Morris Iemma facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Morris Iemma
MLA
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Iemma in 2007
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| 40th Premier of New South Wales | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 3 August 2005 – 5 September 2008 |
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| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Governor | Marie Bashir | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | John Watkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Bob Carr | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Nathan Rees | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Constituency | Lakemba | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 21 July 1961 Sydney, New South Wales, Australia |
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| Political party | Labor Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse |
Santina Raiti
(m. 1997) |
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| Children | 4, including Clara Iemma | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Narwee Boys' High School University of Sydney University of Technology, Sydney |
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| Profession | Union official and adviser | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Morris Iemma (born July 21, 1961) is an Australian former politician. He was the 40th Premier of New South Wales, which is like the leader of the state government, from August 3, 2005, to September 5, 2008.
Morris Iemma grew up in Sydney and studied at the University of Sydney and the University of Technology, Sydney. He was a member of the Labor Party. He was first elected to the Parliament of New South Wales in 1991. Before becoming a politician, he worked as a trade union official.
From 1999, Iemma served as a minister in the government led by Bob Carr. He became Premier and leader of the New South Wales Labor Party in 2005 after Bob Carr resigned. Iemma led the Labor Party to win the 2007 state election. He resigned as Premier in 2008 due to disagreements within his party. He left parliament soon after, and Nathan Rees became the new Premier.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Morris Iemma was born in Sydney, Australia. He was the only child of Giuseppe and Maria Iemma. His parents were migrants from Martone, a town in Calabria, Italy. Maria Iemma worked in the clothing industry. Giuseppe Iemma worked as a machine labourer.
Morris joined the Labor Party when he was 16 years old. He went to public schools in Sydney, including Narwee Boys' High School. He earned an economics degree from the University of Sydney. He also has a law degree from the University of Technology, Sydney.
Family Life
In 1997, Morris Iemma married Santina Raiti. They have four children together. Their oldest child, Clara, is a cricketer.
Iemma is a big fan of the St. George Illawarra Dragons rugby league team. He also supports the Sydney Swans Australian Rules Football team.
Political Journey
Morris Iemma was part of the right-wing group within the New South Wales Labor Party. From 1984 to 1986, he worked for the Commonwealth Bank Employees Union. After that, he became an adviser to Senator Graham Richardson. Senator Richardson was a minister in the federal governments led by Bob Hawke and Paul Keating.
Member of Parliament
Iemma first ran for parliament in 1991 for the seat of Hurstville. He won the election and became a member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. His campaign slogan was "A local who listens."
He was re-elected in 1995. He then became a Parliamentary Secretary in the government led by Bob Carr. He helped the Attorney General and later assisted Premier Bob Carr. In 1999, the Hurstville seat was removed. Iemma then won the election for the seat of Lakemba. He held this seat until he resigned from parliament in 2008.
Serving as a Minister
After the 1999 election, Iemma became the Minister for Public Works and Services. He also became the Minister Assisting the Premier on Citizenship. In 2001, he also took on the role of Minister for Sport and Recreation. He held these three roles until the 2003 election.
In 2003, he was appointed Minister for Health. This is a very important and challenging job in government.
Becoming Premier
When Bob Carr announced he would retire as Premier on August 3, 2005, Morris Iemma quickly announced he wanted to be the next leader. He was the only candidate when the Labor Party members met. He was officially appointed Premier by Professor Marie Bashir, the Governor of New South Wales, on August 3.
As Premier, Iemma faced some challenges. Several senior ministers resigned. Iemma decided to take on the role of Treasurer himself for a short time. One of his first decisions was to remove a tax on investment properties that the previous government had introduced.
Opinion polls showed that the Labor Party, under Iemma's leadership, remained popular. This was helped when the leader of the opposition party resigned. Labor won three by-elections in September 2005, keeping all the seats.
Despite being in office for a relatively short time, Iemma's government faced issues with public transport, healthcare, and water supply. However, he remained popular in polls. He was re-elected in the March 2007 state election. Labor won 52 seats compared to 35 for the opposition.
Key Decisions as Premier
On July 15, 2007, after some problems with the state's train system, Iemma stated that the government was having difficulties with rail unions. In November 2007, his government allowed the production of genetically modified canola. They also began the process of selling off parts of the state's electricity system. However, in May 2008, the Labor Party's State Conference voted against the plan to sell off the electricity system.
Life After Politics
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On September 5, 2008, Morris Iemma announced he was resigning as Premier. This happened after he lost support from his party group over changes he wanted to make to his team of ministers. He wanted five ministers to leave, but his party group only agreed to one. Because of this disagreement, Iemma resigned. Nathan Rees was then chosen as the new Premier.
Iemma left parliament on September 19, 2008, ending his 17-year career in politics. This led to a special election for his seat of Lakemba, which was won by Robert Furolo.
In May 2009, Iemma was hospitalized with a serious brain inflammation called viral meningitis. This caused him to lose movement in his legs. He worked hard with physiotherapy to regain full use of his legs. Since 2011, Iemma has served as the head of the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District Board. He also serves on the boards of the Cancer Institute NSW and the Sydney Cricket & Sports Ground Trust.
In 2013, there was talk that Iemma might run for a seat in the Australian federal parliament. However, he decided not to. In 2015, he again considered running for a federal seat, but it was eventually won by his former colleague Linda Burney.
Morris Iemma was called to answer questions before the NSW Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) in 2012 and 2014. This was related to questions about certain matters involving other politicians.
Honours and Recognition
The Morris Iemma Indoor Sports Centre is named in honour of Morris Iemma. It is a modern sports facility in Sydney. It offers various indoor sports like netball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball. It also has a gym, changing rooms, a cafeteria, and childcare services. The centre opened in March 2011.
See also
In Spanish: Morris Iemma para niños
