Zed Seselja

Senator Zed Seselja
Senator for the Australian Capital Territory
Incumbent
Assumed office 7 September 2013
Leader of the Opposition of the Australian Capital Territory
In office 13 December 2007 – 11 February 2013
Preceded by	Bill Stefaniak
Succeeded by	Jeremy Hanson
Member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for Molonglo
In office 16 October 2004 – 6 November 2012
Preceded by	Greg Cornwell
Member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly for Brindabella
In office 6 November 2012 – 11 June 2013
Succeeded by	Nicole Lawder
Personal details
Born	27 March 1977 Woden Valley, Canberra, ACT, Australia
Political party	Liberal Party
Spouse(s)	Roslyn "Ros" Seselja
Alma mater	Australian National University, University of Canberra
Religion	Roman Catholic

Zdenko Matthew "Zed" Seselja (born 27 March 1977) is an Australian Liberal Party politician. He was elected to the Australian Senate as a representative of the Australian Capital Territory for a term which commenced on 7 September 2013.^[1][2] He was a member of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2013. He was the territory's 12th Opposition Leader, serving in that position from December 2007 to January 2013.^[3] Seselja is of Croatian descent.

Early life and education

Seselja was born in Canberra Hospital, then called the Woden Valley Hospital, to Ljudevit and Katica Seselja, both immigrants from Croatia (when it was part of Yugoslavia).^[4][5] His mother arrived alone in late 1970, and five months later she married Ljudevit, who had arrived three years earlier. Both held two jobs each.^[5]

Zed attended St Mary MacKillop College.^[4] He graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1997, a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1999 and a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice in 2002.^[6] He received a Graduate Certificate in Public Administration in 2000 from the University of Canberra. He was admitted as a legal practitioner in 2002.^[6]

While attending university, he worked at Woolworths Supermarkets from 1995–98; at MacKillop Catholic College (now St Mary MacKillop College) in 1998 as a cleaner; at the Australian Fisheries Management Authority from 1998–99 as a legal assistant; and at the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services from 2000–04 as a policy officer, lawyer, and then a senior lawyer.^[6]

Australian Capital Territory politics

At the 2008 election, Seselja received a quota of 1.49 and was elected first in the seven member Molonglo electorate.

There was a decrease in the vote for both major parties, with a swing to the Greens. Labor won 7 seats, the Liberals won 6 seats, while the Greens won 4 seats, giving them the balance of power. Negotiations ensued between the Greens and both major parties over the formation of a government.^[7][8] After almost two weeks of deliberations, the Greens chose to support a minority Labor government, thereby consigning Seselja's party to the opposition benches.^[9]

At the 2012 election, Seselja moved to the five member Brindabella electorate where he received a quota of 1.8.^[10] He led the Canberra Liberals to their highest ever number of seats, claiming eight in the seventeen member ACT Legislative Assembly.

Federal politics

On 4 February 2013, Seselja stated he would challenge incumbent Senator Gary Humphries (who is himself a former ACT Liberal leader) for Liberal Party pre-selection for the Senate in the Australian federal election, 2013. Seselja stated he would stand down from leadership of the party in the Legislative Assembly as of Monday 11 February.^[11] On 23 February 2013, Seselja won his pre-selection bid, and thus became one of the two official Liberal Party Senate candidates for the ACT.^[12]

Seselja was elected to the Australian Senate as Senator for the Australian Capital Territory in the Australian federal election, 2013.^[13]

Political views

Seselja's political views have been described as conservative rather than moderate and aligned with the views of former Prime Minister Tony Abbott.^[14][15]

Personal life

Seselja is a Roman Catholic.^[16][17] He and his wife Roslyn have five children.

In the community, Seselja is currently a supporter of both Karinya House and the Create Foundation, a member of the Australian Republican Movement and the Australian Red Cross, a volunteer for St. Vincent de Paul, an ambassador for Focus ACT since 2008, and a KeepWatch Ambassador with the Royal Lifesaving Society (since 2008); he was formerly a mentor for Menslink from 2001 to 2004.^[6]

References

1. "Seselja gains Senate seat, talks PS job losses", smh.com.au; accessed 14 September 2014.
2. Length of tenure for Senators in States and Territories
3. "Canberra Liberals official website". Canberraliberals.org.au. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
4. "Zed Seselja". Liberal Party of Australia. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
5. Thomson, Phillip (17 March 2013). "Seselja's journey is a family affair". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
6. "Seselja, Zed". ACT Legislative Assembly. Archived from the original on 3 October 2013.
7. "2008 Australian Capital Territory Election". ABC. 18 October 2008. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
8. "Greens take extra seat in ACT election". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 2011-02-03.
9. "Labor to form minority government in ACT". News.theage.com.au. 31 October 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2011.
10. Results by party, electionresults.act.gov.au; accessed 6 February 2013.
11. "Zed Seselja moves into Federal politics", ABC News Online, 4 February 2013.
12. "Seselja beats Humphries in Senate preselection stand-off", The Canberra Times, 23 February 2013.
13. "Seselja wins Senate seat, talks PS job losses". The Canberra TImes. Retrieved 2 October 2013.
14. Peake, Ross (28 March 2013). "What lies beyond a process bathed in bad blood?". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
15. Peake, Ross (4 February 2013). "Seselja's bid for Senate seat a win for the Greens". Canberra Times. Retrieved 27 March 2013.
16. Alexander, Cathy (5 February 2013). "And then there were none: ACT Lib moderate faces the chop". Crikey. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
17. Moloney, John-Paul (24 September 2012). "Anti-gay candidate 'like the Taliban': Seselja". The Canberra Times. Fairfax Media. Retrieved 13 September 2013.

External links

• Zed Seselja bio on Liberal Party of Australia (ACT) website
• Zed Seselja on Twitter
• Summary of parliamentary voting for Senator Zed Seselja on TheyVoteForYou.org.au