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Stott Despoja in July 2007

Natasha Jessica Stott Despoja (born 9 September 1969) is an Australian politician and former leader of the Australian Democrats. She has been a Democrat senator for South Australia since November 1995. She is the youngest woman ever elected to the Parliament of Australia.

Stott Despoja was born in Adelaide, the daughter of Shirley Stott, an Australian-born journalist with English heritage and Mario Despoja, an immigrant from Croatia. She was educated at Stradbroke Primary and Pembroke School and, later, the University of Adelaide where she graduated B.A.. She was active in student politics, becoming president of the Students' Association of the University of Adelaide (SAUA) and serving as State Women's Officer for the National Union of Students in South Australia. She then worked as a political adviser to Democrat senators John Coulter (SA) and Cheryl Kernot (Qld).

On 29 November 1995, Stott Despoja was appointed to the casual vacancy created by the resignation of Senator Coulter due to ill-health. She completed the remainder of Coulter's term, was returned at the 1996 election and re-elected in 2001 with the highest personal vote of any Australian Senator.^[1]

Stott Despoja was elected to the party's deputy leadership in 1997, under Meg Lees. At the time, she was party spokesperson for parliamentary portfolios including Science and Technology, Attorney General, Higher Education, IT, Employment and Youth Affairs.

During the passage of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) legislation in 1999, Stott Despoja, along with Andrew Bartlett, split from the party's other senators by opposing the package, which had been negotiated by Lees and Prime Minister John Howard. She said that she refused to break promises made by the party during the election. The Australian Democrats traditionally permit parliamentary representatives to cast a conscience vote on any issue but, on this occasion, close numbers in the Australian Senate placed greater pressure than usual on the dissenters.

Stott Despoja was elected leader on 6 April 2001, replacing Meg Lees who then mounted a series of public attacks in 2002, culminating in Lees's resignation from the party in July 2002. Further public criticism and disputes between Democrat senators resulted in Stott Despoja's resignation as leader on 21 August 2002, having failed to receive majority support in the party room following an ultimatum delivered by Senator John Cherry.^[2][3] She announced her resignation in a speech to the Senate, concluding with a "pledge to bring the party back home to the members again." ^[4] None of the senators who opposed Stott Despoja in the party room contested the subsequent leadership ballot. Brian Greig was installed pro tem. and the party's members then elected Bartlett as the new leader. Stott Despoja's public profile and involvement with the party decreased significantly from this point, and Bartlett was unable to rebuild public support for the party, which experienced a drastic loss of public support at the 2004 election.

During 2004, Stott Despoja took 11 weeks' leave from the Senate following the birth of her first child but subsequently returned to full duties as Democrat spokesperson on, inter alia, Higher Education, Status of Women, and Work and Family.

In October 2006, Stott Despoja underwent emergency surgery for an ectopic pregnancy. On 22 October 2006, she announced that she would not be contesting the 2007 election to extend her term which expires on 30 June 2008.^[5] When she has served this term out, she will have become the longest-serving Democrat senator.

• Natasha Stott Despoja, Senate Biography

• Stott Despoja's website