Christopher John Bourke is an Australian politician, a Labor member of the

Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory (known in short as the ACT Legislative Assembly) is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Sq ...

representing the electorate of Ginninderra from 2011 to 2016. He was the first Indigenous Australian elected to the ACT Legislative Assembly. He filled the casual vacancy created by the resignation of former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope. Bourke grew up in country

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. He graduated from Melbourne University in 1982, where he was the first Indigenous Australian to complete a dentistry degree. He undertook graduate studies at Adelaide University and

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's six ...

. Prior to being elected in 2011, Bourke worked as a dentist, performing locum dentistry work in remote areas of Australia after a period of private practice in Canberra. He is President of the Indigenous Dentists' Association of Australia.

Political career

Bourke was elected to the

following the resignation of former Chief Minister Jon Stanhope. His election was the result of a countback of ballots cast for Stanhope in the 2008 Australian Capital Territory election. Following his election, Mr Bourke was made Minister of Education, Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Industrial Relations, and Minister for Corrections until the 2012 election, when he was not reappointed as a minister. On 22 January 2016, Bourke was reappointed as a minister, and was made Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs, Minister for Children and Young People, Minister for Disability, Minister for Small Business and the Arts and Minister for Veterans and Seniors. Bourke was defeated at the

2016 election The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic *2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 10 A ...

in October.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bourke, Chris Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Australian Labor Party members of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Australian dentists University of Melbourne alumni Indigenous Australian politicians 21st-century Australian politicians