Alan Peter Griffin an Australian politician, has been an Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 member of the Australian House of Representatives

Australian House of Representatives

The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house; the upper house is the Senate. Members of Parliament serve for terms of approximately three years....

 since March 1993, representing the Division of Corinella

Division of Corinella (1990-96)

The Division of Corinella was an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1990 and abolished in 1996. It was named for the town of Corinella. It was located in the outer south-eastern suburbs of Melbourne and parts of western Gippsland. It included the suburbs of...

, Victoria 1993–96 and the Division of Bruce

Division of Bruce

The Division of Bruce is an Australian Electoral Division in Victoria. The division was created in 1955 and is named for Stanley Bruce, who was Prime Minister of Australia from 1923 to 1929. It is located in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne...

, Victoria, since March 1996. He was born in Melbourne, Victoria, and was educated at the Australian National University

Australian National University

The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

. He was a public servant, union organiser and electorate secretary before entering politics.

Griffin was ministerial adviser to the Victorian Minister for Community Services, Kay Setches, 1990–91 and to Simon Crean

Simon Crean

Simon Findlay Crean is an Australian politician, and the current Minister for the Arts and Minister for Regional Australia, Regional Development and Local Government in the Australian Federal Government. He was leader of the Australian Labor Party and Leader of the Opposition at the Federal level,...

, then a federal minister, 1991–93. He was a member of Springvale City Council 1991–93.

Griffin was elected to the Opposition Shadow Ministry in October 1998. He was Shadow Minister for Consumer Affairs and Shadow Minister Assisting the Shadow Minister for Health from 2003 to 2005. In June 2005 he was appointed Shadow Minister for Veterans' Affairs and Shadow Special Minister of State. On 29 November 2007 Kevin Rudd

Kevin Rudd

Kevin Michael Rudd is an Australian politician who was the 26th Prime Minister of Australia from 2007 to 2010. He has been Minister for Foreign Affairs since 2010...

 appointed him Minister for Veterans' Affairs

Minister for Veterans' Affairs (Australia)

The Australian Minister for Veterans' Affairs oversees income support, compensation, care and commemoration programs for more than 400,000 veterans and their widows, widowers and dependants....

 in the new ministry

First Rudd Ministry

The Rudd Ministry was the 65th Australian Commonwealth ministry. It was led by Kevin Rudd of the Australian Labor Party.The Ministry was sworn in by the 24th Governor-General of Australia Major-General Michael Jeffery on 3 December 2007, following the 2007 election, and it ended on 24 June 2010...

. On 1 April 2010, he gained the portfolio of Minister for Defence Personnel. He retained these portfolios in the First Gillard Ministry, but chose not to continue in the Second Gillard Ministry

Second Gillard Ministry

The Second Gillard Ministry is the 67th Australian ministry. It is led by Julia Gillard of the Australian Labor Party. On 11 September 2010 she announced the makeup of her ministry, following the 2010 Federal election...

, which was sworn in on 14 September 2010.

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