Karen Struthers is an Australian

Australia

Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 politician. She represents the electoral district of Algester

Electoral district of Algester

The division of Algester is an electoral division in the Queensland Legislative Assembly in the state of Queensland, Australia. This electorate was created at the 1999 redistribution from the former electorate of Archerfield, and was contested for the first time at the 2001 state election.It is...

 in the Queensland Legislative Assembly

Queensland Legislative Assembly

The Queensland Legislative Assembly is the unicameral chamber of the Parliament of Queensland. Elections are held approximately once every three years. Voting is by the Optional Preferential Voting form of the Alternative Vote system...

, having held the seat since its inception at the 2001 state election. She first entered parliament after the 1998 election, winning the seat of Archerfield

Electoral district of Archerfield

Archerfield was an electoral district of the Legislative Assembly in the Australian state of Queensland from 1972 to 2001.The district was based in the south-western suburbs of Brisbane and named for the suburb of Archerfield.-Members for Archerfield:...

 subsequent to the retirement of sitting member, Len Ardill

Len Ardill

Leonard Arthur Ardill was an Australian state politician, representing the Australian Labor Party.Following time as an Alderman in the Brisbane City Council, including serving as the Vice Mayor, Ardill was elected in 1986 to the Queensland Legislative Assembly as the member for Salisbury...

. In March, 2009 she was promoted to the state Cabinet, taking on the roles of Minister for Community Services and Housing and Minister for Women.