Bob Stensholt

Robert Einar Stensholt (born 11 July 1945) was an Australian politician in the Victorian Parliament.[1]

He was an Australian Labor Party (ALP) member of the Victorian Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2010, representing the electorate of Burwood. From 2007 he was the Chair, Public Accounts and Estimates Committee. From February 2003 to December 2006 he was Parliamentary Secretary, Treasury and Finance.[1]

Bob Stensholt's initial victory in the seat of Burwood came at an 11 December 1999 by-election following the resignation from parliament of the previous member for Burwood and former Premier of Victoria, Jeff Kennett.[2] He had been defeated by Kennett at the state election held two months earlier. However, at the by-election, the Liberals lost 15 percent of their primary vote, allowing Stensholt to take the seat on a swing of 10.4 percent.

Stensholt's by-election victory was unexpected and cemented the result of the 1999 state election which for a period had been up for grabs following an election in which three independents ended up with the balance of power, eventually throwing their support behind the Labor Party. The Liberals, in the person of Kennett, had held the seat since it was recreated in 1976, most recently by a margin of 10% at the state election less than two months previously.[3]

Early in his career Stensholt had studied to be a Catholic priest, a matter the Liberal Party attempted to make some mileage out of during Stensholt's by-election campaign.[4]

Since discontinuing his religious studies Stensholt primarily worked in various roles with the Australian Public Service in Canberra, most notably as Assistant Director-General of Australia's overseas aid program, AusAID. Prior to being elected Stensholt was working as a senior research fellow at Monash University and as an international development consultant.[1]

Stensholt was re-elected for a third term at the 2006 Victorian State Election with a two-candidate preferred margin of 7.46%.[5]

He was defeated at the 2010 election when the ALP was voted out of office, with a 9.6% swing against him seeing the seat return to Liberal hands.[6]