Barry Cohen AM  is a former Australian Labor

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

 politician. He was a minister in the government of Bob Hawke

Bob Hawke

Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....

.

Biography

He was born in Griffith, New South Wales

Griffith, New South Wales

Griffith is a city in south-western New South Wales, Australia. It is also the seat of the City of Griffith local government area. Like the Australian capital, Canberra and the nearby town of Leeton, Griffith was designed by Walter Burley Griffin. Griffith was named after Sir Arthur Griffith the...

 and educated at Griffith High School, Sydney Grammar School

Sydney Grammar School

Sydney Grammar School is an independent, non-denominational, selective, day school for boys, located in Darlinghurst, Edgecliff and St Ives, all suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia....

 and North Sydney Technical High School

North Sydney Technical High School

North Sydney Technical High School on Miller Street, North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia first opened as St Leonard's Superior Public School...

. He received a Bachelor of Arts from the Australian National University

Australian National University

The Australian National University is a teaching and research university located in the Australian capital, Canberra.As of 2009, the ANU employs 3,945 administrative staff who teach approximately 10,000 undergraduates, and 7,500 postgraduate students...

. He was a businessman before entering politics.

Cohen was the federal member for the seat of Robertson

Division of Robertson

The Division of Robertson is an Australian Electoral Division in the state of New South Wales. The Division is located on the Central Coast, immediately north of the Hawkesbury River. It encompasses the towns of Woy Woy, Gosford and Terrigal....

 from 1969

Australian federal election, 1969

Federal elections were held in Australia on 25 October 1969. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives were up for election. The incumbent Liberal Party of Australia led by Prime Minister of Australia John Gorton with coalition partner the Country Party led by John McEwen defeated the Australian...

 until his retirement before the 1990 election. Following the Australian Labor Party

Australian Labor Party

The Australian Labor Party is an Australian political party. It has been the governing party of the Commonwealth of Australia since the 2007 federal election. Julia Gillard is the party's federal parliamentary leader and Prime Minister of Australia...

's win under Bob Hawke

Bob Hawke

Robert James Lee "Bob" Hawke AC GCL was the 23rd Prime Minister of Australia from March 1983 to December 1991 and therefore longest serving Australian Labor Party Prime Minister....

 at the 1983 election

Australian federal election, 1983

Federal elections were held in Australia on 5 March 1983. All 125 seats in the House of Representatives, and all 64 seats in the Senate, were up for election, following a double dissolution...

, he was Minister for Home Affairs

Minister for Home Affairs (Australia)

The Australian Minister for Home Affairs has been Brendan O'Connor since 6 June 2009. The Home Affairs portfolio brings together agencies such as the Australian Customs Service , the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, which were previously the...

 and the Environment

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts (Australia)

The current Australian Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities is Tony Burke, who took over from Peter Garrett . The Minister and department change took effect in the Second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010...

 from 1983 to 1984 and then Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Environment

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and the Arts (Australia)

The current Australian Minister for Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities is Tony Burke, who took over from Peter Garrett . The Minister and department change took effect in the Second Gillard Ministry on 14 September 2010...

 until 1987.

After politics

He has written a number of books on political anecdotes, and an autobiography:

• Life with Gough (1996)
• From Whitlam to Winston (1997)
• The Almost Complete Gough (2001)
• The Life Of The Party – Political Anecdotes (1987)

Personal

He married Rae O'Neill in October 1959 and they have three sons.

Although he voted for the decriminalisation of gay marriage in the 1970s, he has spoken out against gay marriage, arguing that "gay marriage and conventional marriage is [not] the same thing".

Honours

Cohen was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia

Order of Australia

The Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, "for the purpose of according recognition to Australian citizens and other persons for achievement or for meritorious service"...

in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2007, for service to the Australian Parliament and to the community through a range of cultural and environmental roles and contributions to public discussion and debate.