Bob was born in Perth in 1947. He went to Guildford Primary School and Stirling High School and graduated from the University of Western Australia with degrees in arts and economics.
In 1975 Bob became Secretary of the Western Australian Branch of the ALP. In August 1981 he was elected National Secretary and moved with his family to Canberra. During his time as National Secretary, Bob directed the ALP’s successful election campaigns in 1983, 1984 and 1987.
In February 1988, following the resignation of Senator Susan Ryan, Bob was sworn in as Senator for the Australian Capital Territory. In 1990 he was appointed Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer and in 1991 became Manager of Government Business in the Senate.
In 1993 Bob was appointed Minister for the Arts and Administrative Services and became a member of the Cabinet, the first time the Arts portfolio was represented in Cabinet. In January 1994, he was appointed Minister for Trade.
Following a redistribution of Canberra’s House of Representative seats, Bob stood for the seat of Canberra in 1996, and was elected. Following a redistribution in 1998, Bob became Member for Fraser.
Between 1996 and 2007 Bob held a number of Shadow Ministerial positions including Shadow Treasurer, Shadow Minister for Finance & Small Business and Shadow Minister for Federal/State Relations. After the election of the Rudd Government in November 2007 Bob was appointed as Parliamentary Secretary for International Development Assistance.
Bob is married to Robin and they have two daughters and three grandchildren. He is an avid follower of most sports and has a particular interest in Australian art and heritage, the environment, reading and golf. Bob is patron of several sports and arts organisations in the ACT.
Bob McMullan
Address
8/1 Torrens Street
Braddon ACT 2601
Telephone
02 6247 4396 or
02 6247 4037
Facsimile
02 6247 3457
