Carolyn Anne Jakobsen (born 11 September 1947) is a former Australian politician. She served in the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

from 1984 to 1993, representing the

Division of Cowan The Division of Cowan () is an Divisions of the Australian House of Representatives, Australian Electoral Division in Western Australia. Cowan is an inner-northern Perth seat lying generally between Morley Drive and Hepburn Avenue, extending f ...

for the

Australian Labor Party The Australian Labor Party (ALP), also known as the Labor Party or simply Labor, is the major Centre-left politics, centre-left List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia and one of two Major party, major parties in Po ...

(ALP).

Early life

Jakobsen was born on 11 September 1947 in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand. She did not renounce her New Zealand citizenship until January 1990, following media attention given to the parliamentary eligibility requirements of section 44(i) of the constitution. Prior to entering parliament herself she worked as a political staffer. She was active in the

Australian Labor Party (Western Australian Branch) The Western Australian Labor Party, officially known as WA Labor, is the Western Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). It is the current governing party of Western Australia since winning the 2017 state election under Mark McG ...

and served as president of the ALP's

Manning Manning (a.k.a. Mannion, Manning) is a family name. Origin and meaning Manning is from an old Norse word — manningi — meaning a brave or valiant man; and one of the first forms of the name was Mannin; another cartography was Mannyg ...

branch.

Parliament

Jakobsen was elected to the newly created

at the 1984 federal election. She was re-elected at the

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

and 1990 elections before being defeated by the

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * Generally, a supporter of the political philosophy liberalism. Liberals may be politically left or right but tend to be centrist. * An adherent of a Liberal Party (See also Liberal parties by country ...

candidate Richard Evans at the 1993 election. In parliament, Jakobsen served on a number of standing and select committees. She was elected chair of the

Australian Labor Party Caucus The Australian Labor Party Caucus comprises all Australian Labor Party (ALP) senators and members of parliament of the current Commonwealth Parliament. The Caucus determines some matters of policy, parliamentary tactics, and disciplinary measu ...

in 1990, the first woman to hold the position. She also led parliamentary delegations to New Zealand in 1988 and to Scandinavia in 1990. Jakobsen was a member of the party's left faction. She opposed Australian involvement in the 1991 Gulf War, and was one of ten MPs censured by the ALP National Executive for walking out on a pro-war speech by Prime Minister

Bob Hawke Robert James Lee Hawke (9 December 1929 – 16 May 2019) was an Australian politician and trade unionist who served as the 23rd prime minister of Australia from 1983 to 1991. He held office as the Australian Labor Party, leader of the La ...

Later activities

Jakobsen has served on the

Murdoch University Murdoch University is a public university in Perth, Western Australia, with campuses also in Singapore and Dubai. It began operations as the state's second university on 25 July 1973, and accepted its first undergraduate students in 1975. Its ...

senate, the Swan River Trust, the Waste Management Board, and the board of Waste Smart WA.

References

Australian Labor Party members of the Parliament of Australia Labor Left politicians Members of the Australian House of Representatives for Cowan Members of the Australian House of Representatives 1947 births Living people Women members of the Australian House of Representatives New Zealand emigrants to Australia People who lost New Zealand citizenship 20th-century Australian women politicians Australian MPs 1984–1987 Australian MPs 1987–1990 Australian MPs 1990–1993 {{Australia-Labor-representative-stub