Ursula Mary Stephens is a former Australian politician.
23 Facts About Ursula Stephens
1.
2.
Ursula Stephens served as a Senator for New South Wales from 2002 to 2014, representing the Australian Labor Party.
3.
Ursula Stephens was a parliamentary secretary in the Rudd and Gillard governments from 2007 to 2010.
4.
Ursula Stephens arrived in Australia with her family at a young age and grew up on the New South Wales North Coast.
5.
Ursula Stephens is one of seven siblings; her father was a mechanic and her mother was a nurse.
6.
Ursula Stephens was educated at St Mary's College in Grafton.
7.
Ursula Stephens subsequently completed a diploma in teaching at Goulburn College of Advanced Education and a Bachelor of Education at the South Australian College of Advanced Education.
8.
Ursula Stephens worked as a primary school teacher from 1974 to 1992, including in the Northern Territory for two years.
9.
Ursula Stephens later operated a small business and then from 1997 to 2001 worked for the New South Wales state government as a senior project officer in the Premier's Department.
10.
Ursula Stephens was the first member of her family to join a political party.
11.
Ursula Stephens served on the Australian Labor Party National Executive and the national executive of the Labor Women's Network.
12.
Ursula Stephens was president of the Australian Labor Party from 2002 to 2006, the first woman to hold the position.
13.
Ursula Stephens was elected to the Senate at the 2001 federal election, to a term beginning on 1 July 2002.
14.
Ursula Stephens was re-elected in 2007 but lost her seat in 2013, with her term ending on 30 June 2014.
15.
Ursula Stephens was a member of the Labor Right faction.
16.
Ursula Stephens was chosen as a shadow parliamentary secretary in 2004, continuing in the role under opposition leaders Mark Latham, Kim Beazley and Kevin Rudd until Labor's victory at the 2007 election.
17.
Ursula Stephens initially continued on when the First Gillard Ministry was formed in June 2010, but in September 2010, following the 2010 election, her positions were abolished.
18.
Ursula Stephens stated that they were abolished because "my job was completed" and it did not constitute a demotion.
19.
Ursula Stephens was opposed to the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia.
20.
Ursula Stephens ran unsuccessfully for the seat of Goulburn at the 2015 New South Wales state election.
21.
Ursula Stephens reprised her candidacy at the 2019 state election but was again unsuccessful.
22.
In July 2019, Ursula Stephens succeeded Frank Brennan as CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia.
23.
Ursula Stephens resigned from the role in 2021 to take up an appointment as CEO of Australian Catholic Safeguarding Ltd, a newly created body established "to oversee safeguarding, child protection and professional standards matters" for the Catholic Church in Australia.