Melissa Parke | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of the Australian Parliament for Fremantle | |
| In office 24 November 2007 – 9 May 2016 | |
| Preceded by | Carmen Lawrence |
| Succeeded by | Josh Wilson |
| Minister for International Development | |
| In office 1 July 2013 – 18 September 2013 | |
| Prime Minister | Kevin Rudd |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | Steven Ciobo (2015) |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 11 August 1966 Donnybrook, Western Australia |
| Political party | Labor |
| Alma mater | Curtin University Murdoch University University of New South Wales |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Website | www.melissaparke.com.au |
Melissa Parke (born 11 August 1966) is a former Australian Labor Party politician and UN human rights lawyer, who served as Member for the federal electoral Division of Fremantle in the Australian House of Representatives from 2007 to 2016. In 2013 Parke was appointed by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd as Minister for International Development and served in that capacity until Labor lost government later that year.
Prior to entering politics, Parke worked as a lawyer for the United Nations. Between 1999 and 2007 she worked for the UN in Kosovo, Lebanon, Gaza, and New York. She also worked as a law lecturer at Murdoch University, the principal solicitor at the Bunbury Community Legal Centre, and in private legal practice in Sydney and Western Australia.
She retired from politics at the 2016 federal election.[1] In September 2017 Parke was appointed as an Ambassador for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).[2] In October 2017 ICAN was announced as the winner of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for its role in achieving the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.[3] She was appointed Executive Director of ICAN in 2023.[4]
In December 2017, and again in 2018, 2019 and 2020, Parke was appointed by the UN Human Rights Commissioner to the "Group of Eminent Experts on Yemen", to investigate human rights violations in Yemen.[5]
In April 2019, she was selected by the Australian Labor Party to contest the federal seat of Curtin, but stepped down from her candidacy following a media campaign against her because of her advocacy for Palestinian rights.[6]
- ^ "Fremantle MP Melissa Parke to quit federal politics". ABC News. 22 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
- ^ "ICAN Australia". Facebook. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "The Nobel Peace Prize 2017". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "Former MP Melissa Parke to lead anti-nuclear weapons campaign". ABC Radio National. 11 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
- ^ "OHCHR | Yemen: Zeid appoints group of eminent international and regional experts". www.ohchr.org. Retrieved 27 August 2020.
- ^ "Star Labor candidate Melissa Parke quits over Israel claims". The Australian. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2021.