The four important figures in Anthony Albanese's government
Key Takeaways:
- Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese will be sworn in as Australia's 31st prime minister on Monday, after his party won the federal elections on Saturday.
- Each of the four MPs was a member of former Prime Minister Scott Morrison's cabinet's Albanese-led 'Shadow Ministry.'
On Monday, Labor Party leader Anthony Albanese, whose party won the federal elections on Saturday, will be sworn in as Australia's 31st prime minister. Albanese will not be the only Labor leader to take the oath of allegiance on that day; four other party members will also be sworn in.
Each of the four MPs was indeed a member of the Albanese-led 'Shadow Ministry' to outgoing Prime Minister Scott Morrison's cabinet. Here's a quick rundown of the quartet and the ministries they'll likely be in charge of.
1.) Richard Marles: The 54-year-old Corio Member of Parliament is expected to be Australia's next defense minister and lead the nation while Albanese is in Japan for the Quad conference. Marles served in the Shadow Ministry as Deputy Leader of the Opposition, Deputy Leader of Labor, then Minister of National Reconstruction and Science.
(2) Penny Wong: Wong, who is expected to be designated the new foreign minister, will accompany the new Prime Minister on his visit to Tokyo, which will begin on Monday. Wong was born in Malaysia in 1968 to an Australian mother and a Malaysian father who introduced Labor leader Bill Shorten in his victory address at the party's Sydney headquarters. She has been a Senator for South Australia since 2002, serving as the Senate Leader of the Opposition and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs.
(3.) Katy Gallagher: The Senator from the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) is widely expected to become the next Finance Minister. Gallagher, the ACT's sixth chief minister, also served as the Shadow Minister for Finance and Public Administration from 2011 until 2014. She was also a British citizen in the past.
(4.) Jim Chalmers: At 44 years old, Chalmers is the youngest of the five candidates for Treasurer. He is a Rankin MP who also served as Treasurer in the Shadow Ministry.