Mike Kelly

Colonel Michael Joseph Kelly, (born 23 February 1960) is an Australian former politician who twice represented the Division of Eden-Monaro in the Parliament of Australia, from 2007 to 2013 and again from 2016 to 2020. He is a member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP). Kelly was born in Adelaide and studied law at Macquarie University before joining the Australian Army in 1987. He went on to serve in Somalia, East Timor, Bosnia and Iraq. He was among senior Australian military personnel in the Iraq War. Kelly finished his military career in 2007 with the rank of colonel as Director of Army Legal Services. Kelly was first elected to the House of Representatives for the Division of Eden-Monaro at the 2007 federal election and was immediately appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Defence Support. In 2009, he was also appointed Parliamentary Secretary for Water. Following the 2010 federal election, Kelly was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. In December 2011, he was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for Defence in a reshuffle of the Government. In a third reshuffle in early 2013, Kelly was promoted to the outer ministry as Minister for Defence Materiel, a position he held from March to September that year. Following the 2013 federal election, Kelly lost his seat to Liberal candidate Peter Hendy but regained the seat in the 2016 federal election. He is the first person to serve in opposition as the member for the Division of Eden-Monaro since 1972. He was the shadow Assistant Minister for Defence Industry and Support.