Kim Carr


Kim John Carr is an Australian politician who has been a Senator for Victoria since 1993, representing the Labor Party. He served as a minister in the Rudd and Gillard Governments.
Carr is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, and before entering politics worked as a schoolteacher and political staffer. He was appointed to the Senate in 1993, filling a casual vacancy, and was made a member of the shadow ministry after Labor's defeat at the 1996 election. Carr held a variety of portfolios in the Labor governments between 2007 and 2013. He was considered a leader of the Labor Left faction in Victoria until the Industrial Left formed in 2017 comprising nearly all of Carr's union allies.

Background and early career

Carr was born in Tumut, New South Wales and educated at the University of Melbourne where he obtained Bachelor of Arts with Honours and Master of Arts degrees in History and a Diploma of Education. He joined the Labor Party in 1975. He was a secondary school teacher for nine years before becoming a political staffer for Victorian government ministers Joan Kirner and Andrew McCutcheon.

Parliamentary career

Carr was elected to the Senate at the March 1993 election, and was due to take his seat on 1 July. When retiring Senator John Button resigned before the expiry of his term, however, Carr was appointed to the resulting casual vacancy on 28 April.
Carr became a Shadow Parliamentary Secretary in March 1996 in addition to being the Manager of Opposition Business in the Senate until his election to the Opposition Shadow Ministry in November 2001. He was Shadow Minister for Science and Research from then until October 2004. He was also Shadow Minister for Industry and Innovation from July 2003 to October 2004. He has been Shadow Minister for Public Administration and Open Government, Shadow Minister for Indigenous Affairs and Reconciliation and Shadow Minister for the Arts October 2004 to June 2005, when he was appointed Shadow Minister for Housing, Urban Development, Local Government and Territories. He is one of five voting Victorian members of the party's National Executive.
Carr was a leading figure in Labor's left faction in his prime. His influential position within the party has attracted substantial criticism from factional opponents, Carr was then described by colleagues as "ruthless", "calculating" and a "headkicker".
After the Labor's victory in the 2007 federal election, the new Prime Minister Kevin Rudd appointed Carr as Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, and he was sworn into office by Governor-General Michael Jeffery on 3 December.
Carr was re-elected in the 2010 election and retained his portfolio of Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research in the Second Gillard Ministry, which was sworn in on 14 September 2010. He was dropped from the cabinet on 12 December 2011, amid speculation that it was due to his links with former prime minister Kevin Rudd. He remained in the outer Ministry however, as Minister for Manufacturing and Minister for Defence Materiel.
In the Ministerial reshuffle of 2 March 2012, Carr was appointed as Minister for Human Services. Carr resigned his ministerial portfolio on 22 March 2013 after he supported an unsuccessful attempt to reinstall Kevin Rudd as Labor Leader.
Following a subsequent successful leadership spill in which Gillard was defeated, Rudd appointed Carr as the Minister for Innovation, Industry, Science and Research, and Minister for Higher Education and member of Cabinet in the Second Rudd Ministry.