Natasha Stott Despoja

Natasha Stott Despoja AO
Stott Despoja in 2012
Australia Ambassador for Women and Girls
In office 16 December 2013 – 21 November 2016
Preceded by	Penny Williams
Succeeded by	Sharman Stone
7th Leader of the Australian Democrats
In office 6 April 2001 – 21 August 2002
Deputy	Aden Ridgeway
Preceded by	Meg Lees
Succeeded by	Brian Greig
6th Deputy Leader of the Australian Democrats
In office 15 October 1997 – 6 April 2001
Leader	Meg Lees
Preceded by	Meg Lees
Succeeded by	Aden Ridgeway
Senator for South Australia
In office 29 November 1995 – 30 June 2008
Preceded by	John Coulter
Personal details
Born	Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja (1969-09-09) 9 September 1969 (age 55) Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
Political party	Australian Democrats
Spouse	Ian Smith ​ (m. 2001)​
Parents	Mario Despoja (father) Shirley Stott (mother)
Residence(s)	Henley Beach, Adelaide, South Australia[1]
Education	Pembroke School
Alma mater	University of Adelaide
Occupation	Policy advisor Union organiser Politician

Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja AO (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian diplomat and former politician. Starting her career in student politics, she became an advisor to the Australian Democrats and was appointed to the Australian Senate in 1995 at the age of 26. At the time, she was the youngest woman to serve in federal Parliament. She went on to become deputy leader of the Democrats in 1997 and then federal leader from 2001 to 2002. She retired from the Senate in 2008 as the longest-serving senator from her party.

She has remained active in the public sphere, working with government and non-profit organisations. She was appointed Officer of the Order of Australia in 2019 for her work on gender equality. Stott Despoja was the founding chair of Our Watch, a national foundation to prevent violence against women and children, and served as national Ambassador for Women and Girls from 2013 to 2016. She was also a member of the World Bank Gender Advisory Council from 2015 to 2017. She has served in positions at the United Nations, including on the High Level Working Group on the Health and Human Rights of Women, Children, and Adolescents in 2017, and as a member of the Committee on Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) since 2020. She has published several books and writes regularly on current topics.