Mike Rann
 |
Hon. Mike Rann |
Michael David Rann (born
1953),
Australian politician, is the
Premier of South Australia. He is the parliamentary leader of the
South Australian State
Labor Party, and the member for the seat of
Ramsay.
Rann was born in
Sidcup,
Kent,
United Kingdom, to working-class parents who emigrated to
New Zealand in
1962. He completed a Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Arts (Political Studies) at the
University of Auckland. While in
New Zealand he was prominent in the campaign against
French nuclear testing in the
Pacific Ocean.
Rann was a political journalist for the now defunct
New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation until
1977 when he moved to
Adelaide and became press secretary and speech writer for the then Premier,
Don Dunstan. He later was press secretary to Premier
John Bannon before his election to
Parliament as the Member for Briggs in 1985. In December
1989, he entered the ministry, becoming Minister for Employment and Further Education, Minister of Youth Affairs, Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Minister assisting in Ethnic Affairs. After a cabinet reshuffle, Rann became Minister for Business and Regional Development, Minister of Tourism and Minister of State Services in September
1992.
When
Labor lost government in the landslide
1993 election, Rann was elected Deputy Leader of the Opposition, and subsequently became leader in September
1994. He surprisingly achieved a 9.4% swing to Labor in the
1997 election, narrowly failing to win government.
He remained Leader of the Opposition until the
2002 election, at which he won enough seats to form a government with the support of an independent MP,
Peter Lewis. Lewis' decision was controversial, but the Rann government proved to be popular, so much so that Rann was later able to gain the support of conservative independents
Rory McEwen and
Karlene Maywald, adding them to his cabinet.
He then led Labor to a record-breaking 10% swing in the
March 2006 state election as Premier.
Rann was married to
Jenny Russell until the late 1990s and had two children with her, David and Eleanor. On July 15,
2006, he married his second wife, actress and Greens member
Sasha Carruozzo.
On July 21,
2006, Rann was appointed Chairman of a new
Australian Federation Council, a council which aims to improve state-federal ties.[
1]
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Parliament profile*
Poll Bludger electorate profile
