Sam Dastyari

Senator
Sam Dastyari

Sam Dastyari at the Sydney Mardi Gras
Senator for New South Wales
Assumed office
21 August 2013
Preceded by Matt Thistlethwaite
Personal details
Born (1983-07-28) 28 July 1983
Sari, Iran
Nationality Australian
Spouse(s) Helen Barron (m. 2010)
Residence Russell Lea
Alma mater University of Sydney
Macquarie University
[1][2][3][4]

Sam Dastyari (born 28 July 1983[5] in Sari, Iran[3]) is an Australian Senator representing New South Wales, and former General Secretary of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labor Party. He is the first Iranian to sit in an Australian parliament.[6]

Early life and education

Born in Sari, Mazandaran province[3] to an ethnic Azeri father and Persian mother, Dastyari arrived in Australia aged 5 years. His parents were student activists in the 1979 Iranian revolution.[2]

He attended John Purchase Public School, where he was school captain, and completed his secondary schooling at Baulkham Hills High School, where he was school vice-captain and graduated in 2001. He then enrolled at the University of Sydney where he studied for a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws but soon dropped out. He has since completed undergraduate studies at Macquarie University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts majoring in politics.

Dastyari joined the Labor Party at 16, running the Labor Club while at university and becoming President of Young Labor.[3]

Career

A member of Labor's Unity faction, Dastyari worked initially with lobbyists Hawker Britton. He was elected as General Secretary of NSW Labor in March 2010 with the support of the Transport Workers' Union (TWU), the Electrical Trades Union (ETU), and the Australian Workers Union (AWU).[2] Dastyari is a member of the Labor Right faction.[7]

In 2012 Dastyari said, "Labor core values are similar to Islamic social values such as equal justice and respect for everyone".[8]

On 21 August 2013, a joint sitting of the Parliament of New South Wales appointed Dastyari to the Senate seat vacated by Matt Thistlethwaite, who had resigned on 9 August to contest the House of Representatives seat of Kingsford Smith at the 2013 federal election.[9]

In 2016, Dastayari expressed strong criticism of the amount of political influence held by ten corporate bodies operating in Australia. His list included the Commonwealth Bank, National Australia Bank, Westpac, ANZ, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton, Fortescue Metals, Telstra and "your two big grocery chains".[10]

Dastyari strongly supports same-sex marriage.[11][12][13][14]

Personal life

Dastyari lives in Sydney's inner western suburb of Russell Lea, together with his wife, and two daughters.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Chancellor, Jonathan (23 November 2012). "NSW Labor machine man Sam Dastyari upgrades inner west family abode". Property Observer. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 Barry, Paul (2 July 2012). "The Power Index: Sam Dastyari". Crikey.com (Private Media Pty Ltd). Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Snow, Deborah (25 June 2011). "Force of youth". The Canberra Times. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Summers, Anne (24 August 2013). "Master of the maze". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 12 February 2014.
  5. ↑ Snow, Deborah (27 July 2013). "Cautious reformer eyes a leap into Senate". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  6. ↑ "Faculty of Arts, Macquarie University". Master of the maze. Retrieved 21 September 2015.
  7. ↑ Labor's Sam Dastyari wins endorsement for Senate seat
  8. ↑ "Solicitor Ejaz Khan hosted a Iftar dinner at the Himalaya Restaurant Sydney". Sada-e-Watan Sydney. August 2012. Retrieved 28 September 2015.
  9. ↑ "Labor's Dastyari gets nod for Senate". ninemsn. 21 August 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  10. ↑ "Ten companies have taken control of Australian politics, says Labor senator in fiery pub speech". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
  11. ↑ Australian Marriage Equality. "Where your MP stands on Marriage Equality". australianmarriageequality.org. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  12. ↑ Nicholls, Sean (27 July 2014). "Same-sex marriage gets state Labor support". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 August 2015.
  13. ↑ Henderson, Anna (13 Aug 2015). "Same-sex marriage: Labor senator Sam Dastyari calls 'bullshit' on Government's plan for public vote". ABC News. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
  14. ↑ "Q&A recap: Same-sex marriage, relevance of royal commissions and corporate tax practices". ABC News. 18 August 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.

External links

Party political offices
Preceded by
Matt Thistlethwaite		 General Secretary of the Australian Labor Party (NSW Branch)
2010–2013 		Succeeded by
Jamie Clements
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