Bill Shorten is the present leader of the Australian opposition party – the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He assumed leadership of the party since 2013 and still functions in that capacity. Before his stint in the parliament, Bill served as the National Secretary of the Australian Workers’ Union from 2001 to 2007. The popular politician also came in as the State President of the Victorian Labor Party. His foremost election to the House of Representatives was realized in 2007 when he came for the Division of Maribyrnong in Victoria, shortly after that, he got appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary.
Sequel to the federal elections of 2010, he ascended to the Cabinet where he took up the position of an Assistant Treasurer, Much later, he served as the Minister for Financial Services and Superannuation. Bill Shorten was also in the Gillard Government where he came in as Minister for Workplace Relations. 2013 saw him serving as the Minister for Education before the Rudd Government was brought down later in the year.
The defeat did not dampen his spirit in any way, he still contested against Anthony Albanese in the following leadership election which was the first to allow Members of Parliament, as well as party members, to vote. On the 13th of October, he emerged the winner and went ahead to lead the Labor Party to acquire a total of 14 seats at the federal elections of 2016.
Bill Shorten’s Biography
Bill was born on the 12th of May 1967 in Melbourne Australia. His dad William Robert Shorten – a British national, earned a living as a waterside worker, as well as a union official. Ann Rosemary Shorten – his mum, worked as an attorney and university academic of Irish origin. Although he was born in Australia, he acquired British citizenship by descent since both his parents were born in Britain. Bill grew up alongside a twin brother named Richard.
His early education was achieved at St Mary’s Catholic Primary School located in Malvern East, he proceeded to Xavier College and subsequently Monash University, graduating in 1989 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. He later bagged a Bachelor of Law a few years later in 1992. Bill was at the Melbourne Business School of the University of Melbourne where he earned a Master of Business Administration in 2001. He held the rank of a private with the Australian Army Reserve, a position which lasted from 1985 to 1986.
Who Is His Wife?
Bill Shorten’s marital life can be summed up in a couple of marriages, his first marriage was in March 2000 when he tied the nuptials with Debbie Beale, Debbie’s dad is a known businessman and former Liberal MP Julian Beale. The couple’s marriage lasted for almost eight years but hit the rocks in 2008.
Barely one year after the demise of his first marriage, Bill Shorten went into a second one with Chloe Bryce in 2009. Chloe’s mum Quentin Bryce made the records as the first female governor-general of Australia. Their marriage has endured for almost a decade and still counting. The Shorten family resides in Moonee Ponds Victoria along with their daughter, Clementine. Chloe’s other children Rupert and Georgette from her previous marriage to Roger Parkin also live with the family.
There was an unspecified smear campaign about Bill’s marriage to Chloe which made him issue a public appeal, requesting the cessation of such campaign. According to the politician’s submissions as quoted by The Australian “personal lives and families should be off limits”
Net Worth
There are many variations of net worth for the Labor Party leader. a lot of sources suggest that his current net worth is under review but you would still find a couple of speculations that it is within the league of $2.4 million and as high as $61 million. Whichever may be the case, Bill Shorten currently has a membership of Richest Celebrities and Politicians.
Other Interesting Facts About Bill Shorten
The comprehensive body measurements of Bill Shorten has never been published by any reliable source, but we have it from the available records that he stands at a height of 5 feet 10 inches which is approximately 1.8 m or 70 inches.
- His Religious Inclinations
Bill is a practicing Christian who was born and brought up a Catholic, but before the commencement of his second marriage, he converted to Anglicanism. His reason was not just because it is his wife’s church, Bill has had a number of disagreements on a lot of issues with the Catholic church.
The 2017 dual citizenship scandal made Bill Shorten to renounce his British citizenship in order to be able to run for parliament. Prior to that, he held dual citizenship of both Australia (by birth) and Britain (by descent).
Also Read: Top 10 Richest People in the world with full biography and details.
