Australia's new Foreign Minister was born in Sabah

PETALING JAYA: Veteran senior politician Penny Wong is slated to take office on Monday (May 23) as Foreign Affairs Minister under the Labour government of Anthony Albanese.

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The law and arts graduate from the University of Adelaide was born in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah and then moved to Australia in 1976 as an eight-year-old.

She is the daughter of respected architect Francis Wong.

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She was elected senator in 2001 and in 2008, became the first Asian-born member of an Australian Cabinet when she served as Climate Change Minister in the Kevin Rudd administration.

In 2013, she became the Leader of the Government in the Senate and later, after the change of government, she was appointed the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate. She is the first woman to hold these roles.