Chris Evans (Australian politician)

Evans was born in Cuckfield, England. He was educated at the University of Western Australia, where he graduated in Arts and was President of the University Labor Club. He was an industrial officer with the Federated Miscellaneous Workers' Union during 1982–87 and State Secretary of the Fire Brigade Union of Western Australia during 1987–90. He was Western Australian State Secretary of the Labor Party during 1991–93.[1]

Evans was elected to the Senate at the 1993 federal election and was re-elected in the 1998, 2004 and 2010 elections.

Evans was a member of the Opposition Shadow Ministry from October 1998 until December 2007 when Labor won the election. During the period from 1998 until 2007, he held various Shadow Ministries including Shadow Minister for Family Services and the Aged (October 1998 to December 2001); Defence (November 2001 to August 2004); Reconciliation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs (December 2002 to February 2003); Defence Procurement, Science and Personnel (August 2004 to October 2004); Social Security (October 2004 to June 2005); Indigenous Affairs (June 2005 to December 2006); Family and Community Services (June 2005 to December 2006) and National Development, Resources and Energy (December 2006 to December 2007).[2]

Evans was appointed Leader of the Opposition in the Senate in October 2004 and Leader of the Government in the Senate after the 2007 election. Evans was appointed Minister for Immigration and Citizenship in the First Rudd Ministry and retained this portfolio in the First Gillard Ministry.

On 14 September 2010, following the 2010 election, Evans was sworn in as Minister for Tertiary Education, Skills, Jobs and Workplace Relations in the Second Gillard Ministry. He was elected as the Leader of the Government in the Senate in December 2007.

Evans was the Acting Prime Minister for around 30 hours in June 2008, the first Labor senator to have been acting PM for nearly 100 years.[3]

Following the January 2013 announcement that the 2013 federal election will be contested in September 2013, Evans, together with Nicola Roxon, resigned from the Ministry, from Cabinet, and as Leader of the Government in the Senate, effective on 2 February 2013.[4]

Evans stated his intention to stay on in the Senate until such time as a replacement was found.[5][6] He resigned from the Senate on 12 April 2013.[7] In 2014 former Foreign Minister Bob Carr revealed in his book Diary of a Foreign Minister that he had whilst Foreign Minister vetoed a decision by Prime Minister Gillard to appoint a former Cabinet colleague as Australian Ambassador to Turkey. Carr did not name the former Cabinet colleague but ALP sources eventually confirmed it to be Evans. When contacted by the Sydney Sunday Telegraph, Evans confirmed that he had conversations with Gillard about the Turkey diplomatic post but "nothing that went anywhere".

When asked about being posted to Turkey, Evans jokingly said, "I am more of a chicken man".[8]

Evans is married with two sons. He supports Fremantle Football Club in the AFL.[9]

• First Rudd Ministry
• First Gillard Ministry
• Second Gillard Ministry