Nicola Louise Roxon was born on 1 April 1967 and is a former Australian politician, who was a member of the House Representatives representing the seat of Gellibrand in Victoria for the Australian Labor Party from the 1998 federal election until her retirement in August 2013.
24 Facts About Nicola Roxon
Between 2011 and 2013, Roxon was the first female Attorney-General of Australia.
Nicola Roxon is currently an adjunct professor at Victoria University and Chair of the board at VicHealth.
Nicola Roxon is the second of three daughters and the niece of the late Australian journalist and Sydney Push member Lillian Roxon.
Nicola Roxon's mother Lesley trained as a pharmacist, while her father Jack was a microbiologist.
Nicola Roxon was a strong influence in her life and she was devastated by his death from cancer when she was 10 years old.
Nicola Roxon was educated at the Methodist Ladies' College in the suburb of Kew in Melbourne, Victoria.
Nicola Roxon studied for a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws at the University of Melbourne, winning the university medal for law.
Between 1992 and 1994, Nicola Roxon was employed as a judge's associate to High Court Justice Mary Gaudron.
Nicola Roxon then became involved with the trade union movement, joining the National Union of Workers as an organiser.
Nicola Roxon was an industrial lawyer and senior associate with the law firm Maurice Blackburn and Co.
Nicola Roxon was elected to the comfortably safe Labor seat of Gellibrand in 1998, succeeding longtime member Ralph Willis.
Nicola Roxon served on a number of committees, including the Standing Committee on Industry, Science and Resources and the Joint Select Committee on the Republic Referendum.
Nicola Roxon was promoted to the Shadow Ministry after Labor's loss in the 2001 election.
Nicola Roxon then had a brief stint as Shadow Minister for Population and Immigration later that year, when Julia Gillard moved from the Immigration portfolio to Health.
Nicola Roxon remained as Shadow Attorney-General following Latham's election loss in the 2004 election, holding this position until 2006.
Nicola Roxon made headlines during the 2007 federal election campaign when, on 31 October 2007, then Health Minister Tony Abbott arrived half an hour late for a televised debate.
In February 2009, Nicola Roxon attempted to introduce legislation backing the alcopops tax increase into parliament.
In 2010, Nicola Roxon aimed to introduce major health reform in Australia.
Nicola Roxon said the Government would hold a referendum on hospital reform even if the Senate rejected the idea.
In 2012, Nicola Roxon was featured in the Australian Story television program in an episode entitled "Kicking The Habit", about her advocacy for plain cigarette packaging.
Nicola Roxon was promoted from Health and Ageing to become Australia's first woman to serve as Attorney-General.
In May 2012, Attorney-General Nicola Roxon announced that the Australian Government would not approach the British Government to seek a pardon for Harry "Breaker" Morant because Morant and his two fellow officers did, in fact, kill unarmed prisoners and others during the Second Boer War.
Nicola Roxon continued as a backbencher for the remainder of her term, and retired when the parliament was dissolved before the 2013 federal election.