Rita Saffioti was born on 26 May 1972 and is an Australian politician.
22 Facts About Rita Saffioti
1.
2.
Rita Saffioti's parents were post-war immigrants from the Italian region of Calabria.
3.
Rita Saffioti grew up on an orchard in Roleystone in the Perth Hills with an older sister, and attended Roleystone Primary School, Roleystone District High School, and Kelmscott Senior High School, at which she became dux.
4.
Rita Saffioti graduated with a Bachelor of Business degree with distinction from Curtin University, majoring in economics.
5.
Rita Saffioti then worked in Canberra and Perth for the Department of Finance and then in Perth for the Department of Treasury.
6.
Rita Saffioti joined the Australian Labor Party in 1996, and from 1997, she worked as an economics adviser for Geoff Gallop, the leader of the opposition until 2001 and Premier of Western Australia following 2001.
7.
From February 2003 to February 2005, Rita Saffioti was the director of the economics policy unit of the Department of the Premier and Cabinet.
8.
From January 2006 to April 2008, Rita Saffioti was the chief of staff for the Office of the Premier.
9.
Rita Saffioti unsuccessfully stood for election at the 2005 Western Australian state election.
10.
Rita Saffioti was sixth place on the Labor Party's ticket for the East Metropolitan Region in the Western Australian Legislative Council.
11.
Rita Saffioti won preselection for West Swan in April 2008, with Carpenter controversially hand-picking her over Swan Hills MP Jaye Radisich and the Labor Right's Belinda Coniglio.
12.
At the 2008 Western Australian state election on 6 September, Rita Saffioti was elected to the newly created electoral district of West Swan in the Western Australian Legislative Assembly, the lower house of the Parliament of Western Australia.
13.
Rita Saffioti was re-elected at the elections in 2013,2017 and 2021.
14.
From 9 April 2013 to 26 June 2015, Rita Saffioti was the shadow minister for planning, finance, government accountability and women's interests.
15.
On 17 March 2017, following the election of the McGowan government on 11 March 2017, Rita Saffioti was appointed as the minister for transport, minister for planning, and minister for lands.
16.
Rita Saffioti stopped being minister for lands on 13 December 2018, with Premier Mark McGowan saying it would enable Saffioti to focus more on Metronet, the government's expansion program for Perth's rail network.
17.
Polling conducted in January 2023 by Painted Dog Research for The West Australian showed that Rita Saffioti was favoured by 13 percent of voters to succeed McGowan if he were to retire, behind Cook at 15 percent but above Sanderson at 6 percent.
18.
Rita Saffioti was installed as the deputy premier of Western Australia, treasurer, and minister for tourism, while staying on as transport minister and relinquishing the roles of minister for planning and minister for ports.
19.
Rita Saffioti is one of four Labor MPs in state parliament that is not factionally aligned as of 2025.
20.
Rita Saffioti has voiced support for a family room in Parliament House.
21.
Rita Saffioti married Timothy Fraser on 21 October 2006 at the Perth Town Hall.
22.
Rita Saffioti was the first member of parliament to give birth in over 10 years, with the previous time being Michelle Roberts in 1999.