Vanstone, Amanda Eloise (1952 - )

Elected to the Senate for South Australia in 1984 (Liberal Party), Amanda Vanstone was appointed Minister for Family and Community Services and Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women on 30 January 2001.

Vanstone obtained a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Adelaide, as well as a Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice and a Marketing Studies Certificate form the South Australian Institute of Technology. She began her career as a retailer, and worked in wholesaling before becoming a solicitor.

Since entering Federal Parliament, Vanstone has been appointed Minister for Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (11 March 1996 to 9 October 1997); Minister for Justice (9 October 1997 to 21 October 1998); and Minister for Justice and Consumer Affairs (21 October 1998 to 30 January 2001).

She has been a Member of the Cabinet and the Legal Committee of the Cabinet; Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Leader of the Opposition; Shadow Special Minister of State; and spokesperson on the Status of Women. She was involved in the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse.

Married to Tony, she is a supporter of the RSPCA.

Online Resources

• Australian Parliament House, 'The Hon. Amanda Vanstone, Senator for South Australia', http://www.aph.gov.au/senate/senators/homepages/. [ Details... ]
• Department of Family and Community Services, 'Senator the Hon Amanda Vanstone: Minister for Family & Community Services; Minister Assisting the Prime Minister for the Status of Women', http://www.ofw.facsia.gov.au. [ Details... ]

See also

• Herd, Margaret (ed.), Who's who in Australia 2002, 38 edn, Crown Content, Melbourne, 2002, 2020 pp. [ Details... ]