Penny Wong facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Senator The Honourable Penny Wong
Official portrait, 2021
Minister for Foreign Affairs
Incumbent
Assumed office 23 May 2022
Prime Minister	Anthony Albanese
Preceded by	Marise Payne
Leader of the Government in the Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 June 2022
Prime Minister	Anthony Albanese
Deputy	Don Farrell
Preceded by	Simon Birmingham
In office 27 June 2013 – 18 September 2013
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd
Deputy	Jacinta Collins
Preceded by	Stephen Conroy
Succeeded by	Eric Abetz
Leader of the Opposition in the Senate
In office 18 September 2013 – 23 May 2022
Deputy	Stephen Conroy Don Farrell Kristina Keneally
Leader	Bill Shorten Anthony Albanese
Preceded by	Eric Abetz
Succeeded by	Simon Birmingham
Minister for Finance and Deregulation
In office 14 September 2010 – 18 September 2013
Prime Minister	Julia Gillard Kevin Rudd
Preceded by	Lindsay Tanner
Succeeded by	Mathias Cormann
Minister for Climate Change
In office 3 December 2007 – 14 September 2010
Prime Minister	Kevin Rudd Julia Gillard
Preceded by	Office created
Succeeded by	Greg Combet
Senator for South Australia
Incumbent
Assumed office 1 July 2002
Preceded by	Chris Schacht
Personal details
Born	Penelope Ying-Yen Wong (1968-11-05) 5 November 1968 (age 56) Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Citizenship	Australia Malaysia (until 2001)
Political party	Labor
Spouse	Sophie Allouache ​ (m. 2024)​
Children	2
Education	University of Adelaide (BA, LLB) University of South Australia (LPC)
Signature
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	黃英賢
Simplified Chinese	黄英贤
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Huáng Yīngxián Hakka Pha̍k-fa-sṳ Vòng Yîn-hèn Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Wòhng Yīng-yìhn Jyutping Wong4 Jing1-jin4

Penelope Ying-Yen Wong (born 5 November 1968) is an Australian politician who is serving as the current minister for Foreign Affairs and leader of the Government in the Senate in the Albanese government since 2022. A member of the Australian Labor Party (ALP), she has been a senator for South Australia since 2002. Wong previously served as minister for Climate Change and minister for Finance and Deregulation during the governments of Prime Ministers Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard from 2007 until 2013.

In 2008, Wong became the first Asian-Australian in an Australian Cabinet.

On 6 March 2024, Wong became longest-serving female cabinet minister in the history of the Australian Parliament. Several surveys have consistently found Wong to be the most trusted politician in Australia.

Early life and education

Penelope Ying-Yen Wong was born on 5 November 1968 in Kota Kinabalu. Her parents were Jane (née Chapman) (died 2024), an English Australian, and Francis Wong (1941–2023), a Chinese-Malaysian architect-cum-town-planner of mixed Cantonese and Hakka descent.

Wong was educated at Scotch College in Adelaide, before attending the University of Adelaide, graduating with Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees.

Professional career

Prior to beginning her political career, she worked as a lawyer and political advisor. Wong entered politics by winning a Senate seat in the 2001 election.

Following Labor's victory in the 2007 election, she was appointed Minister for Climate Change, going on to lead for Australia at the landmark 2009 UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen. Following the 2010 election, Wong was moved to become Minister for Finance and Deregulation, and in June 2013, she was elected by her colleagues to become Leader of the Government in the Senate. Following Labor's defeat in the 2013 election, Wong held several roles in the shadow cabinets of both Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese, serving as Leader of the Opposition in the Senate throughout. Upon Labor's victory at the 2022 election, Wong was appointed Minister for Foreign Affairs, and resumed her role as Leader of the Government in the Senate.

Wong is the first Asian Australian and the first openly LGBTI person to hold the office of Australian Foreign Minister. Within a few days of being sworn into office, Wong visited several Pacific countries to emphasise the new government's approach to climate change and relations with nations in the region, including Fiji (where she addressed the Pacific Islands Forum), Samoa, and Tonga.

On 16 June, Wong visited New Zealand Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta to reaffirm bilateral relations and cooperation in the areas of climate change, indigenous, and Indo-Pacific issues. Wong also stated that her government would consider New Zealand's concerns about Australia's Section 501 deportation policy, which had strained relations between the two countries.

During a 2023 Senate estimates hearing, Wong was asked about the presence of nuclear weapons aboard nuclear-capable B-52s and B2 Sprits U.S. bombers, which operate regularly out of northern Australia. When U.S. bombers visit Australia, the U.S. government does not tell the Australian government whether the aircraft are carrying nuclear weapons. Wong said the Australian Government "understand[s] and respect[s] the longstanding US policy of neither confirming or denying". She also said the government wanted a greater U.S. military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Personal life

Wong's partner, Sophie Allouache, is a public servant and former University of Adelaide Students' Association president. In December 2011, Allouache gave birth to their first child. Allouache gave birth to their second daughter in 2015, at the Adelaide Women's and Children's Hospital. Wong and Allouache married in 2024.

Wong is fluent in Bahasa Indonesia.

Images for kids

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  Wong in 2007

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  Wong with Kiribati President Taneti Maamau

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  33rd annual Australia-United States Ministerial Consultations (AUSMIN) in Brisbane on July 29, 2023