1. Steven Michele Ciobo was born on 29 May 1974 and is a retired Australian politician who represented the Division of Moncrieff in the House of Representatives from the 2001 federal election until his retirement at the 2019 election.
33 Facts About Steven Ciobo
1. 2.
Steven Ciobo was a member of the Liberal National Party of Queensland, and sat with the Liberal Party in federal parliament.
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On 1 March 2019 Ciobo announced his decision to retire from politics at the 2019 federal election.
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Steven Ciobo served as the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in the Turnbull government from February 2016 until his resignation on 21 August 2018 in the wake of the Liberal Party leadership spill earlier that day.
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Steven Ciobo went on to serve as Minister for Defence Industry, working in conjunction with the Defence Minister, until his resignation in March 2019.
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Steven Ciobo previously served as Minister for International Development and the Pacific from September 2015 to February 2016, and earlier as a parliamentary secretary in the Abbott government from September 2013 to September 2015.
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Steven Ciobo was born and raised in Mareeba, North Queensland, the youngest of three children in an Anglican family.
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Steven Ciobo's father was born in Bari, Italy, while his paternal grandfather was born in Valona, Ottoman Empire.
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Steven Ciobo graduated in law and commerce from Bond University and earned a master's degree in law from the Queensland University of Technology.
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Steven Ciobo worked at a food processing factory to help support himself while studying.
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Steven Ciobo was elected to parliament at the 2001 federal election, replacing the retiring Kathy Sullivan in the Division of Moncrieff.
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Steven Ciobo has repeatedly called for the introduction of daylight saving for South East Queensland, despite this position being at odds of that of some of his Liberal National Party colleagues in the Queensland Parliament.
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In 2006, Steven Ciobo called for the first home owner grant to be doubled, a policy which was adopted by the Rudd government in October 2008 as an economic stimulus measure.
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Nelson promoted him into the shadow ministry despite Steven Ciobo publicly pledging his support for Nelson's opponent, Malcolm Turnbull, in the previous month's leadership ballot.
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When Turnbull replaced Nelson as leader in September 2008, Steven Ciobo's portfolio was changed to Shadow Minister for Small Business, Independent Contractors, Tourism and the Arts.
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Steven Ciobo subsequently demoted Ciobo to the outer frontbench, as the Shadow Minister for Tourism and the Arts and the Shadow Minister for Youth and Sport.
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In November 2009, Steven Ciobo introduced his first private members bill as a shadow minister.
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In November 2008, Steven Ciobo attacked the Rudd government over Peter Garrett's decision to axe funding for the Australian National Academy of Music, saying the decision was "the latest chapter in bungled Labor decisions that have ended one of Australia's centres of excellence and left students' futures in limbo".
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Steven Ciobo said Garrett's move to scrap the Uluru climb would be another setback to the tourism industry which had been affected by the Great Recession.
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Steven Ciobo said turning Surfers Paradise into a world-class entertainment precinct to rival Las Vegas and Macau was the solution to save the Gold Coast from rising unemployment and economic doom.
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Steven Ciobo was a prominent opponent of Andrew Wilkie's plan to require all poker machine players to set a daily betting limit.
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On 18 September 2013 Steven Ciobo was appointed the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer, Joe Hockey.
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Steven Ciobo was appointed as Australia's alternate governor to the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
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Steven Ciobo was given responsibility for the Foreign Investment Review Board, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the Royal Australian Mint, the National Housing Supply Council and the Australian Valuation Office.
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In December 2014, Steven Ciobo was appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs and to the Minister for Trade and Investment.
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Steven Ciobo reportedly supported Malcolm Turnbull in the 2015 leadership spill that saw Tony Abbott replaced as leader.
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Steven Ciobo's title was altered to Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment in July 2016.
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Ciobo ran in the August 2018 Deputy Liberal Party leadership spill Minister for the Environment and Energy Josh Frydenberg won a majority in the first round with 46 votes, while Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Steven Ciobo received 20 and Minister for Health Greg Hunt received 16.
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On 1 March 2019 Steven Ciobo announced his decision to retire from politics at the next federal election.
30.
Steven Ciobo advised Bain Capital on its 2020 acquisition of Virgin Australia.
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Steven Ciobo subsequently joined private equity firm Stonepeak Infrastructure Partners, based in New York as a managing director with responsibility for "global affairs and engagement".
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Steven Ciobo is married with two children and lives on the Gold Coast.
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Steven Ciobo's wife, Astra Ciobo, is a successful businesswoman who co-founded a Gold Coast public relations firm.