Ruth Stephanie Webber is an Australian politician. She was a Labor

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 Senate

Australian Senate

The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation. Senators are elected for a term that is usually six years; after a double dissolution, however,...

 from 2002 to 2008, representing the state of Western Australia

Western Australia

Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...

.

Webber was born in Melbourne

Melbourne

Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...

. Before becoming a Member of Parliament, Webber was actively involved in politics. She has been a member of the Labor Party since 1984 and held numerous positions within the party before her election to the Senate in 2001. Her term in the Senate began on 1 July 2002.

In October 2006, she lost a preselection contest to then-state MP Louise Pratt

Louise Pratt

Louise Clare Pratt is an Australian politician. She has been a Labor member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of Western Australia. She had been assured of election at the 2007 federal election after winning the first position on the Labor ticket, defeating incumbent...

 and was relegated to the only marginally winnable third position on the Labor Senate ticket for the 2007 federal election.http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20522850-1702,00.html She was then defeated by Australian Greens

Australian Greens

The Australian Greens, commonly known as The Greens, is an Australian green political party.The party was formed in 1992; however, its origins can be traced to the early environmental movement in Australia and the formation of the United Tasmania Group , the first Green party in the world, which...

 candidate Scott Ludlam

Scott Ludlam

Scott Ludlam is an Australian politician and Greens member of the Australian Senate since July 2008, representing the state of Western Australia....

 at the election. She was the sole incumbent Labor Senator at the 2007 federal election to lose her seat.