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Who is Scott Morrison?
Scott Morrison is an Australian politician, currently serving as the Prime Minister of the country. Born into a devout Christian family and brought up by a police officer cum politician father, he began dabbling in politics from the age of nine, distributing “how-to-vote” cards in support of his father. After graduating from University of New South Wales, he took up number of jobs, finally entering the Federal Parliament in 2007 on a Liberal Party ticket. Soon he occupied the post of shadow minister for housing and local government. Later, he became the shadow minister for immigration and citizenship, in which capacity he supported his party’s ‘Stop the Boats’ campaign. When Liberal coalition formed the government, he became the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection, later the Minister of Social Service and finally the Treasurer. In 2018, he became the Prime Minister, a position he continues to hold after winning the 2019 election.
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Childhood & Early Years
Scott John Morrison was born on 13 May 1968 in Waverley, Sydney, New South Wales. His father, John Morrison, initially a police commissioner, later became an independent politician, who served on the Waverley Municipal Council for sixteen years. For a brief period, he was also the Mayor of the town.
His mother, Marion née Smith, served in the administrative position. He was born second of his parents’ two children, having an elder brother named Alan. Raised in Bronte, he led a happy middleclass life surrounded by loved ones. During his childhood, he performed regularly in his parents’ amateur theatre group.
As he grew up, he also performed in television, gave voiceover for songs and participated in commercials, including one for Vicks Vaporub. He also played rugby and rowed. At the age of nine, he apprenticed in politics, distributing “how-to-vote” cards in support of his father.
From 1980 to 1985, he studied at the prestigious Sydney High School. Thereafter, he entered University of New South Wales, eventually earning his Bachelor of Science degree with honors in applied economic geography.
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Early Career
In 1989, Scott Morrison began his career as National Policy and Research Manager for Property Council of Australia, holding the chair till 1995. From 1995 to 1996, he served as the Deputy Chief Executive of Australian Tourism Task Force and from 1996 to 1998 as General Manager of Tourism Council.
In 1998, he moved to New Zealand, where he served as the Director of NZ Office of Tourism and Sport till 2000. Subsequently, he returned to Australia to become the State Director of the New South Wales Liberal Party, a position he held till 2004.
From 2004 to 2006, he served as the Managing Director of Tourism Australia, a position he had to quit due to conflict with tourism minister Fran Bailey. Thereafter, he sought Liberal pre-selection for the Division of Cook for the 2007 election, eventually winning the ballot as a unity candidate.
National Politics
On 24 November, 2007, Scott Morrison entered the Federal Parliament on a Liberal Party ticket. In his maiden speech, he projected himself as a moderate, which led to his appointment as a shadow minister for housing and local government in Malcolm Turnbull’s coalition in September 2008.
In 2009, when the party leadership was taken over by rightist Tony Abbott, Morrison too underwent an ideological change, leading to his appointment as shadow minister for immigration and citizenship in December 2009. Later, he also served on the Shadow Cabinet Committee on Border Protection.
As shadow minister, he supported Abbott’s ‘Stop the Boats’ campaign, which aimed at stopping asylum seekers to reach Australia by boats. In 2011, he was embroiled in further controversies when he criticized the government for paying the travel expenses of the relatives of the 2010 Christmas Island boat disaster victims.
In the Government
On 7 September, 2013, the Liberal/National coalition won the federal election, eventually forming the government. On 18 September 2013, Morrison was appointed the Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. He launched ‘Operation Sovereign Borders’, which aimed at stopping unauthorized boats from entering Australian water, on the same day.
In early December 2014, he had the ‘Migration and Maritime Powers Legislation Amendment (Resolving the Asylum Legacy Caseload) Bill 2014’ successfully passed. It gave him more power to deal with asylum seekers, including the power to return them to their country of origin or to detain them without charge.
In cabinet reshuffle on 23 December 2014, Morrison was appointed Minister for Social Services, holding the post till 21 September 2015. Thereafter, he was appointed the Treasurer in the Turnbull Government, an office he held until 24 August 2018.
Prime Minister
On 24 August 2018, Scott Morrison won the second Liberal Party of Australia leadership spill. Later on the same day, he was sworn in as the 30th Prime Minister of Australia. Shortly, he undertook an official visit to Indonesia, where he attended Australia-Indonesia business forum.
On 1 December 2018, he attended the G20 summit at Buenos Aires. Later in the same month, his government recognized West Jerusalem as the capital of Israel; but did not immediately shift the embassy from Tel Aviv.
On 11th April 2019, the 45th Parliament was dissolved. In the subsequent election held on 18 May 2019, Liberal/National Coalition unexpectedly came out winner and Morrison was once again sworn in as the Prime Minister of Australia.
Family & Personal Life
On 14 January 1990, Scott Morrison married Jenny Warren, a registered nurse whom he had been dating since the age of sixteen. The couple has two daughters, Abigail Rose or Abbey (born 2007) and Lily (born 2009).
