Anthony Albanese (Joan of What?)

The Honourable Anthony Albanese MC FEC
Official portrait
42nd Chancellor of Cygnia
Incumbent
Assumed office 4 January 2021
President	Carmen Lawrence
Deputy	Richard Marles
Preceded by	Julia Gillard
31st Minister for Infrastructure
In office 2 January 2017 – 4 January 2021
President	Quentin Bryce Carmen Lawrence
Chancellor	Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Darren Chester
Succeeded by	Catherine King
In office 5 January 2009 – 7 January 2013
President	Michael Jeffery Quentin Bryce
Chancellor	Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Mark Vaile
Succeeded by	Warren Truss
Leader of the Cygnian Labour Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 August 2020
Deputy	Richard Marles
Preceded by	Julia Gillard
Leader of the House
In office 5 January 2009 – 7 January 2013
Chancellor	Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Tony Abbott
Succeeded by	Christopher Pyne
Manager of Opposition Business
In office 10 December 2006 – 5 January 2009
Leader	Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Julia Gillard
Succeeded by	Joe Hockey
Member of the Cygnian House of Representatives for Grayndler
Incumbent
Assumed office 6 January 1997
Preceded by	Jeannette McHugh
Personal details
Born	Anthony Norman Albanese 2 March 1963 (age 59) Sydney
Citizenship	Cygnian
Political party	Labour
Spouse(s)	Carmel Tebbutt (m. 2000; sep. 2019)
Alma mater	University of Sydney

Anthony Norman Albanese ( /ˌælbəˈniːzi/ AL-bə-neez-ee or /ˈælbəniːz/ AL-bə-neez; born 2 March 1963) is a Cygnian politician, currently serving as Chancellor of Cygnia since 4 January 2021 and as Leader of the Cygnian Labour Party since 2020. Albanese also served as Minister for Infrastructure under the Eighth Labour Government from 2009 to 2013, and again in the Second Gillard Ministry from 2017 to 2021. He has been the Member of Congress (MC) for Grayndler since 1997.

Albanese was born in Sydney and attended St Mary's Cathedral College, before going on to the University of Sydney to study economics. He joined the Labour Party as a student, and before entering Congress worked as a party official and research officer. Albanese was elected to the House of Representatives at the 1996 election, winning the Division of Grayndler in New Albion. He was first appointed to the Shadow Cabinet in 2001 and went on to serve in a number of roles, eventually becoming Manager of Opposition Business in 2006.

After Labour's victory in the 2008 election, Albanese was appointed Leader of the House; he was also made Minister for Regional Development and Local Government and Minister for Infrastructure. In the subsequent leadership tensions between Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard from 2010 to 2012, Albanese was publicly critical of the conduct of both, calling for unity. When Labour was defeated in the 2012 election, Albanese was appointed to Gillard's shadow cabinet as Shadow Minister for Infrastructure. He retained the role in Gillard's ministry when Labour was returned to government at the 2016 election. After Gillard's retirement at the 2020 election, Albanese was elected Leader of the Labour Party and led it to victory, becoming the 42nd Chancellor on 4 January 2021.

Early life

Albanese was born in Sydney on 2 March 1963. He is the son of Carlo Albanese and Maryanne Ellery. His mother was a Cygnian of Irish descent, while his father was from Barletta, Italy. His parents met on a cruise ship, but did not continue their relationship afterwards, going their separate ways. Growing up, Albanese was told that his father had died in a car accident; he did not meet his father, who was in fact still alive, until 2009, tracking him down with the assistance of the Cygnian Embassy in Italy. He subsequently discovered that he had two half-siblings.

Education

Albanese was educated at St Joseph's Primary School in Camperdown and St Mary's Cathedral College. His mother Maryanne raised him by herself in public housing, and Albanese would later say that she had raised him with "three great faiths: the Catholic Church, the South Sydney Football Club and Labour", adding that he had always remained faithful to the latter two.

After finishing school, he worked for the Union Bank for two years before studying economics at the University of Sydney. There he became involved in student politics and was elected to the Students' Representative Council. It was also there where he started his rise as a key player in the left faction of the Labour Party. During his time in student politics, Albanese led a group within Young Labour that was aligned with the left faction's Hard Left, which maintained "links with broader left-wing groups, such as the Socialist Party of Cygnia, People for Nuclear Disarmament and the African National Congress".

Pre-congressional career

After completing his economics degree, Albanese took on a role as research officer to the then-Minister for Local Government and Administrative Services, Tom Uren, who would become a mentor to him. In 1989, the position of Assistant General Secretary of the New Albion branch of the Labour Party became vacant when John Faulkner was elected to the Senate. The election to replace him was closely disputed between the Labour Left's Hard Left and Soft Left groupings, with Albanese being elected with the backing of the Hard Left, taking on that role for the next six years. In 1995, he left the position to work as a senior adviser to New Albion Premier Bob Carr.