012 and Minister for Social Housing and Homelessness from 2010 until 2011, during which time he served as a Senator for New South Wales from 2008 to 2012.

Mark Arbib rose within the New South Wales Labor Party, and was elected as State Secretary in 2004, before being elected to the Senate at the 2007 election.

Mark Arbib was frequently described in the media as a "power-broker" within the Parliamentary Labor Party.

Mark Arbib was appointed a senior executive with James Packer's private investment company, Consolidated Press Holdings.

Mark Arbib joined the Australian Labor Party in 1992 and was elected as President of NSW Young Labor in 1995.

Mark Arbib served as Assistant General Secretary from 1999 and was the ALP State Organiser between 1996 and 1999.

Mark Arbib was elected General Secretary of the Australian Labor Party in June 2004.

In 2007, Mark Arbib was Campaign Director for Morris Iemma's successful 2007 state election campaign.

In January 2008, The Sydney Morning Herald quoted an organisation which makes political donations to the Labor Party as saying that Mark Arbib made an art form out of extracting political donations from businesses.

Mark Arbib was named in the ABC television program Four Corners in relation to political donations to the NSW Labor Party.

Mark Arbib was preselected for the number one position of Labor's New South Wales Senate ticket and won a seat at the 2007 federal election.

Mark Arbib was a member of the ALP National Executive and a member of the ALP National Executive Committee.

On 24 June 2010, Mark Arbib used his power as leader of the NSW right faction to shore up numbers to depose Kevin Rudd, then in his first term as prime minister, in favour of Julia Gillard.

In November 2010 Mark Arbib was the first Federal Labor Party front bencher to support same-sex marriage.

Mark Arbib argued match-fixing was a threat to the integrity of sport and called for jail time for those found guilty of engaging in serious match-fixing and for the formation of an international WADA-type body to combat match-fixing internationally.

The United States diplomatic cables leaks revealed that Mark Arbib was in regular contact with staff at the US embassy in Canberra and provided them with inside information and commentary on the workings of the government and the Labor Party.

Mark Arbib strongly denied having a special relationship with the United States and was highly critical of Fairfax's reporting of the cables which he claims contained a number of serious factual errors.

On 27 February 2012, hours after the ALP leadership ballot, Mark Arbib announced his resignation from the Cabinet from 2 March, and his intention to resign from the Senate.

Mark Arbib cited wanting to spend more time with his family than being a Minister and Senator can allow.

Mark Arbib hoped his resigning would help the Labor Party to heal.

In June 2012, Mark Arbib became director of strategy and business development at Consolidated Press Holdings, the private investment company of James Packer.

Mark Arbib represented Consolidated Press Holdings on the board of the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and was a board member of the Packer Family Foundation which, in July 2014, announced a $200 million national philanthropic fund in partnership with the Crown Resorts Foundation.

In May 2012 it was announced that Mark Arbib would join the board of Sydney FC.

Mark Arbib stepped down from Sydney FC in April 2016 to take up a new role as President of Athletics Australia after having been unanimously appointed to the position by his fellow directors.

Mark Arbib is a board member of the professional Rugby League team the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

Mark Arbib was an Ambassador for the Indigenous Marathon Project and for Australia's leading Indigenous non-profit education organisation, the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.

Mark Arbib raised Mark and his brother Scott after the death of their father when they were young.

Mark Arbib has a Master of Arts in political science and economic history from the University of New South Wales.

Mark Arbib is a supporter of the Sydney Roosters NRL club, Sydney FC A-League club, and is a public Ambassador for Australia's leading Indigenous non-profit education organisation, the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation.