27 Facts About Mehreen Faruqi

Mehreen Saeed Faruqi was born on 8 July 1963 and is a Pakistani-born Australian politician and former engineer who has been a federal Senator for New South Wales since 15 August 2018, representing the Greens.

Mehreen Faruqi was chosen to fill a casual vacancy caused by the resignation of Lee Rhiannon, before being elected in her own right in 2019.

Mehreen Faruqi had previously served in the New South Wales Legislative Council between June 2013 and August 2018.

Since June 2022, Faruqi has served as Deputy Leader of the Australian Greens.

Mehreen Faruqi was born on 8 July 1963 in Lahore, Pakistan.

Mehreen Faruqi's father, a civil engineer, was a professor at the University of Engineering and Technology in Lahore and she grew up on the UET campus.

Mehreen Faruqi graduated from UET with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 1988, and subsequently worked as a structural engineer.

Mehreen Faruqi completed a Master of Engineering Science degree in 1994, and later received a doctorate in environmental engineering in 2000, with her doctoral thesis titled "Intensification of anaerobic lagoons for abattoir wastewater treatment and biogas recovery".

Mehreen Faruqi moved to Port Macquarie in 2001, but moved back to Sydney in 2006.

Mehreen Faruqi was one of three MPs in the 46th Parliament of Australia who graduated from high school outside Australia, and one of eleven MPs who possessed a PhD.

Mehreen Faruqi worked in positions in local government, consulting firms and higher education institutions in Australia and internationally.

Mehreen Faruqi joined the Greens in 2004 in Port Macquarie and ran as a candidate for the Legislative Assembly seat of Heffron in 2011 and at the 2012 by-election.

Mehreen Faruqi was chosen to replace Cate Faehrmann in the Legislative Council in 2013, becoming the first Muslim woman to be a member of an Australian parliament.

Mehreen Faruqi is a vocal pro-choice advocate, introducing the first parliamentary bill to decriminalise abortion in New South Wales in June 2014.

Mehreen Faruqi is an advocate for public transport and environmental sustainability.

In February 2018, Mehreen Faruqi attempted to block the Christian Friends of Israeli Communities from hosting an event at the Parliament of New South Wales as they fund illegal Israel settlement's in the West Bank.

Mehreen Faruqi resigned her position in the parliament after giving her farewell speech on 14 August 2018.

On 25 November 2017, Mehreen Faruqi defeated incumbent New South Wales Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon in a pre-selection contest for the first spot on the NSW Greens Senate ballot at the 2019 federal election.

Rhiannon resigned her Senate position on 15 August 2018 and on the same day Mehreen Faruqi was appointed to fill the vacant seat by a joint sitting of the New South Wales Parliament.

Mehreen Faruqi was sworn in on 20 August 2018, becoming the first female Muslim senator in Australian history.

In Parliament, Mehreen Faruqi has been a noted critic of horse racing and greyhound racing in Australia.

In 2021, Mehreen Faruqi released a Horse Racing Transition Plan on Twitter, and in 2023 proposed repurposing 'racetracks for green spaces and community facilities'.

Mehreen Faruqi has been widely criticised by figures within the racing industry for her opposition to horse and greyhound racing.

Subsequently, Mehreen Faruqi decided to launch court proceedings against Hanson for "breaching section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act 1975".

On 1 November 2024 it was reported that Federal Court of Australia judge Angus Stewart had ruled that Hanson's tweet was an "angry personal attack", unconnected with the issues Mehreen Faruqi raised, and was therefore "anti-Muslim or Islamophobic".

On 9 October 2023, Mehreen Faruqi criticised the decision to illuminate Parliament House in the colours of the Israeli flag to show solidarity with the people of Israel in the wake of the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

Subsequently, on Monday 6 November 2023, Mehreen Faruqi led her Greens colleagues in a Senate walkout, protesting the Albanese government's refusal to call for a ceasefire to the Gaza war.