Andrew Baijan Rohan (; born 30 June 1948 in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

) is an Australian politician of Assyrian descent who currently serves on

Fairfield City Council The Fairfield City Council is a local government area in the west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smithfield and Fairfield" on 8 December 1888, and the coun ...

. He was previously a member of the

New South Wales Legislative Assembly The New South Wales Legislative Assembly is the lower of the two houses of the Parliament of New South Wales, an Australian state. The upper house is the New South Wales Legislative Council. Both the Assembly and Council sit at Parliament House ...

, representing Smithfield for the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

from 2011 to 2015.

Early years and background

Born in Iraq, Rohan completed studies in petroleum geology at the

University of Baghdad The University of Baghdad (UOB) (, also known as Baghdad University) is a public university, public research university in Baghdad, Iraq. It is the largest university in Iraq and the tenth largest in the Arab world. History The College of Isl ...

, graduating with a Bachelor of Science (Geology) in 1970 and a Master of Science (Petroleum Geology) in 1975. Migrating to Australia in 1979, he initially worked as a petroleum geologist for Robertson Research before establishing his own printing business in 1995. Elected as a

Councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

in 2008, Rohan was President of the Smithfield branch, and Smithfield SEC of the Liberal Party between 2003 and 2011.

Political career

At the 2011 state election Rohan was elected to the normally safe

Labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

seat with a swing of 18.8 points and won the seat with 54.8 per cent of the

two-party A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referre ...

vote. His main opponent was the then incumbent sitting member, Ninos Khoshaba, representing Labor. Since the seat was first created in 1988, Rohan's win was the first time the seats has been held by the Liberals. Smithfield was abolished in 2015, mostly replaced by

Prospect Prospect may refer to: General * Prospect (marketing), a marketing term describing a potential customer * Prospect (sports), any player whose rights are owned by a professional team, but who has yet to play a game for the team * Prospect (minin ...

. Rohan attempted to transfer there, but was defeated. In August 2016, Rohan was suspended from the Liberal Party after announcing his run for

as an Independent against the endorsed Liberal candidates. Rohan was elected to the

City of Fairfield The Fairfield City Council is a Local government in Australia, local government area in the Greater Western Sydney, west of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The council was first incorporated as the "Municipal District of Smit ...

as a councillor in 2021 as a member of the Australian Women's Party.

References

External links

Campaign profileMr Andrew Baijan ROHAN, BSc(Geology), MSc(Petroleum Geology) MP
–

Parliament of New South Wales The Parliament of New South Wales, formally the Legislature of New South Wales, (definition of "The Legislature") is the bicameral legislative body of the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW). It consists of the Monarch, the New South Wa ...

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1948 births Australian people of Iraqi-Assyrian descent Australian politicians of Assyrian descent Liberal Party of Australia members of the Parliament of New South Wales Living people Members of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly People of Iraqi-Assyrian descent University of Baghdad alumni 21st-century Australian politicians {{Australia-Liberal-politician-stub