| The Honourable Kristina Keneally MP |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office 4 December 2009 |
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| Governor | Marie Bashir |
| Deputy | Carmel Tebbutt |
| Preceded by | Nathan Rees |
| Constituency | Heffron |
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| Born | 19 December 1968 [1] Las Vegas, Nevada, USA[2] |
| Birth name | Kristina Marie Kerscher[3] |
| Nationality | American (until 2000) Australian (since 2000)[4] |
| Political party | Australian Labor Party |
| Spouse(s) | Ben Keneally |
| Relations | John Kerscher (father) Catherine Powell (mother) |
| Children | Daniel (born 1998) Brendan (born 2000) |
| Residence | Pagewood, New South Wales |
| Alma mater | University of Dayton |
| Profession | Politician |
| Cabinet | NSW Cabinet |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
| Website | Parliament website ALP website |
Kristina Kerscher Keneally (born 19 December 1968) is an Australian politician and the 42nd Premier of New South Wales.
In 2003 she was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly seat of Heffron, succeeding Deirdre Grusovin after a controversial preselection.[5] After being re-elected in 2007, she became the Minister for Ageing and Disability Services and was subsequently appointed Minister for Planning by incoming Premier Nathan Rees in September 2008. She held the position of the NSW Government's Spokesperson for World Youth Day 2008.[2] On 3 December 2009 the Australian Labor Party caucus elected Keneally to replace Nathan Rees as leader of the parliamentary party.[6][7] She was sworn in as Premier on 4 December.[8]
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Keneally was born Kristina Marie Kerscher in Las Vegas, Nevada to an American father and an Australian-born mother. She lived briefly in Colorado but grew up in Toledo, Ohio,[9] where she attended high school at Notre Dame Academy.[10] While at Notre Dame she was twice awarded most valuable player (1985, 1986) in the Academy's soccer team.[11]
Upon graduating from Notre Dame, she undertook studies at the University of Dayton, also in Ohio. While there she became involved in student politics,[12] and was involved in founding the National Association of Students at Catholic Colleges and Universities, serving as president of the group in 1990 and 1991.[13][14] She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1991[12][15][16], was a registered Democrat[17] and worked as an intern for the Lieutenant Governor of Ohio, Paul Leonard.[12] In 1995 she graduated with a Master of Arts in religious studies. She later studied at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. After graduating from the University of Dayton she worked for a year as a volunteer teacher in New Mexico.[15][16]
Keneally met her future husband, an Australian, Ben Keneally, at World Youth Day 1991 in Poland. She moved to Australia in 1994 to be with him, but they returned to the US so that Ben could take up a position with Boston Consulting. They married there in 1996.[18][19] They returned to Australia two years after their elder son was born.[18] She became a naturalised Australian in 2000, the same year she joined the Labor Party.
After arriving in Australia she worked for the New South Wales branch of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul as State Youth Coordinator before leaving full-time work to care for her children.[15] She also briefly attended the Australian Catholic University in Strathfield, New South Wales.[2][20][21]
Keneally was elected to the New South Wales Legislative Assembly in 2003, following a bitter pre-election battle with Deirdre Grusovin, the sister of senior Labor politician Laurie Brereton.[22] It was in fact her husband Ben who was more bent on a political career, relying on his friendship with Joe Tripodi. However, the party's affirmative action rules demanded a female candidate, so Kristina ran instead.[18] In her inaugural speech she talked about her commitment to social justice, equal opportunity for women and her Roman Catholic faith.[23]
As NSW Minister for Disability Services, Keneally undertook measures to rebuild outdated institutional residential facilities for people with disability, going back on promises made by her (non-immediate) predecessor Faye Lo Po'.[24]
As NSW Planning Minister from August 2008, Mrs Keneally's department oversaw the local traffic diversions, and strict environmental management during construction, around the desalination pipeline works between Erskineville and Kurnell, approved by the department under the desalination pipeline project approval, granted by Frank Sartor, in November 2007.[25]
In August 2009, Keneally was alleged to be one of the names being put forward in a challenge to wrest the leadership from NSW Premier Nathan Rees.[26] Keneally responded to the accusations by stating: "He (Nathan Rees) has my support (as Premier)" and it was reported that she insisted she would never be Premier of New South Wales, something that was continuously disputed in the media.[27]
In November 2009 Keneally again denied she wanted to be Premier, saying "I have always supported the Premier, Bob Carr, Morris Iemma and now Nathan Rees. Now is the time to put this ridiculous leadership speculation behind us."[28] Less than a month later Keneally challenged and defeated Rees to become the 42nd Premier of New South Wales and the first woman, and first former American, to hold the office.
On 3 December 2009, Keneally won a party room ballot against Premier Nathan Rees with a majority of 45-21, gaining the support of the dominant right faction of the Labor Party caucus. Prior to the vote, Nathan Rees declared "Should I not be Premier at the end of this day, let there be no doubt in the community's mind that any challenger would be a puppet of Eddie Obeid and Joe Tripodi",[29] a claim later rejected by Keneally, who stated "I am nobody's puppet, I am nobody's protege, I am nobody's girl."[30]
On 4 December, Keneally was sworn in as the 42nd (and first female) premier of New South Wales by the Governor of New South Wales, Marie Bashir.[31] She leads the first two-woman executive (Premier and Deputy Premier) in Australian history.
Keneally and her husband have two sons, Daniel and Brendan. A daughter, Caroline, died at birth.[32] Her husband is the nephew of Australian writer Thomas Keneally.[19]
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Nathan Rees |
Premier of New South Wales 2009–present |
Incumbent |
| Preceded by Frank Sartor |
Minister for Redfern Waterloo 2008–present |
Incumbent |
| Minister for Planning 2008–2009 |
Succeeded by Tony Kelly |
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| Preceded by Joe Tripodi |
Minister for Infrastructure 2009 |
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| Preceded by John Della Bosca |
Minister for Ageing Minister for Disability Services 2007–2008 |
Succeeded by Paul Lynch |
| Parliament of New South Wales | ||
| Preceded by Deirdre Grusovin |
Member for Heffron 2003–present |
Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Nathan Rees |
Leader of the Australian Labor Party in New South Wales 2009–present |
Incumbent |
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   | Young mum will fight dynasty all the way - Young mum will fight dynasty all the way - smh.com.au |
| | Inaugural Speech - Inaugural Speeches - 20/05/2003 - NSW Parliament |
| | Stem cell vote passes - Pell regrets stem cell bill - National - smh.com.au |
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